An interview with
Henry Kaiser
—————-
By
Beppe Colli
Nov.
2, 2007
It
was in May, 2006 that I first heard about a project where
a collective of musicians played the
music of Albert Ayler. Since at that time I was doing an interview
with Mike Keneally, and since in fact he happened to be one of those
musicians involved, it seemed only logical to me
to ask him about it. Interested
readers can read his answer in our 2006 interview.
Titled
Healing Force: The Songs Of Albert Ayler, the album is finally out. Including
songs from Ayler’s last three albums on Impulse! – Love Cry (1967), New
Grass (1968), and Music is the Healing Force of the Universe (1969) – the
album features a wild assortment of players: Vinny Golia (reeds), Aurora
Josephson (vocals),
Henry Kaiser (guitar), Mike Keneally (piano, guitar,
vocals),
Joe Morris (guitar and bass), Damon Smith (bass), and Weasel
Walter (drums).
Since it appeared to me that it had been
Henry Kaiser who had chosen what music to play, and it had been him who
had called the musicians, it was only logical to ask him to discuss the
album.
The interview was conducted by e-mail,
at the end of October.
I understand that the seeds for this
project were planted one day in 2006 when Mike Keneally called you on
the phone. Would you mind talking a bit about this?
actually I cannot talk truthfully about
this without incriminating two other people
so: no comment
Ayler’s influence on many musicians
is undeniable – and absolutely massive. But it’s always his early- and
mid-60s production that’s considered to be of crucial importance, not
his late-period LPs. I understand it was your decision to play precisely
the music from this period. What was the reason?
because it seemed
like perverse thing to do; that nobody else would do
and because playing
the earlier Ayler standards is a VERY tired cliché here in America; that
has been done badly too many times
I’d like to know
about the reasons why you called these particular musicians to play the music.
aside from Vinny,
it’s just who happened to be around town here that week
all the in-town sax
players were either afraid to do the project or one felt it was anti-Christian
(which it is not)
and Vinny is the closest
person, geographically, who is a great player, that we could talk into coming
to town to do it for the minor recompense available
Whose decision
was for the album to feature so much piano? It’s not an instrument that readily
comes to mind when one thinks of Ayler’s music.
we never thought about
it
the music just played
itself
no planning or forethought
Keneally was a keyboard
player before he was guitar player – so it’s natural for him to play keys
to express himself
At
the time Ayler’s late albums were released, "peace and love" was
a slogan that was already the subject of much ridicule (for in., Frank
Zappa’s We’re Only In It For The Money), and many jazz critics consider
to this day some musicians’ effort from this period (for in., Pharoah
Sanders) as being little more than just an easy way to cash in on a trend.
What in your opinion makes Ayler’s music from his late-period, as recorded,
stand as music?
I think the late period
studio recordings are a sloppy mess – but one can imagine what he wanted
to do, if one wants to
On
the CD cover it says the album was recorded May 3, 2006. What about things
like editing and overdubs? (For instance, starting at about 14′ in the
track Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe there’s a guitar solo
that to me sounds like it’s played by Keneally, while at the same time
one can still hear the piano.)
everything was done
that day
with mixing the next
half-day
Some
of the tracks on the album reminded me of something else – for in., at
a certain point in New Generation it’s like somebody spliced a Sonic
Youth piece into the track. What was the rationale for this?
it’s just what we
happened to do at the moment
no rational planning
or forethought was involved
everything is first
takes, no rehearsal, done very very quickly
Keneally did transcribe
and write out the Third Stream arrangement for MESSAGE FROM ALBERT in advance,
he did prepare that
The album was recorded
last year, it’s just coming out now. Did you have any problems in finding
a label willing to release this?
there
are almost no labels left in the USA
it’s the end time
for finding labels to release things
I feel very lucky
that Steve Feigenbaum can still keep the CUNEIFORM label going in difficult
times
It’s usually said
that albums like this – "homages", for lack of a better word –
can also make younger listeners aware of an artist and go in search of the
originals. Here I have two questions. The first: What do you think that a
person who’s exposed to this album will think when confronted with, say,
Spiritual Unity or In Greenwich Village?
I have no idea at
all
but those
"classic" Ayler records pretty much speak for themselves to anyone
who cares to listen
they are great art
my favorites are PROPHECY,
BELLS, and LOVE CRY. Those are the best ones for me.
In my opinion an
album like this really needs a ton of liner notes to benefit both the uninitiated
and those already familiar with Ayler’s music. Also, these days, it’s said
that it’s already a miracle that people still spend some money on music instead
of downloading it. I have to say I’d personally feel let down to find so
meager a booklet after paying my money! Why did it come out like that?
I think liner notes
would defeat the whole purpose and concept of an album like this
from my point of view
as Ayler said: It’s
not about notes it’s about feelings
the same goes for
words, for me, here
the quotes inside
the album are EXACTLY and COMPREHENSIVELY all that I think should be said
about this recording
that’s why they are
in there
I don’t like
liner notes on most any records, except ethnic recordings anyway
©
Beppe Colli 2007
CloudsandClocks.net | Nov.
2, 2007
