Jazz

Jazzlore: Ornette Coleman, Vol. 29 (1961)

2015-06-18T15:38:28Z

Jazzlore: Ornette Coleman, Vol. 29 (1961)


1. W.R.U.
2. T. & T.
3. C. & D.
4. R.P.D.D.
5. Proof Readers (Bonus Track)

Ornette Coleman – saxophone
Don Cherry – trumpet
Scott LaFaro – bass
Ed Blackwell – drums

This Atlantic session by the Ornette Coleman Quartet is most notable for featuring the ill-fated Scott LaFaro on bass. With the leader's alto, trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell all contributing their unpredictable ideas and surprisingly close musical communication, the group is in near-peak form on Coleman's four originals, which are given abbreviated names (such as "W.R.U." and "R.P.D.D."). It would take "free jazz" another four years before it became a dominant force, but it would be recordings such as this one that would influence jazz of the mid-'60s. ---Scott Yanow, Rovi

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Ornette Coleman - Body Meta (1976)

2015-06-14T15:54:48Z

Ornette Coleman - Body Meta (1976)


1.Voice Poetry 
2.Home Grown 
3.Macho Woman 
4.Fou Amour 
5.European Echoes

Ornette Coleman (alto saxophone)
Charles Ellerbee, Bern Nix (guitar)
Jamaaladeen Tacuma (bass)
Ronald Shannon Jackson (drums)

The establishing of Ornette Coleman's self-determining Artists House label and his electric double-trio Prime Time coincided with the release of Body Meta, which changed many of the business and musical contours of jazz in the mid- to late '70s. Coleman proved that jazz musicians could determine their own fate and market their music without a major-label contract. He also advanced the orientation of jazz away from swing rhythms and into a deeper blues driven by funk and angular electric guitars inspired by the precepts of Thelonious Monk. A music that turned out to be crazier than most while attempting to be more people-oriented resulted in controversy. It was an indisputable new music amalgam that Coleman could claim as his own, yet which sprung forth into the so-called M-Base music movement of New York City. Jamaaladeen Tacuma on electric bass guitar, Bern Nix and Charlie Ellerbe on electric guitars, drummers Denardo Coleman and Ronald Shannon Jackson comprised the first Prime Time band heard here. They are loud, boisterous, imaginative, unfettered by conventional devices, and wail beyond compare with Coleman within relatively funky, straight beats. "Voice Poetry" sets the tone, a boogaloo funk with an unmistakable kinship to the churning Bo Diddley beat, Coleman's obtuse alto sax between the guitarists' obtuse castings create incessant, passionate, and obsessed music. Where "Home Grown" uses the same wall-rattling sound within repeated lines, there are dense and bulky layers embedded deeply in the thick rhythms. Fans of Coleman will relate more to "Macho Woman," which spurs on a sound similar to his style from years past, as the brief melody gives way to solos. "Fou Amour" is a soulful, off-minor, bitter, and soured ballad, while "European Echoes" is a militaristic waltz -- hardly a traipse through flowers -- with various free sections. As every track is different, Coleman's vision has a diffuse focus, but it's clear that things have changed. Even his personal sound is more pronounced, unleashed from shackles, and more difficult to pin down. In addition, the CD version has updated liner notes written by Coleman that were not included on the original LP. Whether this was a breakthrough recording or an example of cliff diving is solely up to the listener. Either way, this is a stunning example of modernity taken to the extreme, and Coleman gets sole credit for this direction in modern creative music. The first acid jazz? ---Michael G. Nastos

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Ornette Coleman - Change of the Century (1959)

2009-10-19T19:15:19Z

Ornette Coleman - Change of the Century (1959)


01 - Ramblin' 
02 - Free 
03 - The Face Of The Bass 
04 - Forerunner 
05 - Bird Food 
06 - Una Muy Bonita 
07 - Change Of The Century

Ornette Coleman - alto saxophone
Don Cherry - pocket trumpet
Charlie Haden - bass
Billy Higgins - drums

Change Of The Century was an audacious album title, to say the least. On his second Atlantic release—and second with his most like-minded ensemble (trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins)—alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman pushed the freedom principal farther. At the same time, he looked backward too for inspiration. Having eliminated the piano on his Contemporary release, Tomorrow Is The Question! (1959), Coleman opened up wide improvisational opportunities. On that recording, he and his "freedom principle" remained partially inhibited by the presence of traditionalist bassist Percy Heath and drummer Shelly Manne, who resisted coloring outside of the lines as Coleman was attempting to do. But that was not so on The Shape Of Jazz To Come (Atlantic, 1959) and Change Of The Century. While the rhythm section continued to provide enough cohesive swing to propel matters, Coleman and Cherry stretched the melodic boundaries without the previous harmonic anchors.

Change of the Century is compelling in its embrace of contrasts. "Ramblin'" is funky organic, almost early rock and roll. Haden plucks and strums his way through a fractured 12-bar format that never fully resolves itself into the comfort of the anticipated. Coleman's solo over Haden's support is bar-walking rhythm and blues, lowdown and dirty, smelling of beer and Lucky Strikes. Cherry plays his famous pocket trumpet, sounding closer to Lee Morgan than anyone else, squeezing out hard bop lines like sparks from a metal lathe. Haden solos using the figures he has supported the whole piece with. His intonation is middle-of-the-note, relaxed and slightly wooden. "Ramblin'" retains an erstwhile harmonic structure, albeit only barely.

The head of "Free" is an odd premonition for composer/saxophonist Oliver Nelson's "Hoedown" from The Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!, 1961), passing through an ascending and descending blues figure. Haden is rock solid throughout, even when the solo-going gets ragged and frayed. Higgins' accents are as potent as pepper, shoring up the edges of chaos on the briskly-timed piece. "The Face Of Bass" gives prominence to Haden while at the same time sounding strangely traditional for an album entitled Change of the Century. But it is a facade. Coleman encourages a careful abandon in the piece's overall structure and arrangement. Cherry pops on his solo, sometimes sounding like Freddie Hubbard, sometimes, Art Farmer.

"Forerunner" pretends that it is bebop, with a serpentine head and a deft drum break by Higgins. Coleman's solo is inspired, quenched in gospel and the blues. His tonal expanse is as big as his native Texas, informed by the many great tenor saxophone players from that state. Cherry emerges assertive, playing with swagger and attitude. So well constructed and delivered is his solo that it is easy to forget that a move toward a freer musical system is in the works. Haden remains stalwart in time-keeping, shepherding everything between the rhythmic ditches. The same can be said for the Charlie Parker-inspired "Bird Food," which is surveyed at a fast clip over a complex note pattern.

"Una Muy Bonita" is only passing Latin, with pianist Thelonious Monk phrasing and side- winding playing. Haden sets up a familiar clave beat with strummed chords. Coleman stages the piece to more insinuate a Latin vibe than to actually play one. After a lengthy introduction, Cherry solos muted, allowing himself a broad swath over which to play. The disc's closer, the title tune, was the most fully-realized "free jazz" at that point from Coleman. It is a wild phantasm of notes that are to "free jazz" what trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's "Bebop" was for that virtuosic genre. It is a clarion call played on impulse. Yes, finally things are really beginning to come apart at the seams, properly foreshadowing Free Jazz: A Group Improvisation (Atlantic, 1961). Coleman has fully gained his traction and is now ready. ---C.Michael Bailey, allaboutjazz.com

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Ornette Coleman - Chappaqua Suite (1965)

2011-03-16T09:33:09Z

Ornette Coleman - Chappaqua Suite (1965)


Part I 21:25 
Part II 19:00 
Part III 17:40            play
Part IV 21:58

Line-Up:
Ornette Coleman (as, tp) 
Pharoah Sanders (ts) 
David Izenzon (b) 
Charles Moffett (d) 
Joseph Tekula (dir) unidentified large studio band.

NYC, June 15, 16 & 17, 1965

Recorded in 1965, this music was commissioned for the soundtrack of Conrad Rooks' cult film of same name. Ultimately, a Ravi Shankar score was opted for instead of this one. I've never seen "Chappaqua," and I've not heard Shankar's score, but hearing this album I can't believe anyone turned this stuff down! The score is fantastic, as you would expect from Coleman. The music is evocative and seems as though it would make a superb accompaniment to film. Fortunately, it also works fantastically as an album all by itself, so all was not wasted. The CD liner notes claim that director Rooks hesitated to use the music because it was so beautiful in and of itself, and he feared that the score's many merits might conflict with or even overshadow the actual film. I can accept that, but the liner notes go on to say that Rooks "kept this recording to offer it in an album of two LPs to all those fascinated by the musical world initiated by Ornette Coleman." You can believe that, or not, but the truth is that this recording is only available as a fairly cheesy and hard-to-find 2-disc (though its just over 79 minutes in total) expensive French import. And as far as I know this is the only way its ever been available, so those lofty idealistic claims don't go so far with me.

The permutation of the Ornette Coleman trio in action here includes Charles Moffett and David Izenson (the same line-up as on the remarkable "Golden Circle" recordings and in the landmark '62 Town Hall concert). Pharoah Sanders (!) makes a cameo for an added bonus. And on top of that, the whole performance is accompanied by a studio orchestra (ten musicians? eleven? there are conflicting reports on this matter). Pretty much, the trio do their thing, and the orchestral players fill in, adding color to the music and giving the whole affair a thicker and healthier sound. But sometimes, many times, things really heat up and there's some fierce back-and-forth between the trio and the orchestra. These moments give this score a real intensity that helps to make it, I feel, a very important Coleman recording. Coleman had by this point had some limited experience working with orchestral performers (for example on the Town Hall concert), and he would pursue further interest in the area with such recordings as "Skies of America." If you have any interest in jazz music composed for film soundtracks, check out Miles Davis's score for Louis Malle's "Elevator to the Gallows," Shafi Hadi & Charlie Mingus's score for John Cassavetes' "Shadows" (some of which is on "Mingus Ah Um"), and the score for Michael Snow's "New York Eye & Ear Control," which features the likes of Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, and Roswell Rudd.

Those are all pretty great. Oh, and then there's always the score to "Anatomy of Murder," obviously. In addition to "Chappaqua" and the later "Naked Lunch" soundtrack, Coleman did a soundtrack for another film, "Who's Crazy," around the same time with the same Trio line-up. I've heard a good chunk of it, and its really really good, and covers some of the same material performed in Stockholm for the Golden Circle concerts. But like so many other crucial Coleman recordings ("Crisis," the Great London Concert, the remaining material from the '62 Town Hall Concert, etc.) it is not now in print, and probably won't be any time in the near future (or maybe ever). Unlike the rest of the Town Hall material though, "Who's Crazy" was issued on vinyl as an import (italian?) many years ago (good luck finding it!). There's also a short documentary which films them laying down the "Who's Crazy" tracks, which I highly recommend tracking down. ---C. Burkhalter

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Ornette Coleman - Jazz a Vienne (2008)

2015-06-15T15:55:19Z

Ornette Coleman - Jazz a Vienne (2008)


01. Sleep Talking
02. 9/11
03. Turnaround
04. Bach - 5 Bach Arrangements
05. Dancing in Your Head
06. Song World
07. Song X
08. Lonely Woman

Ornette Coleman (Saxophone, violon)
Tony Falanga, Al McDowell, Charnett Mack Moffet (Bass)
Denardo Coleman (Drums)

One of the most haunting melodies in the history of jazz, Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman."

This was one of the compositions that put Ornette on the map when he literally burst on the scene, his music practically kicking down the doors of jazz convention.

In time, what many came to realize is that his music, far from being haphazard and random as some claimed, was not only highly ordered, but actually reached deep into the roots of black music in general and jazz in particular.

In 1959 when Ornette first became a public figure, jazz was emphasizing a cool, ultra-polished form. Nothing wrong with that, but the art form is much, much bigger. As much as any musician in the tradition, Ornette's music made room for the widest and deepest possible range of expression for all. ---jazzonthetube.com

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Ornette Coleman - Jazz Masters 78 (1997)

2009-10-19T19:17:08Z

Ornette Coleman - Jazz Masters 78 (1997)


1 	In The Snow 	7:41
2 	Mis-used Blues 	9:57
3 	The Poet 	9:58
4 	The Duel 	8:49
5 	January 	4:22

Ornette Coleman. American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer (born March 09, 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas). His album "Free Jazz" gave its name to a whole jazz sub-genre.

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Ornette Coleman - Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)

2009-10-19T19:25:41Z

Ornette Coleman - Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)


1. Lonely Woman - 5:01 
2. Eventually - 4:22 
3. Peace - 9:02 
4. Focus on Sanity - 6:50 
5. Congeniality - 6:47 
6. Chronology - 6:04

Ornette Coleman - alto saxophone
Don Cherry - coronet
Charlie Haden - bass
Billy Higgins - drums

Ornette Coleman's Atlantic debut, The Shape of Jazz to Come, was a watershed event in the genesis of avant-garde jazz, profoundly steering its future course and throwing down a gauntlet that some still haven't come to grips with. The record shattered traditional concepts of harmony in jazz, getting rid of not only the piano player but the whole idea of concretely outlined chord changes. The pieces here follow almost no predetermined harmonic structure, which allows Coleman and partner Don Cherry an unprecedented freedom to take the melodies of their solo lines wherever they felt like going in the moment, regardless of what the piece's tonal center had seemed to be. Plus, this was the first time Coleman recorded with a rhythm section -- bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins -- that was loose and open-eared enough to follow his already controversial conception. Coleman's ideals of freedom in jazz made him a feared radical in some quarters; there was much carping about his music flying off in all directions, with little direct relation to the original theme statements. If only those critics could have known how far out things would get in just a few short years; in hindsight, it's hard to see just what the fuss was about, since this is an accessible, frequently swinging record. It's true that Coleman's piercing, wailing alto squeals and vocalized effects weren't much beholden to conventional technique, and that his themes often followed unpredictable courses, and that the group's improvisations were very free-associative. But at this point, Coleman's desire for freedom was directly related to his sense of melody -- which was free-flowing, yes, but still very melodic. Of the individual pieces, the haunting "Lonely Woman" is a stone-cold classic, and "Congeniality" and "Peace" aren't far behind. Any understanding of jazz's avant-garde should begin here. ---Steve Huey, Rovi

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Ornette Coleman - The Great London Concert (1965)

2015-06-12T15:57:25Z

Ornette Coleman - The Great London Concert (1965)


1 	Forms And Sounds For Wind Quintet 	24:55
2 	Sadness 	3:05
3 	Clergyman's Dream 	11:58
4 	Falling Stars	7:37
5 	Silence 	9:00
6 	Happy Fool 	6:50
7 	Ballad 	5:00
8 	Dough Nuts 	5:53

Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone, violin (4), trumpet (4)
David Izenson – bass
Charles Moffett – drums
+
Cecil James – bassoon (1)
Sidney Fell – clarinet (1)
Edward walker – flute (1)
Derek Wickens – oboe (1)
John Burden – horns (1)

Ornette Coleman emerged from three years of retirement in 1965 to bring back the trio he had utilized briefly in 1962, a group also featuring the very impressive bassist David Izenson and drummer Charles Moffett. Coleman's alto playing had become a lot stronger by this time, and although his improvising on violin (which he played like a drum) and trumpet were at a much lower level, they were utilized fairly sparingly. This double-LP has the sidelong "Forms and Sounds for Wind Quintet," a wholly written-out atonal work for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and French horn that is rather boring. However, the trio's performances of the other seven selections are quite stimulating, and Coleman (who only plays violin and trumpet on "Falling Stars") is consistently brilliant and explorative. Worth searching for by listeners with open ears. ---Scot Yanow, Rovi

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Ornette Coleman - Tomorrow Is the Question! (1959)

2015-06-19T15:39:57Z

Ornette Coleman - Tomorrow Is the Question! (1959)


A1 	Tomorrow Is The Question 	3:09
A2 	Tears Inside 	5:00
A3 	Mind And Time 	3:08
A4 	Compassion 	4:37
A5 	Giggin' 	3:19
A6 	Rejoicing 	4:04
B1 	Lorraine 	5:55
B2 	Turnaround 	7:55
B3 	Endless 	5:18

Ornette Coleman - Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Percy Heath – Bass (A1-A6)
Shelly Manne - Drums
Red Mitchell - Bass (B1-B3)
Don Cherry - Trumpet

On his second outing for the Contemporary label, Ornette dusted the piano from the bandstand and focused instead on a quartet. For some unexplained reason, Billy Higgins was replaced by Shelly Manne; the only constants remain Coleman and Don Cherry. The focus, then, is on the interplay between the altoist and trumpeter in executing Ornette's tunes, which were, more than on the preceding album (Something Else!, recorded a year earlier), knottier and tighter in their arrangement style. The odd-syncopation style of the front line on numbers such as "Tears Inside," which comes out of the box wailing and then simmers down into a moody, swinging blues, was a rough transition for the rhythm section. And the more Ornette and Cherry try to open it up into something more free and less attached to the tune's form, the more Manne and especially bassist Percy Heath hang on. Still, there are great moments here: for example, the celebratory freedom of "Giggin'," with its wonderful trumpet solo, and "Rejoicing," which has become one of Coleman's classics for its elongated melody line and simple obbligato phrasing, which become part of a wonderfully complex solo that keeps the blues firmly intact. The final track, "Endless," is pure magic. After Manne carries it in 6/8, Coleman uses a nursery rhyme to move to the solo terrain and, when he does, the solo itself becomes a part of that rhyme as even Don Cherry feels his way through it in his break. And, if anything, this is one of the things that came to define Ornette -- his willingness to let simplicity and its bright colors and textures confound not only other players and listeners, but also him too. In those days, Coleman's musical system -- although worked out in detail -- always left room for the unexpected and, in fact, was played as if his life depended on it. As a result, Tomorrow Is the Question! was a very literal title; who could have guessed the expansive, world-widening direction that Coleman's system would head into next? ---Thom Jurek, Rovi

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Ornette Coleman Quartet - Live In Paris (1971)

2015-06-13T16:04:33Z

Ornette Coleman Quartet - Live In Paris (1971)


1.Street Woman (15:01)
2.Summer-Thang (11:10)
3.Silhouette (13:04)
4.Rock The Clock (14:36)

Ornette Coleman - alto sax,trumpet,violin
Dewey Redman - tenor sax & mussette
Charlie Haden - bass
Ed Blackwell - drums

Ahhh, glorious, simply glorious. Coleman's turn of the '70s, pre-Prime Time quartet with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Ed Blackwell always felt somewhat overshadowed in his discography -- it was the Skies of America era, too, and the expanded lineups for the Science Fiction/Broken Shadows sessions -- so this more than welcome spotlight on that unit is exactly what a veteran Ornette Coleman hand would hope for. There's nothing remotely bootleg about the sound quality, the jacket photos by Val Wilmer are great, the liner notes informative enough, and the music simply exceptional. Two pieces were staples of his concert repertoire for this 1971 tour, and another pair ("Silhouette" and "Summer-Thang" -- ouch) apparently listed as untitled improvisations or compositions in discographies, were as fresh to the players then as it is to the listener now. With all four compositions clocking in between ten and 15 minutes, there are plenty of open spaces for the quartet to listen and play off one another -- and they take full advantage of it. The opening "Street Woman" is taken at a measured and leisurely clip, with Coleman musing in a trio setting or with just Haden behind him before Redman enters the arrangement to exchange comments. Live in Paris 1971 really serves to illuminate the latter's role as Coleman's foil, less in the traditional vein as a second soloist but more a complementary player whose tenor lines intertwine strategically around Coleman's alto melodies to give the music greater body and breadth. "Summer-Thang" features Redman at first with Blackwell driving hard as the former patiently develops his solo with occasional phrases structured on Coleman patterns, before Coleman breaks in with quicksilver runs that ultimately trigger a lively solo that stretches his tonal envelope more than usual. The uptempo "Silhouette" is serious intertwine time for Coleman and Redman, with the latter developing thick, knotted lines during his solo that work beautifully with Blackwell. Coleman's solo lightens things up, the music getting more playful, open, and spacious but it is a prime Coleman outing as the music rides the current through varied changes and Blackwell, excellent throughout, takes a short solo before a brief final statement. Rock the Clock initially sports the combination of Coleman on trumpet and Redman on musette with Haden (who has no featured solos on this disc) prominent in support. The trumpet works as a soothing tonal contrast to the musette, Redman then returns the favor before their joint finale of flurries leads to Coleman jettisoning trumpet for violin and Redman switching to tenor. The rhythm section drops out and what must be Coleman's wah-wah violin (it almost sounds like a Jew's harp twang) playing down low (or could it be Haden bowing high?) takes over, followed by the rhythm section dropping in and out behind Redman. In other words, there's no way of anticipating what's going to happen when by who, always a sure sign of vintage Coleman. In fact, it was Haden doing the wah-wah twang because Coleman comes flying back in on trumpet, Redman switches back to musette, Haden returns to pizzicato plucking, and Blackwell rejoins the proceedings. And the end comes very abruptly and suddenly behind the musette. Live in Paris 1971 is hands down the best CD to emerge from that particular tour to date and certainly ranks as a prime showcase for this quartet. Glorious music, simply glorious. ---Don Snowden, Rovi

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