Donald Ayler

Donald Ayler (October 5, 1942 – October 21, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter. He was best known for his participation in concerts and recordings by groups led by his older brother, saxophonist Albert Ayler. An obituary in The Wire praised his "buzzing, declamatory trumpet playing, which was part Holy Roller primitive, part avant garde firebrand".

Biography Ayler was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States, and grew up in Shaker Heights, graduating from John Adams High School. He started out playing alto saxophone; however, according to Val Wilmer, he "became frustrated when he could not achieve the mobility and sound that had come so easily to his brother. At one point he even put a tenor reed into his alto in an attempt to 'sound like Coltrane'." At the urging of his brother, who was in the process of establishing himself musically, and who was about to leave for a European tour, he switched to trumpet, participating in the recording of Bells, Spirits Rejoice, Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village, Love Cry, and several other albums, and also worked with Paul Bley and Elvin Jones. Other notable performances included a concert with John Coltrane at Lincoln Center on February 19, 1966, featuring an expanded group that included Albert and Donald, Pharoah Sanders, Carlos Ward, Alice Coltrane, Jimmy Garrison, Rashied Ali, and J. C. Moses.

Following Coltrane's death on July 17, 1967, the Ayler quartet, now featuring the Ayler brothers plus bassist Richard Davis and drummer Milford Graves, played at his funeral on July 21. They performed three pieces including Donald's Our Prayer. Val Wilmer stated that, at the funeral service, "Donald Ayler stood on a balcony beside his saxophonist brother and played a spine-chilling lament. Wildly flagging his trumpet valves and swaying backwards and forwards, he seemed to scream through the instrument." In 1968, he departed the band, as "Albert's record company was grooming him for the rock market and did not want Donald." However, "he was unable to sustain a career", and also appeared in archival footage from various years.

Ayler suffered a heart attack on October 21, 2007, and died at Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare in Northfield, Ohio. He was survived by his father, and was buried next to his mother in Highland Park Cemetery in Highland Hills, Ohio.

Discography As a leader In Florence 1981 - Vol. 1 (Frame, 1981) In Florence 1981 - Vol. 2 (Frame, 1981) In Florence 1981 - Vol. 3 (Frame, 1981)

With Albert Ayler Bells (ESP-Disk, 1965) Spirits Rejoice (ESP-Disk, 1965) Lörrach / Paris 1966 (hat Musics, 1966 ) The New Wave in Jazz (on one track; Impulse!, 1966) Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village (Impulse!, 1967) Love Cry (Impulse!, 1968) The Village Concerts (Impulse!, 1980) At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 1 (Base Record, 1982) At Slug's Saloon, Vol. 2 (Base Record, 1982) Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70) (Revenant, 2004) Stockholm, Berlin 1966 (hatOLOGY, 2011) La Cave Live, Cleveland 1966 Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2022)