Search - Ornette Coleman :: Shape of Jazz to Come

Redefining the word, redefining the music...

JoeyD | los gatos, ca | 03/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Look at them! Just look at them!

throwing their hips this way, that

way while I, my muscles, stone,

the marrow of my spine, plaster, my

back supported by decorated paper,

stand here as goofy as a Dumb Dora

Lord, if I can't dance, No one shall."



Ishmael Reed "Mumbo Jumbo"



It is all about the moment! That is essentially what improvisation is - living freely in the moment. And that's what Ornette and his trio were doing when they cut this revolutionary recording back in 59 (arguably the greatest year for jazz music ever). Lock the doors, hide the kids, and by all means, be afraid, be very afraid, because this music was not created for the faint of heart. Stan Getz has left the building!



Think you can really define Jazz music? Think again. Because after listening to this album, you might wish to reconsider your definition, for O.C. and the boys truly redefined the word. And it has never been the same since. A major breakthrough recording, this quartet - Coleman (alto sax), Don Cherry (cornet), Billy Higgins (drums) & Charlie Haden (bass) - almost completely abandon the use of chord structures and all conventionality as well. They just let it all rip! And as my Amazon amico Unlucky Frank recently scribed in his excellent review regarding Sonny Rollins & co.'s live classic "Night at the Village Vanguard" - `this music requires active participation on the part of the listener. If you are attentive, you're in for a real treat.' Couldn't have said it better, this is not music you are going to want to play at your next cocktail party (unless you want to shock the you-know-what out of them all!) or when you are placidly perusing a book or the morning paper. See Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, et al... for those sits.



I am not going to pretend to even remotely have as much knowledge about music as many of the reviewers here possess. Just got into jazz music about seven years ago and my addiction continues to grow hourly. It took me a while to truly appreciate and comprehend this avant-garde classic. What I love the most about this music is that every time I listen to this one I hear something new and fresh that I didn't pick up on the times before. EVERYTIME! One of the characteristics of great art in my opinion - it challenges you to use that little ball in between your ears!



If nothing else, I urge you music fans out there to listen to this recording just to hear how absolutely amazing Charlie Haden is on bass. I believe this was his debut, and what a debut it was. Just caught Charlie last year live at a local jazz show and I was absolutely floored. The cat still has the chops!!! One of the most unique bass players you will ever hear, and this is where it all began folks.



The jazz world's "The Rite of Spring". Enjoy it, but remember, you have been warned!



"

You have to hear it

Wyote | Seoul | 05/16/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a transcendent experience for the close listener, but I'm afraid it might be jarring for the casual listener. It simply cannot exist as background music, or to use a term from Eric Hobsbawm, "sonic wallpaper." It demands your attention, and rewards it.



One of the great classic jazz albums, this virtually established the genres "free jazz" or "avant-garde jazz." Now those genres are not for the jazz newbie. If you're the kind of person who expects to learn something you don't already know about an album from reviews on amazon.com, then this is probably going to be a little hard for you to hear.



But don't let me fool you. I'm fairly new to jazz too (it's a love affair of a few years now), and I really love this album! I don't want to put anyone off too much: we're not talking about John Coltrane's Ascension, which is a challenge for almost anyone; this is probably the easiest album in those genres to hear, so get it as soon as you think you're ready for it.



If you've heard, for instance, Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, Charles Mingus' Mingus Ah Um, Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto in Getz/Gilberto, Cannonball Adderly's Somethin' Else, and perhaps a dozen other similarly famous albums, then you're surely ready for this one. But if not, you might want to start with them and come back to this in a few months. If you decide you like it, you might try Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch next.



(And if you have the kind of rebellious streak in you that I have, this kind of advice will lead to you getting Ascension first and the others later, and in its way that will be a good experience. If you enjoy pushing yourself that way, let me also suggest the Kronos Quartet playing George Crumb's Black Angels. To each his/her own, friends.)"