Charles Gayle, tenor saxophonist and pianist, has long been
one of the most fascinating figures on the New York City free jazz scene.
Moving from Buffalo to New York in the early 1970's, he fell on hard times, enduring
lengthy stretches of homelessness for the next twenty years. He began recording
regularly in the late 1980's playing torrid free jazz influenced by his extreme
evangelical Christianity. This album was recorded live at a Polish jazz club in
2014 and has Gayle supported by Ksawery Wojcinski on bass and Klaus
Kugel on drums. What is particularly interesting is the mix of music, with
Gayle's fire breathing, pulpit pounding, spiritual avant grade jazz on tracks
"Joy in the Lord" where his raw and stringent tone opens the record
by cutting through the air like a lance. Also, the epic "Eternal Life,"
which begins with Gayle playing tenor saxophone unaccompanied with a scouring raw
sound before the bass and drums slowly glide in to offer support. Balancing these
are a surprising selection of jazz standards; Albert Ayler's eerily beautiful
"Ghosts" is a natural, with Gayle’s quivering tone weaving in and out
of the bass and percussion and the slower, more open setting allowing for an appropriately
anguished and pleading performance. Sonny Rollins's "Oleo" has a few
raw squeaks getting started, but moves into a very immediate sounding
performance that is actually reminiscent to the Sonny Rollins at the Village
Gate boxed set released recently. Gayle’s music is full of angles and sharp
turns, so perhaps Thelonious Monk's "Well You Needn't" isn’t so
surprising after all. He plays it on piano, with some ornamentation but the
strong sound of the music is highly indebted to the composer and is very
impressive. These songs anchor the middle of the album, as well as John
Coltrane's "Giant Steps" which begins with a deft drum solo before
Gayle enters. He can’t match the speed of Coltrane (few can) but he does well
to turn the melody to a solid free improvisational section, creating a
fascinating melding of one of Coltrane’s most enduring early melodies and a
free jazz meltdown that was influenced by music from the end of his life. Overall,
the album works pretty well; Wojcinski and Kugel acquit themselves well to the
music, providing a foundation for Gayle's unique style of playing, whether it
is in a way out free setting or a recitation of a hard bop standard. Charles
Gayle is one of the few remaining descendants of the deeply spiritual free jazz
scene, carrying on the work of his contemporaries, who saw their spiritual life
as the guiding force in their music. Christ Everlasting - iTunes
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