Holy Ghost: The Life And Death Of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler

by Richard Koloda

Holy Ghost is the first extended study of free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler, who is seen today as one of the most important innovators in the history of jazz.  Ayler synthesized children’s songs, La Marseillaise, American march music, and gospel hymns, turning them into powerful, rambunctious, squalling free-jazz improvisations. Some critics considered him a charlatan, others a heretic for unhinging the traditions of jazz. Some simply considered him insane. However, like most geniuses, Ayler was misunderstood in his time. His divine messages of peace and love, apocalyptic visions of flying saucers, and the strange account of the days leading up to his being found floating in New York’s East River are central to his mystique, but, as Koloda points out, they are a distraction, overshadowing his profound impact on the direction of jazz as one of the most visible avant-garde players of the 1960s and a major influence on others, including John Coltrane.  A musicologist and friend of Don Ayler, Albert’s troubled trumpet-playing brother, Richard Koloda has spent over two decades researching this book. He follows Ayler from his beginnings in his native Cleveland to France, where he received his greatest acclaim, to his untimely death on November 25, 1970, at age thirty-four, and puts to rest speculation concerning his mysterious death.  A feat of biography and a major addition to jazz scholarship, Holy Ghost offers a new appreciation of one of the most important and controversial figures in twentieth-century music.

Genres: Music, Jazz, Biography, Nonfiction

312 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2022

Reviews

[Alan (The Lone Librarian) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery Spirit
Review of the Jawbone Press Kindle eBook (November 15, 2022) released simultaneously with the paperback edition.

Val Wilmer was the first critic to notice this source in Ayler’s music. It was the coalescence of all that preceded him—spirituals, funeral dirges, bugle calls, the blues, and marches of the past. His growls, she wrote, would ‘produce coarse, gutteral effects’ that hark back to the sounds of Earl Bostic and Illinois Jacquet.

The notion of collective improvisation which pre-dated even King Oliver found its modern incarnation in the Ayler brothers’ free jazz: it was spiritual music that demanded musicians listen to each other, rather than being concerned with what they themselves were playing. It was ‘free’ music in the sense that it was built on the relationship of free sounds.

[4 is an averaged rating from 5 for the research involved & 3 for readability/limited hyperlinks in the Kindle eBook/unresizeable photographs]

The music of avant-garde jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler (1936-1970) was mostly ignored in his brief lifetime with live performances mostly limited to small jazz clubs and lofts and record releases on obscure European and indie American labels. Most of his discography has been released posthumously and it has expanded considerably even as recently as 2022 with the 5LP/4CD set of "Revelations" (see below under Soundtrack.

His style blended everything from early New Orleans marches and Army bugle calls to the most dissonant and atonal types of free-wheeling experimental sounds. Despite all the criticism by many contemporary jazz critics, he was well respected by many of his peers, notably John Coltrane (1926-1967) whose funeral he was specifically asked to perform at.

Richard Koloda's biography is a massive undertaking which gathers a phenomenal amount of research material. The bibliography section alone takes up about 20% of the book. It is obviously difficult to assemble a complete life story when many of the contemporaries from over 50 to 60 years ago are now gone as well. Much of the book is limited to quotes from reviews and reactions to live performances and recording sessions and releases, so that it reads much like a gigography and sessionography. The human element is mostly missing and the glimpses that we have of it are quite sad e.g. Ayler making a visit home to Cleveland and going to a schoolyard in order to see his estranged son Curtis and having to ask which one he was among the other kids, before giving him $1. Then there is of course the even more sad speculation as to the reasons behind Ayler's apparent suicide by drowning in the East River of New York City from where his body was recovered in November 1970.


Photograph of Albert Ayler (soprano saxophone) with Steve Tintweiss (bass) and Mary Parks (vocals) performing at Nuits de la Fondation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence, France, July 1970. Image sourced from The New Yorker April 26, 2022.

Still it is a terrific achievement to have pulled this all together and Koloda deserves all the acclaim for having done so. I was disappointed that the photographs and captions section of the Kindle eBook did not seem to be enlargeable on my devices and also that many of the possible online sources were not hyperlinked (possibly many of them didn't exist, but there were at least several that weree in place).

p.s. If you are not familiar with Ayler's music, then it is best to start with A.4. Swing Low Sweet Spiritual in the Soundtrack section below, before tackling the more experimental albums.

Other Reviews
All About Jazz by Matt Marshall, November 15, 2022.
London Jazz News by Tony Dudley-Evans, October 31, 2022.

Soundtrack
These were the Albert Ayler albums that I was listening to while reading Holy Ghost:
A. Albert Ayler: The Early Albums Collection Originally recorded & released 1962-1966, Budget priced anthology collection released by Enlightenment 2020.

Cover image sourced from Discogs.
Listen to some of the full albums on YouTube:
1. Something Different!!!!! [Recorded October 25, 1962 at the Academy of Music, Stockholm, Sweden] (Tracks 5-8 first released 1963) starting with "I Remember April" through to "Free" here.
2. My Name is Albert Ayler [Recorded 1963 in Copenhagen, Denmark & released 1964] (Tracks 1-6) starting with "Introduction" through to "C.T." here.
3. Spirits [Recorded February 24, 1964 at Atlantic Studios, New York City] (Tracks 1-4) starting with "Spirits" through to "Saints" here.
4. Swing Low Sweet Spiritual [Recorded February 24, 1964 at Atlantic Studios, New York City not released until 1981] Reissued as Goin' Home [1994] Listen to the reissue including bonus tracks here.
5. Prophecy [Recorded Live June 14, 1964 at the Cellar Cafe, New York City, not released until 1975] There is no YouTube posting of this full album as far as I could find.
6. Albert Smiles With Sunny [Recorded Live June 14, 1964 at the Cellar Cafe, New York City, not released until 1996] There is no separate posting of this album, but see under B. Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost below for CD 1 Tracks 6. to 8. and CD 2 Tracks 1. to 3.
7. Spiritual Unity [Recorded July 10, 1964 in New York City] Listen to 5 tracks on the reissue from "Ghosts First Variation" to "Vibrations" here.
8. New York Eye and Ear Control [Recorded July 17, 1964 in New York City] Listen to a reissue here.

B. Albert Ayler - Holy Ghost: Rare and Unissued Recordings 1962-1970 Released 2004 by Revenant Records.

Cover image sourced from Discogs.
Someone has posted this very rare 10+ hour collection on YouTube here.

C. Albert Ayler: Revelations - The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings Released 2022.

Cover image sourced from Discogs.

Trivia and Link
There is a mini-biography of Albert Ayler at Pitchfork April 28, 2016.

[Phil Overeem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enormously valuable as the best resource yet on Ayler's life and work, but it is written in workmanlike style. I bought it with great excitement but found it a bit of slog. Will keep it in the library, though.

[Tony Gualtieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished the book.
Albert Ayler remains an enigma.
Just as it should be.

[Jeff Crompton · Rating 4 out of 5]

So who was Albert Ayler, the subject of this biography? He was the most extreme jazz musician in the history of the music; his music took things further than even late Coltrane. A typical Albert Ayler solo was a triple forte, atonal swirl of sound, played with such speed and distorted sound that it was impossible to distinguish individual notes - the effect was that Ayler was painting abstract sonic shapes in the air. These screaming improvisations were delivered over churning backgrounds with no regular pulse - the bass and drums provided texture, color, and forward motion, but no steady beat, harmony, or even key. Somewhat strangely, the ensemble passages that set up these solos were often composed of the simplest musical materials: folk-like melodies with basic harmonies and march-like rhythms.

Musically and personally, Albert Ayler was a contradictory, baffling figure. His earliest recordings, of jazz standards, are nearly as bizarre as his later work. He plays the melodies competently, but his solos don't seem to have any discernable relationship to the underlying chords. Later on, he often used the same title for different compositions, or used different titles for different recordings of the same composition. And those titles often had mystical, spiritual implications: "Ghosts," "Spirits Rejoice," "Zion Hill," "Angels." He was revered as a genius and condemned as a charlatan during his life. The circumstances of his early death were mysterious, and remain so over half a century later.

Koloda's biography clarifies things somewhat, but leaves us with plenty of unanswered questions. And that's probably appropriate with a figure like Ayler. He covers the bases and presents us with the basic facts of Ayler's life. As far as the music is concerned, he relies on quotes (perhaps a bit too heavily) to give us a variety of opinions about each of Ayler's recordings. In short, this biography is well worth reading, but it's perhaps more serviceable than inspiring.

To end personally - I have been fascinated with Ayler's music for years. I love it, even as I feel that I will never completely understand it. My introduction to his music came when I was 16. I had become intensely interested in jazz, and my mother, who loved to rummage through junk stores, would bring home any record that appeared to be a jazz album. One day she brought me a sampler of avant-garde jazz on the Arista label. I like some of it right away - particularly the tracks by Anthony Braxton and Oliver Lake - but when I heard "Saints" by Albert Ayler, I was horrified. I thought it was the ugliest music I had ever heard. But I was also curious - why would anyone create music like this? So I listened again. And again. On that third spin, I heard that one of Ayler's "ugly" squiggles was actually a melody - one that he returned to over and over again throughout the piece. "Saints" was a semi-improvised rondo! Once I understood how that it was a piece of music with logic and structure, no matter how abstract, I was able to respond to it emotionally. I've been an Albert Ayler fan ever since.

[Stevolende · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to have a coherent narrative of the life of an artist that I've enjoyed for decades.
Somewhat tragic story but well written.
& I think Ayler has had a lot more recognition since his death. This book suggests the possibility that Impulse records would have made him the main point of focus in their avant jazz coverage had he not disappeared to Europe again. I'm not sure how happy he would have been with being in that limelight had it happened. He seems to have not enjoyed the recognition he was getting towards the end of his short life. This book also clears up some of the myth of that death i.e. no jukebox
It is good to know from this book that there is surviving footage of Ayler from a couple of different eras of his work. There is visual material from Germany and possibly Holland in 1966 and his performance from the Fondation Maeght in 1970.
If you can track down the Swedish tv documentary My Name Is Albert Ayler from 2005 and i would really try to do so. Just watched that too and it is pretty good. Contains clips of that existing footage .
Would be improved by having subtitles for the Swedish interviewees which the version I saw didn't.
Anyway recommended book on an artist I enjoy and now have more understanding of.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, surprisingly critical and very thorough analysis of Albert Ayler's life and work. I would agree that some of Ayler's later work is virtually unlistenable and now I know why. It seems that Albert Ayler wanted to break into the mainstream and was influenced pretty heavily by Mary Parks, his last girlfriend. This was not necessarily a good thing: spoken word (bad, bad poetry) and bagpipes came into play at this point. However, I would say that his last concerts in France in July, 1970 are pretty majestic, as are his pre-1968 recordings. I still hope that more reissues, especially his live work, are forthcoming. Either way, Koloda did a fantastic job here; really, everything one could ask for, except personalizing the man himself. I feel like the 3-4 page afterward about Donald Ayler painted a more thorough picture of him as a person than the rest of the book did for Albert. Small criticism though. This is definitely more than worth your time if you're curious about 60's free jazz and Albert Ayler's role in the this era.

[Marcus Löwgren]

Få musiker har varit vattendelare på samma sätt som Albert Ayler. Man kallar det oväsen eller andligt, inga mellanting här inte. Richard Koloda gör ett strålande försök att locka över skeptikerna till de religiösa anhängarna med sin bok. I en omfattande presentation av artiklar, recensioner och intervjuer pusslas det ihop ett porträtt av en musiker vars erkännande tyvärr kom alldeles för tätt inpå hans bortgång.

En liten (men ändå viktig) kritik kan riktas mot bokens receptionshistoriska fokus. Till större del baseras berättandet på ett stort urval av konsert- och skivrecensioner. Bokens bästa delar återfinns dock i intervjuerna där Ayler och hans medmusiker berättar om sina konstnärliga idéer och avsikter. Dessa redogörelser är både intressanta och ger en utmärkt introduktion till en musikgenre som även den mest öppensinnade av lyssnare kan ha svårt att ta till sig.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty niche material and as others have mentioned, on the dry side. The majority of the writing covers Ayler’s life through the music business. Records an album, performs, and is frequently met with believers in his sound and those who are not into it. He ran in some interesting circles if you’re familiar with the major jazz players of the time.

If this doesn’t spark you as interesting then move on. It’s a cool book to *say* you’re reading, though.

Read it quickly for best results, I think.

[Andy McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book about a saxophone player who pushed the boundaries about what the instrument and his band could do or should do. There are so many amazing details and quotes that you can really tell that the author put a ton of effort into writing the book. I learned so much about Albert Ayler, and I also learned about his brother, Don Ayler, who I did not know about until reading this book.

[Fred Bianco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought it was a good read, but I'm a fan of Free Jazz guys like Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and Albert Ayler. A good, well-researched biography of Ayler, an artist who was probably ahead of his time, misunderstood and derided by critics and other musicians in his day, and even today is underappreciated.

[Will Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and remarkably thorough portrait of one of music's most enigmatic legends. Found myself deeply moved by the postscript about Donald - especially his dreams of playing with Albert. Hope they're together at the show now.

[Brian Shevory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first learned about Albert Ayler from Lou Reed. I think it was either in Please Kill Me or the writings of Lester Bangs that Reed explains how Ayler’s The Bells motivated him to record some more experimental works, particularly Metal Machine Music, an album with which I became fascinated. At the time, it was hard to find Ayler’s stuff on CD. Impulse hadn’t rereleased the double album featuring live recordings from the Village Vanguard, and so I think that the first album I found from him was Witches and Devils. I was excited to listen to it, at the time seeking out more and more experimental jazz music. I loved Coletrane’s experimental and exploratory sounds, as well as saxophonists like Ornette Coleman. I hadn’t discovered Frank Wright, Frank Lowe, or Giusippi Logan (or much of ESP disc for that matter), but I was eager to explore. I will never forget the feeling of disorientation that overcame me as I listened to Ayler for the first time. It wasn’t quite nausea, but a kind of imbalance—like a sense of feeling dizzy, maybe like vertigo, as I listened to the lilting wailing of Ayler’s saxophone. I had to shut it off after about 10 minutes or so. It was too much. I somewhat understood what Lou Reed meant when he said he wanted to bring Ayler to rock music. It was a moving experience, and one that only happened a handful of times that I listened to music. Thus, Koloda’s book about Ayler was a welcome edition since there aren’t many books that explore and examine this iconic and experimental performer in American jazz. Furthermore, there are so many myths and mysteries surrounding Ayler’s life and death, I was eager to learn more about him. Koloda’s book does not disappoint, and traces Ayler’s life from growing up in Cleveland, learning music in clubs there, and eventually leaving the US to practice and learn Jazz in Europe, which had a profound effect on his style and themes in music. While not as technically gifted as other saxophonists like Coltrane and Coleman, Ayler brought his own unique approach to the instrument, becoming an influential player through his emotional approach and the brutality of the notes he played—I mean brutality in the kind of powerful violence he brought to some of his playing, not necessarily ugly. I really enjoyed learning more about Ayler’s experiences in Europe, but it was also sad to see that no one really got him or that his opportunities for success and exposure to wider audience were always kind of dashed. After reading this book, I’m not sure if this was due to the lack of a marketable audience who was ready for Ayler’s unique voice and musical approach or that Ayler also kind of undermined his opportunities by not playing the game or appealing to more popular sentiments. It seems like it could be a combination of both as Koloda indicates that Ayler was absent from some of his other responsibilities, including fatherhood and marriages. Although not perfect as a man, Ayler is an important musician who reinterpreted music in his own unique voice, challenging our ideas of Jazz and reinterpreting the avant garde. I really enjoyed reading about Ayler’s later experiences and albums, since some of those albums on Impulse are my favorites. After growing to appreciate some of his earlier works, I really love Music is the Healing Force of the Universe, even if this is a kind of divisive album. This and Love Cry always confused me because they are so different from his earlier work, but reading this book helped me understand the changing trajectory of Ayler’s work and how his expanded musical influences and collaborators led to these outcomes (although I’m not so sure about New Grass which I don’t really like and was rather disappointed with). I still don’t understand what happened with Ayler’s death, although Koloda offers some insight. Sadly it seems like the lack of opportunities and professional success may have combined with some lingering mental illness, possibly schizophrenia, and led to Ayler’s death at 34. In interviewing his brother, Donald Ayler, who also collaborated, played with and adopted Albert’s playing style to trumpet, we get a sense that there may have been some likelihood that mental illness may have been a part of their family. However, despite the tragic ending, I think that Koloda’s book champions one of the most unique and underappreciated voices in American avant garde jazz, and helps to contextualize Ayler’s influence in not just jazz, but other genre pushing artists. Glad that Koloda wrote this great book on Ayler.

[Lloyd Jassin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long overdue biography of avant-garde free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler.

[Lloyd J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Booklist (starred review) said it best, ". . . deeply perceptive, revelatory, and vibrant biography confirms beyond a doubt Albert Ayler’s standing as a visionary in the jazz pantheon."