News & Updates — Albert Ayler

Happy birthday to one of my all time favorites, the radical tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler, a man who brought his biting R&B/gospel tone to the intergalactic free jazz world and pushed the music to it's freaky limits. Born in that storied freak-music town of Cleveland OH, he was inspired by the church before joining Little Walter's band in '52. A stint in the military found Stanley Turrentine and Beaver Harris as jam partners. He moved to Sweden in '62 and started making albums, as well as a brief stint with Cecil Taylor. In '64 he found himself in NYC and...

One of the heaviest drummers in jazz, William "Beaver" Harris came out of a baseball family in Pittsburgh (in fact, his father was a founder of the Negro Leagues Pittsburgh team and two of Harris' uncles were pro players as well). A teenaged Beaver played professionally at 3B for the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs, New York Black Yankees and Indianapolis Clowns. After playing reed instruments as a child he started playing drums while in the military at 20. While stationed at Fort Knox, he played in a band with Albert Ayler and Stanley Turrentine. After discharge he was playing...