Skip to main content

Albert Ayler in Sweden

Following a three year stint in the US Army (band), based at Orleans in France, Albert Ayler returned home to the US, then decamped to Sweden in 1962. In 1962, Sweden wasn't yet as cosmopolitan to Jazz as France or Denmark; other popular places for African American jazz musicians in the 1960s. Once in Sweden, making a living as a musician became almost as difficult as Ayler had faced in the US. However through time, he built some strong relationships and friendships, played in Stockholm's top Jazz venues and played (and recorded) outside Sweden in Helsinki and Copenhagen.

Nils Edstrom was a photographer who became friendly with Ayler. He recalled Ayler's first performance at Stockholm's Golden Circle club.
"Precisely because of Ayler's presence, it was absolutely necessary that you were present when he played, placed in front of him and confronted by his playing, to be forced into trying to grapple with the realisation that this experience was totally unfamiliar and devoid of references to anything else that had gone before. His sound was described as coming from nowhere, like an archetypal raw blast from the primordial forest. Nobody was prepared for that physical mass of sound."
Edstrom offered Ayler his photographic studio near the Golden Circle as a practice space. The couple of times he used it Edstrom saw how incredibly competent he was on the horn. "He played Parker solos that were directly as he had learned them, and how it appeared in the register of the alto sax. Because he could in some way extend the register via falsetto, but also by
changing the sound. But then I had my second shock, because he could play with every kind of dynamic, from very soft like Kenny Dorham, but it wasn't in any way intensive like he brought forth at gigs. But then he noticed I was taken aback, so the next evening he came over and brought some literature, which I think was 'The Method of Classical Saxophone'. Albert started singing Debussy's 'Saxophone Rhapsody' and he says, 'This is written for alto and I have to sing it so I will know it before I transcribe it’. Then he gets going and plays it on the tenor, and he is still simulating the alto fairly quietly in quite a mellow style."

References : Cleveland Call & Post, April 1962, Albert Ayler Holy Ghost

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pharoah Sanders' Philosophical Conversation - July 1967

In the July 1967 issue of Canada's Coda Magazine, Pharaoh Sanders held a long conversation with Elisabeth van der Mei. The feature starts out with the comment "You play so good you made me forget about Trane", and ends with Pharoah saying Coltrane wouldn't have got to where he is now without listening to others. The feature talks about playing in Trane's group and the dynamics between the musicians, how he (and Trane) had dropped playing over chord changes and the concept of time was now radically different. He preferred playing with just Rashied Ali for this very reason. Making 8 or 9 notes out of 2 by putting them through the horn in different ways; And to achieve what he could, you needed ability, control and emotion. Poignant given the issue date, the same month of Trane's death, this is a really insightful interview with Pharoah just as he was ending one phase in his career, before taking his deeply felt spirituality into a new phase. pharoah sanders ...

John Coltrane's Only British Tour in 1961

Britain’s Musicians' Union found the 1950s difficult, with the rise of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the growth of outside musicians coming to play in Britain. By the early 60s an agreement had been reached with the US that an equivalent number of touring American and British musicians could play in each country. Most headline US Jazz artists up to that point had used local musicians, and the live exposure to ‘modern’ Jazz artists was limited. Through the 60s and beyond, Britain was still problematic for outside artists due to the (then) power of the MU. Having said that, the MU was sometimes a force for good. For example, in 1961 the MU boycotted the entire Mecca Circuit for the Bradford Mecca Locarno’s policy of refusing admission to single black males. Norman Granz had been running JATP European tours since 1952, featuring top US jazz artists. Earlier in 1960 Miles Davis had visited Britain, so it missed out on Miles' famous JATP tour of Europe with Trane later in 1960. Granz organised...

Ornette Coleman and Sweden's Golden Circle Club

Ornette Coleman's trio famously recorded over two nights, during a two week stint at Stockholm's Golden Circle (Gyllene Cirkeln) Club in December 1965. Francis Wolff of Blue Note flew to Sweden to supervise and produce the recording, using Rune Andreasson, a local recording engineer. The resulting two albums "At The Golden Circle" vols one and two became Blue Note classic albums. The Golden Circle Club was b ased, from 1962 in the ABF-Huset building, a progressive community building built in 1961 in the centre of Stockholm. Over its seven year life the club hosted many US jazz musicians. Due to its welcoming attitude to foreign musicians, Sweden became home (at times) to jazz musicians such as Sahib Shahib, George Russell, Albert Ayler, Steve Kuhn, Red Mitchell and Don Cherry. See also :  The New Jazz Musings - Albert Ayler in Sweden The Club was on the 1st Floor (unchanged inside) Gyllene Cirkeln Wall Display Original Golden Spiral Staircase Entran...