Summertime - Albert Ayler

[MADFACTdub]

I'm Respect Jazz Vible

[troykivey]

It's certainly not the chaos people expect from Free Jazz, but it is NOT at all a "traditional" jazz composition..

[Easleytee]

Ayler is criminally ignored. His intonation and expressivity undeniably ascend from the depths of some Faustian nightmare.

Dissonance never sounded so poignant and soulful.

[MrHova50]

Örsted Pedersen, the late phenomenal Danish bassist, was only 16 years old at this moment (January 1963)...

Hova

[aarfeld]

As radical as it sounds, in many ways the players of the "New Thing" were also traditionalists reviving very early Jazz concepts like vocalizing through the horn, making sound effects and animal noises. These were techniques used on the earliest Jazz recordings by the early masters out of New Orleans. Call and response was revived very strongly by the avante garde as well.

[Orchidoclastie]

What a crying out grillot! Magnifique!

[ogdTo]

Thank you Albert

[bazza5010]

A soul laid absolutely bare and (dare I say it?) vulnerable! Listening to this is almost voyeristic!

[jay1beaux]

Beautiful sounds

[nobodady1]

This totally knocks me out. 

[jazzmessenger8]

He sounds like a yelling dying man!

[EMCEMITCH]

sorta like monk on the sax---a little

[grwatanabe]

alberts' shit is stoopid like a mthrfckr!

[ChrisSchunk]

This is literally one of my favorite things to listen to. I've been coming back to this same youtube site for months to listen to this and to show it to my friends. A lot of them aren't into music like this, but I think the straight backing helps get them into it. Beautiful.

[Harvesterofmetal]

@lacerhead I agree but why jazz must be a music that you have to "understand" ? I mean understanding music is good and in my personal opinion it leads to apreciate it more and more. Endlessly. Saying that you don't like something doesn't mean that it's shit. There are many jazzmen whom I recognize the talent, the melodic, harmonic and rythmic richness of their compositions but it's just not for me, it don't reach me (jazz requires deep listening, so it always surprises you when you don't expect)

[TheBrownTies]

sounds like seagulls at one part, so cool

[DYNODRUM]

"Albert was a True Voice" ,and REALNESS DERIVED FROM DEEP & maybe Unknown Sources in comparison; No excuses here. He was a painter of portraits to this day ,will have Us on our ears . Many Influences in all His Pieces ; It, would have been interestinG,-if He could have collaborated more, Maybe w/ J. Hendrix or such.God Bless Him wherever The Spirit Lives now..

[mryoko3]

"My Name is Albert Ayler." 自己紹介がせつないです、こんな実力者が　!!

[MattCriscuolo]

exmachine. well said!!!!!!!

[mdroach9]

i wish they sold this in the record stores

[P0GFLIPPER]

ABSOLUTE...

[maidoodesu]

very nice !  です.

[oegaziz43]

Thanks for the post. Funny thing I liked so much the photo art of the gushing forth from the pipes as I linked with the gushing forth of the music (open full throttle).

I had not thought of open hydrants in the summertime until I read it below on a repeat viewing. . Art resonates according to our experience.

RIP Albert, RIP.

So, I guess not every one is going to like this, after all.

[ExMachine]

Hmm Jazz people must be screwed down pretty tight 'cos this all sounds fine and good to me. Maybe he's breaking rules i'm not aware of.

It doesn't sound wacky, it just sounds like a guy is playing like his life depended on it- and why would you want to listen to anything else?! I confess i find a lot of more 'normal' jazz dull and formulaic. This is exciting!

[opinioninflicting]

@ExMachine (Coltrane's drummer) Elvin Jones said: "You just have to play like you're dying with the motherfucker."

[P0GFLIPPER]

@opinioninflicting hahaaaa :)

[thearchbishopofcant]

@ExMachine The jazz fans who said he was breaking the rules are either very old by now or recent converts to the "Jazz is Amercian Classical Music" orthodoxy coming from a certain critic and his favourite trumpeter. This is pretty traditional compared to some Ayler though.

[juicearibe]

@ExMachine Music at last.

[edcerc]

this is early in his career, he created a whole new rhythm after this.

[phantom5691]

@ExMachine this is amazing...it kills me every time i hear it.

it is primal screaming of an unparalleled beauty

[hombrequemiralaluna]

Addictive!

I'd never heard him before, but now I definitely have to buy "My name is Albert Ayler."

[ChadizzleFoshizzle]

I'd like to give credit to his supporting group for staying cool and in the pocket while Albert goes nuts on the tenor. Nobody knows how or why he makes those noises, but it sounds amazing.

[123must]

Ayler was one of greatest tenor players.

His sound end expression is very impressive

and in some cases awful, also when playin'

a tune like Sumertme.

Thank to " Opinioninflicting "

[toranuguitars]

I can't stop listen to this

[petegage]

@toranuguitars I keep going back to this also. I"m familiar with the ESP and the Impulse era recordings. But Albert's playing on this blows me away. The sheer power of the expressiveness. It cuts through to the core. Respect to David Murray also, especially in the late 70's, for "Flowers for Albert" on India Navigation, and Murray's "London Concert".

[obsidiansands1]

The traditional backing gets a lot of flack from avant garde fans, but actually I think it is even more intriguing to hear Albert in this setting as a contrast to the unfettered freedom that came later...

[opinioninflicting]

No, Ayler was maybe at his best right from the beginning. The crazy metabolism of free jazz rhythm isn't always necessary. Ayler was half-insane, at least, he killed himself, and the early shit is probably the best. Nothing wrong with conventional, rhythmic backing. If you've ever tried to turn friends on to this music, it can be a deal-breaker, too. There are some free-jazz performances that really benefit from rhythmic insanity, I'd argue, but not many, and not many people really understand it

[edcerc]

@opinioninflicting so you like albert ayler but you dont like free jazz?

[aghoranathi]

Good picture for the song, makes me think of sun and Gershwin in the heat writing, Ayler makes the heat sound oppressive :) Many beginners play it like a nursery rhyme so this is great to hear.

[LogInAnders]

He's my biggest influence to skipping school.

[LiveinMarbles]

That's propably the most inspiring comment I've read in youtube the last 2 years :-)

I wish I have done the same

[florianaporta]

originale e bellissima

[thenamesfrancisco]

I'm reading ratliffs book right now and thats how i heard about him too. Now I know what he was taking about screaming through the sax. awesome.

[PaulTraps]

@thenamesfrancisco me too! I see too now.

[FILYify]

Une des plus belles interprétations de Summertime, souvent oubliée,jouée avec les tripes et le coeur

[FILYify]

souvent méconnue du public français

[Jazzman303]

Does no one here pay attention to the image that is in front of us while listening to this.. Pure Comedy

[thesuikerlounge]

ääääähhhhh, no.

thanks for loading this up!

[ajdicks]

it would have been funnier to have a picture of a goose with two hands tightly clenched around its neck. Ayler has made his sax sound different from any one else's but in this case i'm not sure that's all a good thing.

[Jazzman303]

I never meant to offend anyone. I just thought it was an odd choice of photo. Maybe it's supposed to show the heat of summertime. Like an open water main on a city street. His playing amazes me.

[phantom5691]

wow...just fucking wow. i have goosebumps..

[ineinerbank]

i came to this through "astral Project". pretty cool. something you would imagine being in a murakami-novel.

[cjs8f8]

is he playing alto or tenor in this song?

[ineinerbank]

tenor, i think. wikipedia says so.

[cicopia1]

His playing was very soulful he was a great talent.

[unfretted1]

Just finished reading a biography of John Coltrane- Coltrane the story of the sound by Ben Ratliff. Saw Ayler's name mentioned amongst others. Never heard him till now and WOW !! The sound - it's like you're looking into his soul. At least for me- it's time to get more of his music.

[PereUbu86]

My advice: buy the Holy Ghost box by Ayler, it's awesome! I just did.

[gbeezy39]

i second that.  this tune in particular works well for ayler. this is earlier in his career and he is playing with more traditional players on the piano and bass....but this is one of the few exceptions at that time that REALLY worked and comes across proper. His playing here is so intimate and satisfying....

[MoonBarrett]

Albert Ayler is one of the greats. Enjoy the journey - I know you will.

[anthrax1218]

That was a well done book, I really enjoyed it. And as for Ayler, nothing like him. Ratliff discusses the development of Coltrane's timbre over the years, but Ayler, now there's some great experimentation with timbre and texture, again, nothing like him

[MrHatandbeard]

Im glad that coltrane fans gets to hear about him through that book. read it myself, but I knew about ayler before. more than I knew about coltrane..

The one album you should get is spiritual unity with sunny murray and gary peacock. inspiring as hell.

[ChimRhicholds]

eh, kavalasax's argument IS derogatory and uninformed...

Sure, Ayler could have played like Bird and Diz (Parker and Gillespie), but since clubs at the time were paying non-offensive white guys to emulate the true artists, true artists had to make something new. And sometimes, to make something new, you gotta screw everything up to see the possibilities...

[karinablacktie]

I personally find this electrifying, but I can understand how many people wouldn't like it. kavalasax's comment "Talk about the Emporer's new clothes?" is an opinion, stated in a clear, non-derogatory form, and even with a little humor. Let him speak. I appreciate diverse comments as long as their in a respectful manner. (One of his comments has been hidden, but this is in reference to the one comment I can see.)

[anthrax1218]

this is the first time i've heard ayler and i'm so impressed. this is amazing

[41734649]

summertimeはいろんな人がカバーしてますがアイラーの­が一番イイかも、泣ける。

[Toastwithmarmelade]

Thanks for this post. I discovered Ayler via youtube and I think he is really amazing. Sometimes there are new things under the sun.

[eet73]

I feel sorry for you.

[megza14]

How so? This recording is 46 years old and is listened to more now than ever. It has stood the test of time and is more widely accepted than ever.

[moontriangle]

great piece. the contrast of the rhythm section's smoothness and Albert's soul-tangling edges is wonderful.

listening to it again and again, i start to hear how subtly and beautifully he treats the moment by moment details he discovers, develops and makes cherishable. just like each moment of life is a unique, shining jewel of emotion born from the constantly culminating whole, Albert seems to care so much for the micro-sonic textures and shapes that arise.

he teaches me how to hear anew.

[shivabala9]

Albert Ayler's nickname when he a kid in Cleveland Ohio was "Little Bird" because he could play Charlie Parker's music backward and forward !!!!!!!!!!!

[booksteve]

thank you for posting this. this track should be required listening for anyone studying the music, particularly those in "jazz" schools. Albert's soul sound is so refreshing here. Its like a tall drink of cold water.

[gabemarx]

in-fucking-credible.

that image of the water hose is perfect though, such a great metaphor for his playing.

[zurbarab]

man, i've been listening to this everyday, religiously. . . gets into my soul

[LiveinMarbles]

@zurbarab

Ι'm really glad that people sensitive like you that can grasp the raw emotions of Ayler's sax are still exist. It means there is hope.

[zurbarab]

dare I say. . . more innovative than trane. . .

[modularblur]

don't do drugs.

[elgaucho565]

Thank you.

[cigaberetta]

my favorite song of his heavenly home on the album live in greenwich village im not so much into his smoother works though it still is amazingly good

[mick1316591]

Wow! I think this is definitely proof that Albert Ayler was just as innovative as Ornette Coleman. I especially love the part about three minutes in where the sax starts to sound like a trumpet when he hits the really high notes. The pianist and bassist are great also. Too bad they weren't his regular band

[mibifinalist]

albert is pure emotion and soul

[yogiunlimited1234]

Insane!

[fanofmozart]

What's even more incredible is that this was done on January 14, 1963. That was the year Coltrane appeared on Bill Gleason's TV show and did "Alabama" and others. Nobody, but nobody, did this sort of thing then. Soon, though, in Chicago, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) began to expore the implications of Albert Ayler's innovations. Ask Joseph Jarman about Albert Ayler.

[LGLG69]

I agree with jxw137, i like it when Albert plays like this. Some of his recordings are a bit too eccentric for me.

[opinioninflicting]

Yeah...the marching band stuff is pretty solid, but he something going with this "cosmic bebop" model. Change your style if it's organic, or good, but otherwise be wary, since a lot of people over 25 just can't innovate properly, then they might die at 40.

[jxw137]

this must be summertime on some other planet in some other galaxy.

[jxw137]

AAH a year ago, type in ALBERT AYLER in youtube...NOTHING.... figured id give it ago and what comes up?! my absolute favorite recording by the man. This is the best example of what he's all about. I wish he played like this more often, but this recording is def. special. esp. since this isn't even his regular group. these are more straight ahead cats trying to get it, but...everything just happens to work here. its beautiful. THANKS FOR THE UPLOAD

[IzzyIsou]

The world is sad, beautiful and the spiritual - and physical - arena of all that which is and will never be again. This music reminds us that we are human in both our finiteness and immortality.

Peace to Ayler and all "Ghosts". Thanks for posting.

[MagicRain505]

I wouldn't imagine him saying "he's profoundly ahead of me" but I could imagine him saying "he has the same if not higher love for the human soul as I do."

They are all soulful giants. Albert, Pharoah, Trane, Dolphy, Ornette Coleman... all of them...

[opinioninflicting]

Well, Coltrane was humble, and saw in Ayler what would take him into his 65-67 explorations. It was the animal desperation in existence, Coltrane crystallizes in his final performances. The idea of standards got me listening to jazz, initially, since the linguistic meaning of the song is kinda known in advance. Coltrane favored "My Favorite Things" right to the end.

[syr1811]

MagicRain505 - I kinda agree with you here. To me it's all about the soul - that's what I hear in this & so much else by these other guys you throw up here. For me, Ornette isn't quite in this group - meaning no disrespect to his music.

[LGLG69]

Mind blowing