Saturday, October 5, 2024

Toparvisan


According to Richard Koloda's study of Albert Ayler, the famous "Ghosts" is based on the Swedish folksong called "Torparvisan." While it is difficult to detect the similarity, supposedly the Swedish tune's harmonic structure was used by Ayler. Since Ayler spent part of his short life in Scandinavia, playing jazz with locals and other international musicians, it is certainly possible he was exposed to Scandinavian folk music. We also know Ayler was deeply influenced by folk, blues, and spirituals in the US, so it is not too much of a stretch for him to have been influenced by Swedish music. 

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