Portfolio > Musician Portraits

Albert Ayler, Spirits Rejoice
Albert Ayler
woodcut
18" x 36"
2010

Albert Ayler was the molten core of Free Jazz. He put it all on the line. Stripped it all down to a child-like melody line and layered it with fierce emotional explosions. It's a skronk not too many people can take for long, but I just love the anger, the beauty, the love, the tsunami of it all. It's a blast and he blasted it w/ his brother, Donald on trumpet, Gary Peacock on bass, Charlie Higgins on drums, and many others who helped pour the boiling oil on the unbelievers.