Charles Gayle 1939-2023

Charles Gayle est mort avant-hier, à l'âge de 84 ans.

"Charles was a legend, in a way," William Parker told JazzTimes in 2019, reflecting upon Touchin' on Trane, his 1993 album with Gayle and drummer Rashied Ali. "Musically he has this energy — an electric, acoustic, organic energy coming out of his horn. And everybody who heard it said you could hear all the history of the saxophone in there: Sonny Rollins, Albert Ayler, Coltrane. But it was Charles." Gayle was a man of faith, sometimes confrontationally so. He'd give apocalyptic sermons onstage as his band breathed musical fire. Gospel music was as much of a touchstone as Coltrane. Many of his song and album titles came from or were inspired by the Bible: Repent, Consecration, Ancient of Days, Christ Everlasting. But ultimately, Gayle came to a place of peace in both faith and life. "It's been so beautiful," he told The Village Voice in 2012. "I'm past the word of happiness. I don't know that word too much 'cause it's happenstance, but it's certainly peace. I don't use the radio, I don't listen to music or have sound. I could just sit." [Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.]