- Charles Gayle
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Charles Gayle 
Photo by Andy NewcombeBackground information Born February 28, 1939
Buffalo, New York, USOrigin New York City, New York Genres Jazz Occupations Musician, educator Instruments Tenor saxophone, piano, bass clarinet Years active 1960s–present Labels Silkheart, Black Saint, Knitting Factory, FMP, Clean Feed Charles Gayle (born February 28, 1939) is a free jazz saxophonist, pianist, bass clarinetist, and percussionist.[1]
Contents
Biography
Charles Gayle was born in Buffalo, New York.[1] Some of Gayle's history is unclear.[2] He was apparently homeless for approximately twenty years, playing saxophone on street corners and subway platforms around New York City.[1][2][3][4] In 1988, he gained fame through a trio of albums recorded by a Swedish label, Silkheart Records. Since then he has become a major figure in free jazz, recording for labels including Black Saint, Knitting Factory Records, FMP, and Clean Feed. He has also taught music at Bennington College.
Gayle's music is spiritual,[4] and heavily inspired by the Old and New Testaments. He has explicitly dedicated several albums to God. His childhood was influenced by religion, and his musical roots trace to black gospel music. After his church experiences, Gayle credits among his influences Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Thelonious Monk, and Art Tatum. He has performed and recorded with Cecil Taylor, William Parker, and Rashied Ali.
Gayle's most celebrated work to date remains the album Touchin' on Trane (FMP) with Parker and Ali. Though he established his reputation primarily as a tenor saxophonist, he has increasingly turned to other instruments, notably the piano (which was, in fact, his original instrument) and alto saxophone. More controversially, he has sometimes included lengthy spoken-word addresses to the audience in his concerts touching on his political and religious beliefs; for a period he was even largely performing as a mime, "Streets the Clown".
In 2001, Gayle recorded an album titled Jazz Solo Piano. This disc consisted mostly of straightforward jazz standards, and is a response to critics who charge that free jazz musicians cannot play bebop. In 2006, Gayle followed up with a second album of solo piano, this time featuring original material, titled Time Zones. He has also recently released several albums on Clean Feed and Ayler Records that include traditional jazz standards.
In 2006, poet Steve Dalachinsky published a book of poems written while watching Gayle play entitled The Final Nite & Other Poems: Complete Notes from a Charles Gayle Notebook 1987-2006.
Discography
As leader
- Always Born (Silkheart, 1988)
- Homeless (Silkheart, 1988)
- Spirits Before (Silkheart, 1988)
- Touchin' on Trane (FMP, 1991)
- Repent (Knitting Factory, 1992)
- Translations (Silkheart, 1993)
- Raining Fire (Silkheart, 1993)
- More Live at the Knitting Factory (Knitting Factory, 1993)
- Consecration (Black Saint, 1993)
- Berlin Movement from Future Years (FMP, 1993)
- Abiding Variations (FMP, 1993)
- Live at Disobey (Blast First, 1994)
- Kingdom Come (Knitting Factory, 1994)
- Unto I AM (Victo, 1994)
- Testaments (Knitting Factory, 1995)
- Daily Bread (Black Saint, 1995)
- Delivered (2.13.61, 1997)
- Solo in Japan (PSF, 1997)
- Precious Soul (FMP, 1997)
- Ancient of Days (Knitting Factory, 1999)
- Jazz Solo Piano (Knitting Factory, 2000)
- Shout! (Clean Feed, 2003)
- No Bills! (Long Arm Records, 2005)
- Time Zones (Tompkins Square, 2006)
- Consider The Lilies (Clean Feed, 2006)
- Live At The Glenn Miller Cafe (Ayler, 2006)
- Blue Shadows (Silkheart, 2007)
- By Any Means - Live at Crescendo (Ayler Records 2007)
- Forgiveness (Not Two Records, 2008)
- Our Souls (No Business Records, 2010) - Limited edition 500 numbered copies -vinyl only
As sideman
- Cecil Taylor: Always a Pleasure (FMP, 1993)
- The Blue Humans: Live in London 1994 (Blast First, 1996) [Charles Gayle plays Drums]
- Sunny Murray Duo: Illuminators (Audible Hiss, 1996)
- Sirone Bang Ensemble: Configuration (Silkheart, 2004)
- The Rollins Band: Weighting (2.13.61, 2004)
- William Parker Bass Quartet featuring Charles Gayle: Requim (Splasch, 2006)
References
- ^ a b c Charles Gayle at Allmusic
- ^ a b Baxter, Nicky (February 22, 1996). "Gayle Force". Metro. http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/02.22.96/gayle-9608.html. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
- ^ Lindbloom, James (March 2000). "Charles Gayle". Perfect Sound Forever. http://www.furious.com/perfect/charlesgayle.html. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Wynn, Ron (1994), Ron Wynn, ed., All Music Guide to Jazz, M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov, San Francisco: Miller Freeman, pp. 268-269, ISBN 0-87930-308-5
External links
- The FMP releases
- Charles Gayle interview by Howard Mandel for The Wire (magazine)
Categories:- Avant-garde jazz musicians
- 1939 births
- Living people
- Homeless people
- African American musicians
- American jazz saxophonists
- American saxophonists
- Jazz saxophonists
- Bass clarinetists
- Silkheart Records artists
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