Albert Ayler
Day 65
#42 – Albert Ayler (1936–1970). American avant-garde jazz saxophonist, singer and composer. Albums include: Spiritual Unity (1964), The Hilversum Session (1964) and Slugs’ Saloon (1966).
I started by sketching his name and the letters noticing that using the two ‘A’s’ together formed a cross – this was powerful but not enough. What else? An unconventional musician with a sharp distinctive sound, in November 1970 he was found dead in New York City’s East River, under mysterious circumstances. He was 34. It was only after reading this that I realised the X could mark the place where Ayler was found dead. I looked at different typefaces until I found something rough and more edgy.
1 hour
The initial idea – while the chosen route tries to explain the idea, this is a stronger image.
Listen...
to excerpt from ‘Spiritual Reunion’