Ayler Records is an independent record label that focuses on

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

, and

improvised music Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

History

Named after saxophonist

Albert Ayler Albert Ayler (; July 13, 1936 – November 25, 1970) was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer. After early experience playing rhythm and blues and bebop, Ayler began recording music during the free jazz era of the 1960s. Ho ...

, the label was founded in Sweden in 2000 by Jan Ström and Åke Bjurhamn. 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. 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. 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," and reflecting a broadening of the label's catalogue.

Cover art

Ayler Records releases have been noted for their unique cover art and design. 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.

Reception

Writer Krištof Budke called the label's catalogue "brilliant, forward-thinking, progressive and extremely creative," while reviewer Rex Butters praised Ayler for " oingits part to retrieve deserving free records from obscurity." Ayler Records releases have received praise from ''

Jazzwise ''Jazzwise'' is a British monthly magazine focused on jazz, launched in 1997. The magazine covers a range of jazz sub-genres and provides news coverage, a national gig guide, a jazz-on-film page, feature articles, and a review section that evalua ...

'', ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'', Tom Hull, ''Point of Departure'', ''Paris Transatlantic'', ''Dusted Magazine'', and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''.

References

{{reflist Record labels established in 2000 French jazz record labels French independent record labels