Albert Ayler C/D

It’s true that it was apparently BBC policy to wipe/re-use tape whenever possible. Seemingly every episode of the History Of Rock Music In 500 Songs podcast that deals with UK acts mentions a TV appearance erased by the BBC (including popular things like shows featuring stars of The Goon Show).

I believe it was Val Wilmer in As Serious As Your Life who started the myth about Ayler’s performance “horrifying” those at the BBC. No mention was made in her book about his European TV appearances. My Name Is Albert Ayler occasionally pops up on YouTube, usually just for a couple of days at a time before it’s taken down. It’s a very well-done film, and its only downside (at least, on the download I found years ago) is that there aren’t subtitles for the Swedish- and Danish-speakers, but that’s not a huge part of the film. It does include footage of Dutch and/or German TV appearances, and at one point in the late ‘00s these performances appeared in full on YouTube for about a week.

Yeah wondered if it might be As Serious As Your life or teh Freedom Principle both of which I read in the mid 80s that I heard it from . Or a music weekly or something. Did think I had it as a grail item for decades, so not sure why I didn't hear about the European footage until now.
But it was wiped pre transmission which is the big shame. The German footage in the documentary does look pretty frenzied and the lack of subtitles in Swedish is a pain. Seems to still be streaming in some Asian territories. My Name Is Albert Ayler.

It's a mystery why it's never appeared on DVD or any streaming services. I have a bad feeling -- and this is pure conjecture on my part -- that the Bernard Stollman estate is somehow preventing it from getting wider distribution (Stollman sued Revenant Records into near-bankruptcy over the Holy Ghost box). Filmmaker Kasper Collin's other (great) documentary, I Called Him Morgan, is widely available.

Finished teh book and saw most of the do0cumentary though do wish I had subtitles for Swedish.
So have seen some clips of Ayler playing finally. Do wish there was more of it available both complete live footage sets and the documentary in full form.
Doc includes some 66 footage and some from the Fondation Maeght in 1970. They do sound noisier than a traditional jazz band though do use themes from there and elsewhere.

Have been listening to the cd I have of Bells and Prophecy which captures Ayler at 2 slightly different points . One with brother Donald just jpined and the other with just bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. Murray turns up in the documentary too.
I know I have the 2cd Greenwich Village set and Love Cry definitely. Think I have New Grass and may have a few other titles. Think I may have had Slug's saloon in the mid 90s but not sure if I still do.
& have been listening through a few tracks of what Spotify have of his material which isn't quite the same thing.
Need to immerse myself in full lps I think.
I see there si a cheap collection of a lot of his early stuff including the Scandinavian dates and about half of the ESP stuff. Which I might grab.

My biggest regret as a Discogs seller is letting go of my Holy Ghost box set a few years ago. What the hell was I thinking in that moment of weakness?

still very reasonable $150 on Discogs, but yeah I feel ya, I still have mine

You can watch the entire documentary on the bilibili app, which is kind of like a Chinese YouTube. I downloaded the iPhone version of the app. The documentary is fantastic, but yes, there are only a couple of isolated live clips in it. There’s also a short video that just shows him looking into the camera and smiling mysteriously; the clip lasts for just a few seconds and they loop it throughout the film—it gives a haunting glimpse of his charisma. There are numerous interviews with his brother and fellow musicians, a clip of his dad trying to find Albert’s grave, neat photos of Cleveland from his youth, info about where his kids and grandkids ended up.

I forgot to mention that Albert himself provides much of the voiceover from a couple of surviving recorded interviews. Gives me the chills to hear him speaking.

Working on getting through the new book in the last few days, it’s great to have the information and the record straight in certain cases but the writing itself leaves a bit to be desired.

I’ve been to Ayler’s grave — it’s actually pretty easy to find within the cemetery, and well-maintained, especially compared to other graves that are almost completely obscured by overgrowth. One thing about it that struck me as a little odd is that under his military rank — “PFC US Army” — it says “Vietnam.” I guess it’s because that was the conflict happening during Ayler’s service, even though he never went there.