Jazz Great Charles Gayle of Buffalo Succumbs
Charles Gayle
Internationally renown Jazz Master and Buffalo native Charles Gayle passed away recently. The following are excerpts from a New York Times espose’on the legend – the eccentric maestro who was well known in Jazz circles across the world:
(Gayle) an uncompromising saxophonist who spent years living and performing while homeless on the streets of New York, before beginning a recording career at the age of 50, died on September 5th in Brooklyn, NY, at 84. His son, who has been care taking him as he dealt with Alzheimer’s disease, announced the death, but did not specify the cause.
“In a interview with NY Jazz Record he, Mr. Gayle, explained he had chosen to be homeless because it gave him the opportunity to explore music unencumbered by worries of changing taste or living expenses. He was part of the eccentric lineage of jazz avantgardist like the late period John Coltrane and Albert Ayles, purveyors of a style often referred to as ‘Firemusic’.
“Mr. Gayle’s talent was eventually documented on nearly 40 albums under his name on a host of labels. He was also recorded with the pianist Cecil Taylor and bassist William Parker. Reviewing the 2014 Visions Festival at which Mr. Gayle was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
The New York Times music critic Ben Radcliff wrote, “He plays tenor saxophone in cries and garbles, into interval jumps and long tones his music universally described. He often dressed in clown shoes and wore makeup with a red big clown nose. He called that alter ego ‘Streets’. At first it was an occasional diversion, but he later performed as Streets regularly when performing on the street and subways. It worked. ‘It’s really that simple,’ he exclaimed. I saw a lot of clowns when I was young in the circus. It was liberating to go out in that audience while the band was playing and give a lady a rose or have it rejected by her. I can’t do that with regular clothes on. It helps a person. mentally escape.’”
Charles Gayle, Jr. was born February 28, 1939, in Buffalo, NY, to Charles and Francis Gayle. His father was a steel worker. As a student he studied numerous instruments in high school and excelled in basketball and track and field. After a period at Fredonia State Teachers College, Mr. Gayle returned to Buffalo to begin a music career; he first played trumpet and piano in the local clubs before concentrating on tenor saxophone. And self produced concerts.
In 1970 through to 1973, Mr. Gayle was assistant professor of music at the State University of New York at Buffalo (now the University at Buffalo). Soon tiring of academia and institutional responsibilities, he moved to New York City to pursue music extensively. He had been there for a decade when he decided to live on the streets.
In a 2014 interview he explained: “I just walked out one day. And that was it. That was one of the greatest experiences I had in life. I didn’t do it for a reason, and you’re not asking anybody for anything. We seek security and you learn about how people perceive you because of what you look like or what you are thinking.”
Gayle is a Buffalo native and a member of the legendary Gayle’s family that includes Dr. Kenneth Gayles, his cousin. For some unknown reason, his side of the family dropped the “s” from their name. Says Dr. Gayles: “My cousin was a brilliant but esoteric man, whose artistry was better known in Europe than the states.” Dr. Gayles recalls his cousin “visiting Buffalo and asking to stay in an old abandoned building I owned in Buffalo. I didn’t let him because of safety concerns with the building.”