| Ayler Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder | Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn |
| Genre | Jazz, free jazz, improvised music |
| Country of origin | France |
| Location | Limours |
| Official website | ayler |
| Slogan | "Never for money, always for love." |
Ayler Records is an independent record label that focuses on jazz, free jazz, and improvised music.
Named after saxophonist Albert Ayler, the label was founded in Sweden in 2000 by Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn. [1] [2] [3] The majority of Ayler's early releases were live recordings of European and American free jazz groups, many of them taped at the Glenn Miller Café in Stockholm, where Ström helped to book musicians. [2] [4] In 2009, Ayler relocated to France, where it is managed by Stéphane Berland, who had joined the label in 2005, and who is now the sole overseer. [3] [5] [6] Recent releases are, according to writer Nick Ostrum, "not really jazz or free jazz, though they all lay somewhere on the musical fringes," suggesting "interesting and unpredictable things to come," [7] and reflecting a broadening of the label's catalogue. [3]
Ayler Records releases have been noted for their unique cover art and design. [4] From 2000 to 2008, covers featured a beige background and reproductions of paintings by co-founder Åke Bjurhamn, while releases from 2009 on have cover art designed by Stéphane Berland, who earns a living as a graphic designer and writer in the advertising field. [8]
Writer Krištof Budke called the label's catalogue "brilliant, forward-thinking, progressive and extremely creative," [8] while reviewer Rex Butters praised Ayler for "[doing] its part to retrieve deserving free records from obscurity." [9] Ayler Records releases have received praise from Jazzwise , [10] JazzTimes , [11] Tom Hull, [12] Point of Departure, [13] Paris Transatlantic, [14] Dusted Magazine, [15] and The Times . [16]
James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming.
Jonas Kullhammar is a Swedish jazz composer, saxophonist and is one of Sweden's most established jazz musicians.
Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come is a 1963 live album by American jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, recorded at the Café Montmartre in Copenhagen on November 23, 1962. This concert is nearly all that Taylor recorded from 1962 to 1966.
Spiritual Unity is a studio album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler. It was recorded on July 10, 1964 in New York City, and features bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. It was the first album recorded for Bernard Stollman's ESP-Disk label, and it brought Ayler to international attention as it was so "shockingly different". At the same time, it transformed ESP-DISK into "a major source for avant-garde jazz". A 5-star review in AllMusic called it a "landmark recording that's essential to any basic understanding of free jazz", "the album that pushed Albert Ayler to the forefront of jazz's avant-garde... really the first available document of Ayler's music that matched him with a group of truly sympathetic musicians", and stated that "the results are a magnificently pure distillation of his aesthetic."
Jemeel Moondoc was a jazz saxophonist who played alto saxophone. He was a proponent of a highly improvisational style.
Noah Howard was an American free jazz alto saxophonist.
Live at the Glenn Miller Café is the third album by the AALY Trio + Ken Vandermark, which was recorded in Stockholm in 1999 and released on Wobbly Rail, a short-lived imprint started by Merge Records/Superchunk principal Mac McCaughan. AALY Trio is a Swedish free jazz band led by saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. Originally just a guest, Vandermark became a full member of the group.
The Great Vision Concert is an album by American jazz saxophonist Fred Anderson with bassist Harrison Bankhead, which was recorded live at the 2003 Vision Festival and released four years later on Ayler Records, a Swedish label founded by Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn.
Live at the Vision Festival is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded live at the 2001 Vision Festival and released on Ayler Records, a Swedish label founded by Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn. It was the second recording by the Jus Grew Orchestra, a large ensemble founded by Moondoc in the early 80s.
Live at Glenn Miller Café Vol 1 is an album by American jazz saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc, which was recorded in Stockholm and released on Ayler Records, a Swedish label founded by Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn. Moondoc leads a trio with bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake. The rhythm section had recorded the studio album ...and William Danced a few hours earlier with local saxophonist Anders Gahnold.
The Hilversum Session is an album by American free jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded at a radio studio in Hilversum, The Netherlands on November 9, 1964 and first released in 1980 on the now-defunct Dutch Osmosis label. It was later re-released on DIW, Coppens, ESP, and Modern Silence. In 2016, the tracks that appeared on The Hilversum Session were re-released by hatOLOGY on the European Radio Studio Recordings 1964.
Live on the Riviera is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler recorded on July 25, 1970 at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, and originally released in 2005 on the ESP-Disk label. The album, which was remastered and reissued by ESP-Disk in 2013, documents one of the last known performances by Ayler prior to his death in November of that year.
Live at the Kerava Jazz Festival is a live album by bassist Henry Grimes. It was recorded in June 2004 at the Kerava Jazz Festival in Kerava, Finland and was released by Ayler Records in 2005. On the album, Grimes is joined by saxophonist David Murray and drummer Hamid Drake. The album was Grimes's first recording as a leader since his 1966 debut The Call.
Live at Glenn Miller Café is a live album by saxophonist Arthur Doyle and drummer Sunny Murray. It was recorded in March 2000 at the Glenn Miller Café in Stockholm, Sweden, and was released in 2001 by Ayler Records. Although the album is credited to Doyle and Murray, the first three tracks are a duet between Murray and saxophonist Bengt Frippe Nordström, who died several months after the concert.
Live at Cafe Montmartre 1966, Volumes 1, 2, and 3, is a trio of live albums by trumpeter Don Cherry. The albums were recorded in March 1966 at the Cafe Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark, and were released by ESP-Disk in 2007, 2008, and 2009. On the recordings, Cherry is joined by saxophonist Gato Barbieri, vibraphonist Karl Berger, bassist Bo Stief, and drummer Aldo Romano. Volume 1 is accompanied by a bonus DVD sampler featuring a variety of the label's artists.
Live at Willisau is a live album by South African pianist and composer Chris McGregor's big band Brotherhood of Breath. It was recorded on January 27, 1973, in Willisau, Switzerland, and was released on LP by Ogun Records in 1974. In 1994, the album was reissued on CD with extra tracks. The recording took place eight days after the concert heard on Travelling Somewhere.
Free Jam is a double-CD live album by trumpeter Mongezi Feza. It was recorded during November and December 1972, and was released in 2004 by Ayler Records. On the album, Feza is accompanied by members of the Bernt Rosengren quartet, featuring Rosengren and Tommy Koverhult on saxophone, Torbjörn Hultcrantz on bass, and Leif Wennerström on drums. The group is also joined by percussionist Okay Temiz.
The Dynamic Duo Remember Trane and Bird is a double-CD live album by drummer Rashied Ali and multi-instrumentalist Arthur Rhames. It was recorded on August 29, 1981, at the Willisau Jazz Festival in Willisau, Switzerland, and was released in 2004 by Ayler Records. Rhames, who is heard on tenor saxophone and piano, appeared on only a handful of albums during his career, and died in 1989 at the age of 32.
Celebration is a live album by pianist Irène Schweizer and drummer Hamid Drake. It was recorded on July 26, 2019, at Konfrontationen Nickelsdorf, 40th Festival for Free and Improvised Music, held at Jazzgallery Nickelsdorf, Austria, and was released in 2021 by Intakt Records on the occasion of Schweizer's 80th birthday.
Sacred Ceremonies is a three-CD box set album by trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith on which he is joined by drummer Milford Graves and electric bassist Bill Laswell. Disc one was recorded on May 27, 2016, and features Smith and Graves in duo format. Disc two was recorded on May 26, 2016, and features Smith and Laswell. The entire trio is heard on disc three, which was recorded on December 11 and 12, 2015. All three discs were recorded at Orange Music Sound Studios in West Orange, New Jersey. The album was released by TUM Records in 2021.