Bernard Stepien - A Very Ayler Christmas Sold Out

Bernard Stepien, tenor saxophone

Linsay Wellman, alto and barytone saxophone

David Broscoe, alto and barytone saxophone

David Jackson, guitar

Philippe Charbonneau, bass

Scott Warren, percussion, found objects

From Bernard: 

I met Ron Sweetman at one of the concerts I organized with Archie Shepp at the Theatre the l'île in Hull in 1976. We became instant friends and he supported every concert I organized in the avant-garde veine back then and even some of my own projects like playing the full répertoire of the music of Thelonious Monk and especially the A Very Ayler Christmas that we are presenting tonight at this party. 

The Ayler Christmas project initially started at jam sessions around Christmas where various musicians played jazzed up hristmas Carols. Saxophonist David Broscoe and myself quickly agreed that these carols could be played à la Albert Ayler with all his lyricism and frantic deviations from the original path. In 2006, more musicians got interested in the project and 

we all started to expand the répertoire that led to our CD release. 

Today, this project is well oiled to the point that sometimes we play another carol than the one we are starring at on our music stands. While most musicologists think that Ayler played Gospel music, we think that he really played Christmas Carols in disguise.