Jazz's Holy Ghost

Richard Koloda's Holy Ghost: The Life And Death Of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler manages to provide a biography and overview of Ayler's work in less than 300 pages. Tragically cut short, Ayler's music presents a challenge. His last recordings were, quite frankly, mostly unsuccessful attempts to reach a larger audience with a popular or R&B oriented sound. While Ayler was definitely rooted in the same musical traditions that led to R&B, his forays in that direction suffered from some poor singing, lyrics, and a lack of a solid band. Yet, just before his presumed suicide, Ayler seemed optimistic and spoke of an upcoming tour in Japan. He had also returned from a successful trip in Europe, so things seemed to have been looking bright again for jazz's Holy Ghost. Unfortunately, the end of Ayler's brief life and career deprived us of the opportunity to see which direction he was about to take musically. Undoubtedly, it would have been a spiritually-charged music that showcased his unique voice and talent as a saxophonist. But would he have found musical partners as great as his previous ones? Musicians of the caliber of Peacock, Murray, Cecil Taylor, or a Donald Ayler who matched so perfectly with Ayler's direction? The problem of finding a solid band of musicians seems to have particularly plagued Ayler after the brilliant performances and recordings of the mid-1960s, which gave us classics like "Ghosts" or "Spirits Rejoice." No one else quite mastered his ability to take folkloric, spiritual, gospel, and the blues to unheard of heights through masterful use of the higher register of the saxophone, collective improvisation and even playfulness. 

With the benefit of Koloda's book, Ayler's complex music and the directions it took over the pivotal early period of free jazz is clearly presented. Ayler's personal life, with some questionable choices (abandoning his first son, not working regularly at club dates in NYC to support his wife and child, kicking out members of his group without telling them, and the split with his brother, Donald) help us understand him as a musician and human being. Some of the religious, spiritually-charged and New Age-like philosophy is hard to stomach now. But it was specific to that era, particularly in the avant-garde of jazz, and Ayler was undeniably part of the Trinity (Coltrane, Sanders, Ayler). Koloda also, despite his own obvious affection for the Ayler brothers, tries to remain fair with lengthy quotations and excerpts, showing the opinion of both aficionados and harsh critics of Ayler's oeuvre. In his own way, Koloda also demonstrates some respect for Amiri Baraka's support for the Aylers, although the anti-Semitic and simple-minded "Crow Jim" attitudes about white musicians are extreme or unnecessary. At the end of the day, one only wishes the author relied less heavily on extensive quotes (sometimes repeated more than once). But for everyone interested in a study of Ayler that attempts to balance biography and analysis of his music, one would not be wrong to begin here.