Albert Ayler :: Europe 1966

Europe 1966 is a 4-LP set documenting four of Albert Ayler’s performances with his quintet that took place over a ten-day period in November 1966. The collection includes the band’s appearances in Berlin, Lörrach, Stockholm, and Paris, where the saxophonist and his group took part in a package tour called Newport In Europe, a George Wein-curated program that also included Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, and Dave Brubeck. Ayler’s group on this tour consisted of his brother Donald Ayler on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, William Folwell on double bass, and Beaver Harris on drums. (The latter replaced longtime Ayler accompanist Sunny Murray, who opted not to make the European trip.)

The first thing one may notice about Ayler’s tunes on this tour is how relatively structured and poised they sound compared to their foundational earlier readings, with Ayler taking an almost chamber-like approach to his by-then familiar compositions. This is not to say these performances are tame, or that they lack moments of the expected emotional intensity; in fact, many of the group improvisations heard here are as thrilling as any in Ayler’s catalog.

Like his contemporary Ornette Coleman, Ayler’s reputation in the 1960s was that of a maverick hellbent on shunning every possible convention—but, as with Ornette, this ultimately proved to be an oversimplification. In utilizing popular and folk song forms as well as New Orleans brass band music and spirituals to express his vision, we see again, clearer than ever on this revelatory set, exactly how versatile and musically evolved Ayler really was. 

Recorded a mere four years before his untimely and controversial death and preceding by mere months the seminal Albert Ayler In Greenwich Village live set, the concerts included on Europe 1966 capture the self-proclaimed holy ghost in something of a transitional phase. Following his groundbreaking early work but occurring prior to his controversial later concessions to rhythm and blues, Europe 1966 provides a unique and crucial piece of the larger Ayler legacy.

Just as it is too tempting (and too easy) to read into Ayler’s pained and emotional playing some premonitory evidence of his well-documented inner turmoil, it’s perhaps an overstatement to suggest that one can hear a familial connection between Albert and Donald. That said, the Ayler brothers unquestionably possess an uncanny telepathic ability despite their disproportionate skills. Although he is unlikely to appear on many lists of great jazz trumpeters, Donald’s role in his brother’s band was a boon and galvanizing force, and he’s never sounded better or exhibited more mastery than on this collection. His vibrato on the Stockholm performance of “Our Prayer,” where a brief clarion call before “Bells” emerges as if from behind a curtain of fog, is a thing to behold.

Violinist Samson is another crucial variable here. Having also appeared on Ayler’s Live At Slug’s Saloon disc recorded in May of the same year, Samson is a natural foil not only to the Ayler brothers but also to the arco-favoring Folwell. The relatively polished Samson also underscores—if superficially—the sophistication of Ayler’s arrangements and the ensemble’s sound as a whole. 

Harris’ approach to percussion couldn’t have less in common with that of his predecessor Sunny Murray, but what Harris lacks in Murray’s verve and buoyancy he compensates for with driving rhythms that propel the band toward uncharted vistas; indeed, Harris often seems to be leading the band from section to section with his cues. 

Folwell, who would perform with Ayler until his death, has a wide and wandering style that occasionally recalls Gary Peacock, the bassist most commonly associated with Ayler, and provides a deft counterpoint to Harris’ more thunderous rhythmic contributions. (It’s worth noting that on previous CD issues of these recordings that I’ve heard, Folwell was often lost in the mix. Thankfully that is not the case here, a credit to the work of Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering).

It is Albert, however, who remains the draw, his unmistakably tremendous tone and indelible sing-song melody lines guiding but never dominating the performances. His tone is as wild and gritty as ever, but Europe 1966 provides a showcase for his versatility as a stylist and improvisor.  

The rendition of “Truth Is Marching In” recorded in Stockholm serves as a kind of template for Ayler’s work during this period. After four minutes of harmonically rich group rubato, the entire group swivels, arriving first at a triumphal march more Sousa than Sun Ra, only to morph on a dime into a unified cyclone of sound. 

Many of the tunes performed on this tour follow loosely this form: an impressionistic prelude states the general theme before the band, often led by Harris, sounding like a bubbling cauldron about to overflow, transitions to a turbulent, captivating blast of free playing. Occasionally, the band will return to an original theme mid-flight, only to again abandon it; this unpredictable structural development is complex and idiosyncratic, never resorting to head > freakout > head cliches. During the solos the group abandons the changes entirely, epitomizing Ornette’s conception of collective improvisation. Then, as if responding to some invisible celestial conductor, they return once again—as one—to the previous theme. 

The Berlin rendition of “Bells” recasts the original 1965 recording as a rousing fanfare. On more than one occasion the group seems on the verge of breaking into something from The Marriage of Figaro (see also: the performance of “Our Prayer” from Lörrach) then dart in unison toward a free-for-all that unexpectedly culminates in a brisk, joyful gallop. Rhythms ebb and flow, bar lines appear to dissolve, and time becomes elastic, but Ayler and band remain in control throughout. 

Casual jazz fans and even certain fusty critics have historically shortchanged Ayler, depriving him of the credit he deserves for encompassing and seamlessly integrating a veritable continuum of black and European music. It’s also perhaps tempting in hindsight when discussing any visionary artist to take their innovations for granted. To ears accustomed to the much wilder, more self-consciously revolutionary music that followed the nascent New Thing experiments of Ornette and Ayler, the latter might even sound today a bit old fashioned. 

Perhaps Ayler saw this coming. If so, it could be argued that Europe 1966 is recorded evidence of the saxophonist seeking new pathways by which to attain transcendence through sound. He finds such avenues here, in music that is alternately charming, abstract, and hypnotic—music that continues, almost sixty years later, to mesmerize.