THE EARLY ALBUMS COLLECTION (4CD) by ALBERT AYLER Compact Disc - 4 CD Box Set

The American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer, Albert Ayler, was a pioneer during the free-jazz-era of the early 1960s, however, some critics argue that while Ayler's style is undeniably original and unorthodox, it does not adhere to the generally accepted understanding of free jazz. In fact, Ayler's style is difficult to categorize, and it evoked incredibly strong and disparate reactions from critics and fans alike. His innovations however, have inspired many subsequent jazz musicians.

On November 5, 1970, Ayler disappeared, and was later found dead in New York City's East River on November 25, a presumed suicide. For some time afterwards, rumours circulated that Ayler had been murdered, with a long-standing urban legend that the Mafia had tied him to a jukebox. Later, however, his girlfriend Mary Maria Parks, would say that Ayler had been depressed and feeling guilty, blaming himself for his brother's problems. She stated that, just before his death, he had several times threatened to kill himself, smashed one of his saxophones over their television set after she tried to dissuade him, and then took the Statue of Liberty ferry and jumped off as it neared Liberty Island.

During Albert Ayler’s tragically short career however, he managed to produce some of the most ingenious, pioneering and creativemusic that the jazz world had yet witnessed, and while his work is as far from ‘easy listening’ as it is possible to get, in an age when an over-abundance of such is dropping off the trees, the challenge of listening to an Albert Ayler record can be more rewarding than ever before.

This boxed-set contains eight of the great man’s earliest recordings, all made in the first half of the 1960’s, which provide a uniqueopportunity for the beginner, the inquisitive, or those already well versed, to experience some of the finest music from the avant-jazz and free-jazz eras.