Charles Gayle

Saxophonist, pianist, and improviser Charles Gayle made his first significant impact on the free jazz scene while homeless, busking with his saxophone and playing a series of critically acclaimed New York performances at the Knitting Factory in the late 1980s. These resulted in important releases over the next two decades, Touchin' On Trane, Ancient of Days, Daily Bread, and Consider the Lilies among them. The tenor saxophonist's recordings and concert appearances featured long, vibrating, free gospel melodies full of huge intervallic leaps, screaming multiphonics, and dense lines. Gayle, also capable of great lyricism, imbued it with the same intensity present in his high-energy work as evidenced by 2012's globally acclaimed Streets. Gayle spent much of the last decade of his life working in Europe and releasing live outings including Solar System and Seasons Changing. Gayle died in 2023 at the age of 84.