Donald Ayler
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Donald Ayler (October 5, 1942 – October 21, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was best known for his participation in concerts and recordings by groups led by his older brother, 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 ...
. An obituary in
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praised his "buzzing, declamatory trumpet playing, which was part Holy Roller primitive, part avant garde firebrand".


Biography

Ayler was born in
Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. One of Cleveland's historic streetcar suburbs, it was founded as a village in 1903 and a city in 1921. History The area that is ...
, United States, and grew up in
Shaker Heights Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cockta ...
, graduating from John Adams High School. He started out playing alto saxophone; however, according to
Val Wilmer Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Life ...
, he "became frustrated when he could not achieve the mobility and sound that had come so easily to his brother. At one point he even put a tenor reed into his alto in an attempt to 'sound like Coltrane'." At the urging of his brother, who was in the process of establishing himself musically, and who was about to leave for a European tour, he switched to trumpet, and began practicing up to nine hours a day, working with his friend and distant relative
Charles Tyler Admiral Sir Charles Tyler, GCB (1760 – 28 September 1835) was a naval officer in the British Royal Navy who gained fame during the Napoleonic Wars as a naval captain that fought at the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) and Battle of Trafalgar, bec ...
, and attending the
Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...
. When Albert returned to the United States, he formed a new band, which included both his brother and Charles Tyler, along with bassist Lewis Worrell and drummer
Sunny Murray James Marcellus Arthur "Sunny" Murray (September 21, 1936 – December 7, 2017) was an American musician, and was one of the pioneers of the free jazz style of drumming. Biography Murray was born in Idabel, Oklahoma, where he was raised by an ...
. Donald went on to tour and record with the group from 1965-1968, participating in the recording of Bells, Spirits Rejoice, Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village, Love Cry, and several other albums, and also worked with
Paul Bley Paul Bley, Order of Canada, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a Canadian jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live per ...
and
Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such albums as ''My Fa ...
.
Val Wilmer Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Life ...
described the band's sound: "Don Ayler's skittery, up-tempo streaking, lbertAyler's nagging at an idea like a dog worrying a bone, Murray's shivering cymbal-work and the banshee wail he kept up throughout the performance. The intense, braying ensembles and raggedy bugle-calls and marches - the younger Ayler's idea... became standard practice for any ensemble of the period that considered itself hip. To Ayler... the musicians were playing in a 'spiritual dimension'." In a 1966 interview with
Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. F ...
, when asked how he would advise people to listen to their music, Donald stated the following: "One way not to isten to itis to focus on the notes and stuff like that. Instead, try to move your imagination toward the sound. It's a matter of following the sound... Follow the sound, the pitches, the colours. You have to watch them move." Other notable performances included a concert with
John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...
at
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on February 19, 1966, featuring an expanded group that included Albert and Donald,
Pharoah Sanders Pharoah Sanders (born Ferrell Lee Sanders; October 13, 1940 – September 24, 2022) was an American jazz saxophonist. Known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on the saxophone, as well as his use of "sheets of sound", San ...
, Carlos Ward,
Alice Coltrane Alice Lucille Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda () or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader. An accomplished pianist and one o ...
,
Jimmy Garrison James Emory Garrison (March 3, 1934 – April 7, 1976) was an American jazz double bassist. He is best remembered for his association with John Coltrane from 1961 to 1967. Career Garrison was born in Miami, Florida, and moved when he was 1 ...
,
Rashied Ali Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson (July 1, 1933 – August 12, 2009), was an American free jazz and Avant-garde jazz, avant-garde drummer who was best known for performing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life. Biography Earl ...
, and J. C. Moses. Following Coltrane's death on July 17, 1967, the Ayler quartet, now featuring the Ayler brothers plus bassist Richard Davis and drummer Milford Graves, played at his funeral on July 21. They performed three pieces including Donald's ''Our Prayer''.
Val Wilmer Valerie Sybil Wilmer (born 7 December 1941) is a British photographer and writer specialising in jazz, gospel, blues, and British African-Caribbean music and culture. Her notable books include ''Jazz People'' (1970) and ''As Serious As Your Life ...
stated that, at the funeral service, "Donald Ayler stood on a balcony beside his saxophonist brother and played a spine-chilling lament. Wildly flagging his trumpet valves and swaying backwards and forwards, he seemed to scream through the instrument." A recording of this performance was released in 2004 on the compilation ''
Holy Ghost Most Christian denominations believe the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, to be the third divine Person of the Trinity, a triune god manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each being God. Nontrinitarian Christians, who ...
''. By the late 1960s, Donald began to exhibit signs of mental instability, and had what he called a "nervous breakdown," for which Albert apparently blamed himself. In 1968, he departed the band, as "Albert's record company was grooming him for the rock market and did not want Donald." Donald managed to start a new band, and in 1969, Albert joined them onstage for a concert. (The ''
Holy Ghost Most Christian denominations believe the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, to be the third divine Person of the Trinity, a triune god manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each being God. Nontrinitarian Christians, who ...
'' compilation includes recordings of two previously-unreleased Donald Ayler compositions, "Prophet John" and "Judge Ye Not", from this concert, which also featured saxophonist Sam Rivers.) However, in late 1970 Albert was found dead in New York, devastating his brother. Donald returned to Cleveland, and did not play music for nearly three years. By the late 1970s, with the help and encouragement of saxophonists Mustafa Abdul Rahim and Al Rollins (who ran a barbershop), Ayler began to play again. In 1981, he performed in
Florence, Italy Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...
and recorded a three-volume album that also featured Rahim and saxophonist Frank Doblekar. However, "he was unable to sustain a career", and spent much of his remaining life in assisted living or nursing home facilities. He appeared in the 2005 documentary film '' My Name Is Albert Ayler'', where he talked about his and Albert's life, their music and their relationship, and also appeared in archival footage from various years. Ayler suffered a heart attack on October 21, 2007, and died at Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare in Northfield, Ohio. He was survived by his father, and was buried next to his mother in Highland Park Cemetery in Highland Hills, Ohio.


Discography

As a leader * ''In Florence 1981 - Vol. 1'' (Frame, 1981) * ''In Florence 1981 - Vol. 2'' (Frame, 1981) * ''In Florence 1981 - Vol. 3'' (Frame, 1981) With
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 ...
*'' Bells'' (ESP-Disk, 1965) *'' Spirits Rejoice'' (ESP-Disk, 1965) *'' Lörrach / Paris 1966'' (hat Musics, 1966
982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Taranto, and proceeds along the gulf coas ...
* '' The New Wave in Jazz'' (on one track; Impulse!, 1966) *'' Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village'' ( Impulse!, 1967) *'' Love Cry'' (Impulse!, 1968) * ''The Village Concerts'' (Impulse!, 1980) * '' At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 1'' (Base Record, 1982) * '' At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 2'' (Base Record, 1982) * '' Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70)'' (Revenant, 2004) * '' Stockholm, Berlin 1966'' (hatOLOGY, 2011) * '' La Cave Live, Cleveland 1966 Revisited'' (ezz-thetics, 2022)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayler, Donald American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Musicians from Cleveland 1942 births 2007 deaths Avant-garde jazz trumpeters 20th-century American trumpeters Jazz musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians John Adams High School (Ohio) alumni