Really fine essay. I’ve long wondered if latching Gayle to Ayler actually did him (and others) a disservice. That’s often used as a shorthand for “loud, screaming sax” and kind of strips away the individual artist’s nuance and autonomy.
I'm confused as to why Gayle was "one of the most misunderstood" artist in jazz. It seems he was always destined to be a very minority taste in a music that is a minority taste itself. Also the special pleading to ignore some of his views is a problem. It lets him off too easily. Imagine paying to see a free jazz performance and instead getting a diatribe on the evils of homosexuality or Streets the Clown distributing cut-up doll parts to the audience. Don't get me wrong--I liked his music. But he sure didn't make it easy.
I think he was misunderstood because his music was a lot more subtle, and he was a much more technically skilled player, than he and it were described as being. And as far as letting him off easily — we're talking about a black man who was born in 1929. When he was born, I would almost guarantee that he had living relatives who had been slaves. I would be willing to bet that he witnessed lynchings, or at a minimum knew about them. The trauma that guy went through in his life, just by virtue of being a black American man in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s... I think it's unreasonable to judge his beliefs without thinking about how he got there.
His passing and the writing on his work was unfortunately my first introduction to Gayle's work. I dived into what I could, and the experience is revelatory. Thanks for this great piece, Phil.
This was great, really expanded my knowledge of Gayle, thanks so much.
Beautiful essay, great to read more about Gayle.
Really fine essay. I’ve long wondered if latching Gayle to Ayler actually did him (and others) a disservice. That’s often used as a shorthand for “loud, screaming sax” and kind of strips away the individual artist’s nuance and autonomy.
I'm confused as to why Gayle was "one of the most misunderstood" artist in jazz. It seems he was always destined to be a very minority taste in a music that is a minority taste itself. Also the special pleading to ignore some of his views is a problem. It lets him off too easily. Imagine paying to see a free jazz performance and instead getting a diatribe on the evils of homosexuality or Streets the Clown distributing cut-up doll parts to the audience. Don't get me wrong--I liked his music. But he sure didn't make it easy.
I think he was misunderstood because his music was a lot more subtle, and he was a much more technically skilled player, than he and it were described as being. And as far as letting him off easily — we're talking about a black man who was born in 1929. When he was born, I would almost guarantee that he had living relatives who had been slaves. I would be willing to bet that he witnessed lynchings, or at a minimum knew about them. The trauma that guy went through in his life, just by virtue of being a black American man in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s... I think it's unreasonable to judge his beliefs without thinking about how he got there.
His passing and the writing on his work was unfortunately my first introduction to Gayle's work. I dived into what I could, and the experience is revelatory. Thanks for this great piece, Phil.