50 years ago today (11/25/70) jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler was mysteriously discovered drowned in the Hudson River. His death at age 34 soon becomes the stuff of legend, with some speculating he committed suicide, while others claim he was tied to a jukebox courtesy of the mob. Either way, his shortlived life has made him often forgotten, yet he’s recently had a revival coursey of Third Man Records who re-released his 1969 album New Grass, which was then label Impulse’s, attempt to bring Ayler more into the mainstream with a bluesier sound, adding the vocals of Rose Marie McCoy, a soul horn section, backup singers, a proven soul drummer, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie and electric rock bass to Ayler’s distinctive, aggressive shrieking horn. Listen to the enrapturing “New Ghost” off New Grass…
