snobb
I heard Gayle's name before, but for a first time in my life I heard his music during live date on Vilnius Jazz in 2008. I remember he didn't appear on scheduled night and we all got free tickets on the second evening's concert.Next night he came in time and staying on stage,a bit shy and very lonely just told he missed his plane in Frankfurt airport at previous day,just went to the bar between flights.
I spent hours in that huge sterile,full of lights and always half empty building in my time, and I could easily imagine him there,between all that German cold ambient - just a person from another world...
Then he started playing and we all, a few hundred people on overloaded old theater hall were hypnotized. I can hardly remember such combination of emotionality and freedom in free jazz music. He played as trio, similar to recorded on "Consider The Lilies ...", same bassist Hilliard Greene, just different drummer (German Klaus Kugel instead of Jay Rosen).He got me that night, I listened many his releases and some live shows later with big interest and often with big pleasure as well.
Charles Gayle is strange and in some manner even cult figure of nowadays free-jazz movement. Started playing in his early teens, he spent two decades being homeless street musicians in New York in 60s and 70s, and only contract with Swedish Silkheart label in late 80s returned him back to high profile free jazz scene. From that time he is mystic but quite regular figure on European free jazz scene with almost thirty releases.
Gayle's roots are in free-jazz from 60s and gospels of his childhood, and because of his lifestyle he almost didn't influenced by later jazz evolution.Listen him is as to return back in free-jazz golden age, but without vintage flavor and nostalgia. When you listen to Gayle's music, you just ARE there, in past.Explosive,inventive and lyrical.
This Portugal release (recorded at the Vision Festival, New York in 2005)isn't Gayle's most representative record.He plays alto sax (and piano) there instead of his beloved tenor sax. Sound is good, but not the best, music is quite relaxed,but not very inspired and Gayle's sax sounds unusually soft and not as explosive as often.He plays piano in few places as well.Musicians interplay is excellent and Gayle's demonstrates some great Coltrane-like solos.But his music's miracle is in chemistry, that fragile atmosphere he builds on his concerts, and possibly this night wasn't the best one in that sense.
There are 6 compositions stated on album's cover, in real just four are presented on CD (the last three seem to be a medley).Good,but far not the best Gayle's album, valuable release for his fans.Not the best one for newcomers though.