Albert Ayler

Albert Ayler has always been one of my heroes in the jazz world... His sax playing is somewhere between spirituals, folk songs and complete outright chaos on the tenor saxophone...
New Grass is my favorite album cover of his, but the list of his great albums is too long to mention.

This is a really good NPR story on him...
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=90627436&m=91279984

And here is a recording of him doing the classic song, Summertime...  This may very well be the most toned-down you will ever hear Albert Ayler.