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August 1 2026

WKCR-FM’S 24 HOUR ALBERT AYLER BIRTHDAY BROADCAST

Some more information about the birthday broadcast which took place on WKCR-FM starting at midnight, 13th July.

Steve Tintweiss writes:

‘I was gratified with the opportunity to program on-air a three hour segment of an extended interview of Albert for Swing Journal, music from the double Grammy nominated Holy Ghost box set, and select tracks from the award winning Revelations boxset issue of the complete Nuits-de-la-Fondation July 1970 concerts recorded by French Radio. There was ample time to discuss and speculate about Ayler’s hopes and dreams for the future acceptance of his music, which the Maeght audience embraced and drove to the level of artistic and personal triumph. Lastly, the final Curtain Call where yells of “Albert” brought him to the microphone to address adoring fans, saying in a most heartfelt tone:

“I would try to say something. But I can’t talk. I’ve been blowing so hard”.
A.A. July 27, 1970 St-Paul-de-Vence.

This 24-hour 90th Birthday Broadcast on July 13th may have been the best and most varied tribute honoring Albert Ayler to date, thanks to WKCR at Columbia University students.

As a local sportscaster would say “put it in the books”.

This was how WKCR-FM described Albert in the run-up to the event:

‘New York, NY — July 7, 2025 — WKCR 89.9FM is excited to announce a 24-hour broadcast on Saturday, July 13, in celebration of the life and music of avant-garde saxophonist Albert Ayler (1936–1970). Known for his radical reimagining of jazz, Ayler forged a deeply spiritual and emotionally raw sound that redefined the genre and remains unmatched to this day.

Born in Cleveland, Ayler was introduced to the saxophone by his father and played his first gigs in church. As a teenager, he joined Lloyd Pearson and the Counts of Rhythm and caught the attention of blues great Little Walter, with whom he toured. His musical evolution continued during his service in the U.S. Army, where he switched to tenor sax, jammed with Stanley Turrentine, and immersed himself in the recordings of John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Ornette Coleman—influences that helped shape his singular voice.

Ayler’s music fused jazz with spirituals, marches, and folk melodies—resulting in ecstatic works like Ghosts, The Hilversum Session, and Truth Is Marching In. His live performances were intense and polarizing, with fervent group improvisations that pushed beyond traditional harmony and melody into realms of pure sound.

Coltrane not only mentored Ayler but requested his group play at his funeral in 1967—an honor Ayler shared with Ornette Coleman. Later that year, Ayler recorded for Impulse! Records, releasing Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village and debuting his piece “For John Coltrane.”

Though his life ended tragically in 1970 at the age of 34, Ayler’s legacy lives on. His bold sound continues to inspire generations of musicians—from jazz and noise to rock and experimental music.’

Flowers for Tone

This is rather sad.

‘"Flowers for Tone" was a special tribute concert for the late Vancouver guitarist Tony Wilson. It took place on Friday, July 3, 2026, at 5:00 PM at the Revue Stage on Granville Island as part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

Tony Wilson helped shape creative music in Vancouver and beyond since the 1980s. A longtime Hornby Islander, Tone passed away suddenly on June 6, just weeks ahead of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival he performed at so many times (often on his birthday, which the Festival always coincided with). Tony led innumerable projects of his own compositions, and lent his stratospheric imagination to the Peggy Lee Band, Dark Blue World, Pugs & Crows, and his unflinching multi-disciplinary works like The Homeless Project.

Ever curious, and always able to channel fire and find channels to the spiritual, Tony’s far-ranging interest in composers and players from the obscure to the renowned often led him to present projects at the Festival that spotlighted and extrapolated on the works of Sonny Greenwich, Lenny Breau, Jim Pepper, Pedar Long, Frank Zappa, Sun Ra, and others. Tony’s improvisational genius and signature guitar playing elevated these performances beyond tribute, and often felt like a melding of powerful cosmic forces.

He was an open-hearted collaborator who paid tribute to so many, and though our hearts are hurting we’re looking forward to sharing time with many of Tony’s friends, family, and collaborators in the time slot that Tony was going to present “Flowers for Albert”, a project celebrating Albert Ayler. Instead, we’ll gather for Flowers for Tone, celebrating Tony’s profound impact and influence on our hearts and ears, and honouring his lasting legacy on the creative music scene.

The Flowers for Tone ensemble features James Meger bass, Kenton Loewen drums, Feven Kidane trumpet, Ruthie Ha saxophones, Peggy Lee cello, Cole Schmidt guitar, and several other guests.’

Magnet and Coda

Steve Tintweiss sent me a link to an article by Mitch Myers, entitled ‘Spirits, Ghosts, Witches & Devils: The Life and Death of Albert Ayler’, which was originally published in the October/November, 2004 issue of Magnet, to coincide with the release of Revenant’s Holy Ghost box set. I actually bought a copy of the magazine and after a decent interval had elapsed did intend to transcribe the article and add it to the site. However, it appeared online in March, 2021, saving me the trouble. I did add a link at the time, but it’s disappeared, so I have put that right in the ‘What’s Old’ section. Then I checked the Articles page in the Archives and I hadn’t listed it there , so I remedied that but then checked the links on the other offsite articles (don’t worry we’re nearly there) and found a couple more missing. One of these was the Stu Broomer piece in Coda about Ayler in Canada, which was working, but a bit convoluted, so I had a look for the original issue of Coda and found it at worldradiohistory.com. This turned out to be an Albert Ayler special. Here’s the cover and the Contents:




	Coda 272 is also available for download here.

Also missing links were the two ‘Jazzed in Cleveland’ pieces on Ayler by Joe Mosbrook. I finally found these in the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive and added them to the relevant Articles’ page. Along the way I came across this obituary for Joe Mosbrook, who died in 2024.

The Contemporary Jazz Quartet: Predetermination

This is a fascinating album which Dirk Goedeking came across. I’d never heard of the group or this 1964 LP, which has now been re-released in a limited edition. Why it gets a mention here is that the line-up includes Gary Peacock and Sunny Murray on the first long (13 mins.) track, the eponymous ‘Predetermination’. There’s an ecstatic review from Mats Gustafsson on the Soundohm site and more details on discogs.

ART

Again from Dirk:

1. Lorna Simpson uses Albert's music in the soundtrack of her video work "Corridor" (2003). This summer on display in the Hood Museum of Art in New Hampshire.

Description from the site:

The art in Division of Labor addresses the complex story of labor in the United States. Works from the permanent collection focus on the 20th and early 21st centuries and touch on agriculture, industry, office work, domestic labor, and creative professions. These works prompt consideration of how labor intersected with major events such as World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. The fight for workers' rights peaked in the early part of the 20th century and continued through protests in the early 21st century. As industry fueled national economic growth, small business remained at the heart of many communities, providing opportunities for immigrants and native-born citizens alike.

In the first gallery, we encounter Lorna Simpson's video work Corridor (2003). Representing two historical eras, this dual-channel video depicts women alone in their homes over the course of a day. On the left, a Black woman in period garb starts her day in an American colonial home. To the right, a woman dresses in midcentury clothes while moving through architecture from the same period. The labor needed to make these domestic spaces function becomes clear as the women go about their tasks: cooking, cleaning, and keeping the home orderly. Their solitude draws attention to the continuous labor performed by women in the home. The contrast and continuity of the women's lives is reinforced by a soundtrack that intertwines and clashes at different moments. It is comprised of two works, by the mid-19th-century Black piano prodigy Blind Tom and the mid-20th-century Black jazz composer Albert Ayler, respectively.

2. Richard Svandrlik

Dirk also came across the following on youtube, to which I’ll add a few more at the end.

- In "Close Enough For Jazz" , episode 18 "Three Military Musicians", Lindsay and Alan Bjorklund discuss Albert's military history. "He basically weaponized military music" at 4:40 is my favorite pacifist quote.

- Kazutoki Umezu and Shota Koyama recorded live in 2001 playing "Ghosts".

- The "Masters of Harmonica" channel presents an Ayler homage of "Summertime".

[Thought I would interject here and quote this bit from the introduction:

‘In the history of jazz, few were as far out there as Albert Ayler who played his plastic saxophone, and was a nonentity until discovered by Miles Davis...who crowned him a genius of the highest order. His signature piece was Gershwin's SUMMERTIME, and here I play it in a style somewhat reminiscent of his genius. You can find Ayler's Summertime on YouTube...just type in ALBERT AYLER SUMMERTIME.’]

No Ayler connection but interesting:

- The film "Looking for Ornette" is available online.

Ending peacefully:

- Wadada Leo Smith's new single "Three Years Later" will be part of the "Peace Anthems" release on 31.07.2026.

And my selection:

Mike Hoegeman’s version of ‘Ghosts’, introduced as follows:

This re-imagining of the melody from 'Ghosts' by Albert Ayler has a more straight up, simple rhythm than the original jazz classic and has an americana feel with the use of a slower tempo. Some spare bass accompaniment with different chords/harmonies here and there makes it a different feeling song all together.

The arrangement imagines the daily (therapeutic) routine of the resident ghosts at the ruins of the Camarillo State Mental Hospital Dairy Farm who still live, work, and contemplate there.

And then there is Tuluum Shimmering – New Ghosts, The Creator Has A Master Plan, A Love Supreme, which is a 2015 three disc set of the three titles stretched to breaking point. ‘New Ghosts’ is 1 hour 11 minutes long. The Genre is given as ‘Electronic’, the Style: Ambient, Experimental, Drone, Psychedelic Rock. Tuluum Shimmering is the alias of UK based Jake Webster, a one man transcendental drone band.

And here’s somebody mucking about with an Ayler sample.

We end with a man selling a record collection. This one belongs to George Klabin, who was a recording engineer who worked for ESP among others. He is interviewed during these items on youtube, but there’s also an interview on the Resonance Records site, in which, when asked “What was your most memorable recording experience during the 60’s?” He includes “Recording Albert Ayler live in Greenwich Village.”

Part Two:

Another Collection

Probably teetering on the extreme edge of Ayler-related news here, but Richard Koloda sent me a link to this story:

“Thousands of Illegal Concert Tapes Recorded Over 40 Years Are Now Available for Free, and Artists Keep Endorsing Them”

at headphonesty.com. If you can manage to avoid all the stuff being thrown at you, it is an interesting story, but the bit which I pursued was

‘The archive moves across indie rock, punk, post-punk, alt-rock, noise, hip-hop, jam, new wave, and Americana, with roughly 2,500 recordings already online in the Aadam Jacobs Collection and thousands more still waiting behind the transfer backlog.’

Click that link and you get to the Internet Archive, where I did a quick search for ‘jazz’ and came up with The Art Ensemble of Chicago Live at Petrillo Music Shell - Grant Park 1988-08-31 and The Eric Dolphy Project Live at Velvet Lounge 1998-06-26. I also renewed my acquaintance with Neil Innes’ ‘Godfrey Daniel’, his wonderful Elton John spoof.

*

27 Cooper Square

I received an email from Brian Nation:

‘Hi. I've been searching in vain for information about a performance of Albert and Don Ayler, Sonny Murray, and possibly Lewis Worrell.

Sometime in the mid 60s, by fluke, walking in the East Village while visiting New York stopped to pick up a handbill lying in the street which caught my eye for some reason announcing performance at Leroi Jones 27 Cooper Square loft of Albert Ayler, Donald Ayler, Sunny Murray and possibly Lewis Worrell, none of whom I had heard or heard of before that day. It was one of those musical events that changes everything.

I vaguely remember that the handbill said something about a benefit for Ayler who had recently returned from Europe, I believe. Not certain about that.

I'm not a scholar. I don't read everything, but I have never come across a mention of that performance, and I'm curious to know more about it now, as it's a memory that never left me. I'd especially be interested in seeing a photo of the handbill, if such still exists, because I can't help wondering what is it about it that piqued my curiosity enough for me to show up at the gig. Which, like I say, is a highlight of a life of listening to music.

thanks,

Brian’

According to the Ayler bible (the book in the Holy Ghost box), the Ayler group - Don Ayler (t), AA (ts), Lewis Worrell (b) and Sunny Murray (d) - played 27 Cooper Square (headquarters of Amiri Baraka/LeRoi Jones) in mid-February,1965. So, has anyone out there got a handbill of the event, or knows where there’s a copy? Here’s a picture of 27, Cooper Square to jog your memory.

A longshot I admit, but you never know. Those programmes for the Lovebeast concerts keep turning up, here’s Steve Tintweiss’s:

And remember, The Animal loves you, wear it in your eyes...

And finally . . .

I was going to go with Neil Innes, then this came along. I have no idea from where. When I first saw it I thought it was a still from an Three Stooges’ movie, but it isn’t. It’s John Cage and Sun Ra, at Coney Island, New York in 1986.

John Cage and Sun Ra, Coney Island New York 1986

July 1 2026

24 HOUR ALBERT AYLER BIRTHDAY BROADCAST

Steve Tintweiss emailed me the following news:

‘WKCR-FM Columbia University is again hosting a day long tribute on Albert Ayler’s birthday. This year in honor of his 90th birthday from 12 midnight Monday July 13 EDST 24 hours non-stop. I’ll be one of the guests hosting a program segment. I’ll be targeting the post ABC impulse! period with what I demonstrate was Albert’s future direction, never given a chance to be fully realized.

Listeners outside of metropolitan NYC area can tune in to the free Internet live stream at WKCR.org and selecting the “Listen” button. My slot will be from 3 to 6 pm EDT Eastern Daylight Savings Time. ALL HAIL ALBERT!’

Lörrach

Last month I mentioned (courtesy of Dirk Goedeking) a programme on German radio about Albert Ayler and the concert which took place in Lörrach on 7th November, 1966 (and issued by Hat Hut Records on Lörrach/Paris 1966). At the time there wasn’t a link to the programme, but Dirk has now sent one. He writes:

‘Last month the Lörrach broadcast on German radio contained: the whole concert, comments by Julia Neupert announcing wrong titles :-) and three short snippets from an interview Albert gave to Werner Wunderlich shortly before his Berlin appearance (hate music 15:28, religious music 16:26, peace music 51:32). The broadcast closes with the fine "Ayler Suite" by Luise Volkmann's LEONEsauvage.’

Holy Ghost! Albert Ayler 1966 in Lörrach

Der legendåre, selbsternannte "Heilige Geist" des Jazz, Albert Ayler und sein Quintett waren 1966 zu Gast in der Stadthalle Lörrach.

[The legendary, self-proclaimed "Holy Ghost" of jazz, Albert Ayler,
and his quintet appeared at the Stadthalle Lörrach in 1966.]

The full version of the “Ayler Suite” from the LEONEsauvage album, Dreams to Come, is available on bandcamp.

Eclectic

That brief mention of Hat Hut Records leads us to the eclectic mix of new releases from Werner X. Uehlinger’s ALAY label. No Albert this time but a range of music from 1940 to 2026.

The Duke Ellington at Fargo I didn’t know - I came very late to an appreciation of Ellington, but I’ve caught up now. It’s a famous recording, not just for the music, but for how it came to be recorded - full story on wikipedia. Not having heard it before I can’t really comment on this version except to say, in the light of the circumstances in which it was recorded (at a dance!), the sound quality is superb. The full concert has been released in various formats before, but this is a single CD as Werner explains in the sleevenotes:

‘I have selected these tracks with the assistance of Art Lange, from the complete recording of Fargo 1940. I followed my knowledge about the great Ellington tunes and the quality of these performances, while Art made a point of lesser known pieces. Our final selection has been approved by the producer, Bernhard “Benne” Vischer.
Werner X. Uehlinger.’

The Miles Davis is from a European tour in 1969. If his date on 1st November at the Hammersmith Odeon in London had been on there you would have heard me being puzzled in the audience. I must have heard In A Silent Way by then, and liked it, so I knew he’d gone electric, but I wasn’t prepared for the sheer loudness of the band and its intensity. Now I reckon I can handle it. I also heard Tony Williams Lifetime in Manchester at a college gig, but with Jack Bruce added to the line-up. I was standing at the back and rather than hearing Jack Bruce’s bass, I was feeling it vibrating the wall I was leaning against.

I know nothing about Vienna FLAMMeS, but here’s a bit from Ronald Pohl’s sleevenotes:

Vienna FLAMMeS He Said Boler o’ Everything that Vienna FLAMMeS achieves together is recorded and neatly labeled in the archive. According to his idea, this resembles Jorge Luis Borges’ library. It contains everything that the interaction of free, creative people, or musicians, makes possible. The music of Vienna FLAMMeS is post- jazz: the treacherous prefix “post” could be replaced by ‘pre’ at any time. In this pool of like-minded people, perfectly egalitarian conditions prevail, which is why the enervating urge to “break” every structure is confidently dispensed with from the outset. They open their ears to each other and against each other. Afterwards, they don’t stab each other in the back, but symbolically fall into each other’s arms. Those who want to can be reminded of the early Soft Machine by Vienna FLAMMeS’ sound weaving, or even of the progressive Canterbury music of the colorful, hallucinogenic early ‘70s. One or two sound sequences might have suited the old improv heroes of Henry Cow. The occasional outbursts on Sylvia Deixler’s guitar are inspired by Sonny Sharrock’s grandiose scrubbing.

(I am contractually obliged to mention that Jorge Luis Borges’ grandmother came from up Hanley (in Stoke-on-Trent) - also, Henry Cow, I haven’t heard that name in ages.)

Fergus Quill

This took a bit of working out. Here’s the poster:

And here’s the detail, which Dirk Goedeking spotted:

Which eventually led to a line-up for the concert (Ferg’s 30th Birthday Celebration!) which was held on Saturday, 2nd May, 2026 at the Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds, including this:

8:15-8:45 Albert Ayler Memorial Ensemble

Harvey Parkin-Christie
Sam Erhet-Pickett
Joel Stedman
Hamish Dixon
Ozzy Moysey
Teruki Chan

I bet they played ‘Ghosts’.

And here’s Mister Quill himself.

Two pieces of art

spotted by Dirk:

1. A sculpture. "Albert, the Holy Ghost" by Hans Some.

‘Artist Hans Some has fashioned nothing less than the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit out of metal for the "Jazzart" exhibition. The result is a trio of sculptures inspired by jazz musicians Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, and Pharoah Sanders—a "Trinity" that Ayler himself had once attributed to them. The works are on display at Espacio Séneca, located in the square of the same name in Alicante on the Costa Blanca, where an exhibition unites artists from various disciplines under the common theme of jazz music.’

2. A painting. "Albert Ayler 7" by Andy Hay.

Youtube roundup

Ghosts: Albert Ayler crazed live version by Ulterior Lux 1990.

Naohiro Kawashita Trio ‘New Generation’(Albert Ayler) @ Inage Candy (2008) - makes a change.)

And, to keep up to date, a couple of AI things:

Suno Could NOT Understand Avant-Garde Jazzâ€¦ So I Taught It

and

10 Black Clebs Who Died With Bodies Never Found - The Darkest Mysteries Will SHOCK You!!

This last item includes Albert Ayler, whose body, as we all know, was found. However I did find out that ‘Clebs’ is short for ‘Celebs’, which was already short for ‘Celebrities’. Time is short we must remove all unnecessary syllables.

Back to real people apparently having a lot of fun:

‘ARLT celebrate their 20th anniversary – June 6, 2026 – Paris, Lou Pascalou.

A return to their roots 20 years later: Sing Sing and Eloïse met at Le Lou Pascalou, and it was at that same spot that they played one of their very first concerts...

The band extends a huge thank you to Momo, Mourad, and Antoine at Le Lou Pascalou, and to Sophie Leroy for handling the sound for this show.

Thanks also to the many extras—oh, darn, I’ve misplaced the list.

A chaotic birthday bash featuring—among other things—Eloïse donning a makeshift cosmonaut helmet right there on our pile of rubble, big medieval carnival noisemakers, a tuba played in the loo, a sputtering homemade vocoder amidst the crowd, a cappella bits, tape loops manipulated by hand, balloons, blues, and heaps of improvisation—but also a Grimm fairy tale, Albert Ayler, Sophie Perez, Claude Gaignebet, Joaquin Phoenix, Brigitte Fontaine, and David Lynch, all chopped up and stitched together across three tape decks at once. Plus pints of beer, gin and tonics, anisette, whisky, vodka, and things that make daylight flash in the middle of the night.

And finally . . .

‘Television Icon Tom Verlaine’s Personal Vinyl Collection Finds New Life At Public Sale

One of rock’s most fascinating record collections is about to change hands. Beginning June 26, music fans and collectors will have the opportunity to explore and purchase records from the personal vinyl archive of Television co-founder Tom Verlaine through Discogs and New York City’s Academy Records.’

So, if you want to buy Tom Verlaine’s copy of Bells, it’s somewhere in here:

June 1 2026

Sonny Rollins (7/9/1930 - 25/5/2026)

Sonny Rollins died on Monday, 25th May, 2026 at the age of 95 (coincidentally the day before what would have been the 100th birthday of Miles Davis). I always thought that musically, he was the clearest influence on Albert Ayler, especially on his earliest recordings, and so I thought I should note his passing despite having no evidence that they ever performed together. They certainly never recorded together, although their paths seemed to cross several times. Albert’s first meeting with Don Cherry was in Scandinavia in 1962, when Cherry was a member of Sonny Rollins’ band. They both performed at Coltrane’s ‘Titans of the Tenor’ concert at Lincoln Center on 19th February, 1966, although not together. And Sonny Rollins was also part of the ‘Newport Jazz Festival in Europe 1966’ tour. Here are the obituaries in The Guardian, the New York Times and The Washington Post.

What’s New in December 1970

This was going to be the opening item before I heard the news above:

I’ve been sorting out stuff (it comes to us all) and came across a couple of clippings from Melody Maker of 12th December, 1970 and realised that this was how I got the news of Albert Ayler’s death. I’ve had a look through the site and can’t find them anywhere (although the site search function is pretty ropey) so I thought I might as well scan them (possibly again) and put them here:

Albert Ayler around the world

Dirk Goedeking takes us on a tour:

still no statue, Albert Ayler Museum or whatever in sight, but ...

what Cleveland can't get done, Middelburg does it. The Dutch town has a new street named "Albert Aylerstraat". Located in the county of Zeeland, in the town's De Mortiere quarter, there's even a holiday accommodation already waiting for you.

Another "Ghosts" cover from youtube. This one is somehow special because it comes from Hangzhou, China.

Prague's Café Husovka used Blue Note's (and Eric Dolphy’s) "Out to Lunch" cover to promote an "* Albert Ayler & Don Cherry *" tribute concert that took place on 4th May.

Tony Wilson will celebrate "Flowers For Albert" at Granville Island Jazz, Vancouver's Jazz Festival, on 3rd July, 2026.

Germany's "SWR Kultur" radio station takes a closer look at the Lörrach concert. SWR recorded it back then, when their name was still SWF. It will be broadcast nationwide on all German "Kulturradios" on 25.05.26.

Sorry, missed that one, I was hoping it would still be available, but I can’t find it. However, here’s the blurb which accompanied it.

‘The legendary Albert Ayler and his quintet performed at the Lörrach Town Hall in 1966.

This Whit Monday broadcast (in the biblical calendar, the day after the Holy Spirit descended upon humanity) is dedicated to the music of Albert Ayler. The saxophonist is not only often quoted as describing himself as the Holy Spirit of jazz (“Trane was the father. Pharoah was the son. I was the Holy Ghost”) – one of his most famous compositions is also called “Holy Ghost.” And he performed it live many times – for example, at a deeply spiritual concert by his quintet on November 7, 1966, in the southern German border town of Lörrach.’

And Dirk signs off with another cassette version of The Village Concerts, this one on the MCA label.

Steve Tintweiss

A couple of things from Steve Tintweiss. First, a photo of the line-up for the Spacelight Band, performing at the ‘Albert Ayler 60th Birthday Tribute’ concert in 1996 at the Forest Park Bandshell, as part of the New York Free Music series. The musicians are: Herb Robertson, Perry Robinson, Ric Frank, Lou Grassi and Steve Tintweiss..

And there’s a review of Live In Tompkins Square Park 1967 by Steve Tintweiss And The Purple Why on Michael Doherty’s Music Log.

Spiritual Jazz: Music On A Higher Plane

is an article on the uDiscoverMusic site which mentions Albert Ayler, and highlights Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe as follows:

‘Albert Ayler was another saxophonist who graduated from the school of John Coltrane. Skipping right past bebop and other modern jazz styles, he personified the explosive sound of “fire jazz,” turning his instrument into an amplifier for unfettered sounds that represented the other side of the astral jazz spectrum. His source material was not imported but the homegrown sound of Southern blues and spirituals, as he declared on Music is the Healing Force of the Universe in 1969.’

“fire jazz” - not come across that one before - maybe they mean ‘Fire Music’ from the Archie Shepp album and Tom Surgal’s 2021 documentary. However there’s a link on the site to a new release of one of my favourite Miles Davis albums, the soundtrack for Louis Malle’s Ascenseur Pour L’Echafaud (Lift to the Scaffold). I do have a previous special edition of the album, plus a curious Fontana LP where it took up one side, with the other being the soundtrack for Des Femmes Disparaissent by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.

Youtube roundup

Dave Taylor sent me a couple of clips of the alto sax player, Carlos Ward, who died in January of this year. He was someone I always meant to look out for after first hearing him on Don Cherry’s Relativity Suite, but never seemed to run into him again - I think the only other album I’ve got is Coltrane’s A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle. So here he is in all his glory with the Rashied Ali Quartet in 1972:

And Dave sent another one of the Don Cherry Quartet from 1994

___

This is a virtually unwatchable ‘documentary’ about Albert Ayler, which I was going to ignore but it originally had this picture at its start. It’s since been re-edited, but I thought this A.I. Albert worth preserving.

And finally ...

In the line of great British Prime Ministers I hate Maggie Thatcher first, closely followed by Tony Blair, who has just written an ‘essay’ on the parlous state of the country and the world (for which he is more than a little to blame) which has been criticised by Jason Walsh on TechCentral.ie. His riposte includes the following:

‘But the essay, the thing-in-itself is extraordinary, a kind of verbal free jazz, demonstrating Albert Ayler-like levels of skill in relating together hitherto unconnected things.’

What’s New January to May 2026 has been sent to the vaults.

***

This site went online in June 2000. All the previous ‘What’s New’ pages are available below: