My Name is Albert Ayler in Resources on DFGDocs – The British Documentary Website

by Philip Moore

Copyright Michael Snow Prescient free jazz pioneer Albert Ayler, whose influential sound shaped the jazz landscape for years to come, sadly dissolved in the public’s consciousness. But thanks to this new film by Swedish documentary filmmaker Kaspar Collin, Ayler’s voice has been revived.

Something of a self-styled prophet, Ayler was in the middle of the cultural and political ferment of 60s America and was at the forefront of innovative jazz, but it was oddly enough a more receptive Swedish (and European) audience that was sympathetic to his radical, free jazz explorations. This perhaps explains how a Swedish filmmaker
came to look into the life of an American jazz visionary. As Ayler quipped, “if people don’t like it now, they will”.

Somewhere between a cine-poem and a jazz hagiography Collin brings back to light the work of Albert Ayler, who, although mixing in the same circles as the likes of John Coltrane – a name that is familiar to many – was never actually afforded the stature and cultural kudos that many of his contemporaries went on to receive.

But the film turns this around, as it convincingly intertwines newly discovered cine footage of Ayler, fragments of his eerily prophetic words, and plenty of live performances, painting a portrait for a contemporary audience. Perhaps most evocative is the footage of a half-naked Ayler, white goatee n’ all, staring into the camera, out from the screen, as if looking beyond the grave into the future. All of this constructs a sense of the enigmatic nature of the man, who, as we learn, was so passionate about his music that poverty (borrowing the odd $20 from Coltrane) and even mental instability (his trumpet playing brother suffered from paranoia) were never able to impede his vision. Sadly it was only eight years after recording his first album that Albert Ayler, aged 34, was found dead in New York’s East River, his death remaining something of a mystery.

Thanks largely to the wonderful use of lost footage and old audio interviews, as well as the many interviews with family and friends; My Name is Albert Ayler is a compelling and fascinating portrait of an inspired and at times troubled man. A keenly crafted and moving tribute, cogently illustrating the depth and reach of the subject-led documentary.

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