Ornette Coleman Music

coleman/shore together are like what miles davis and angelo badalamenti would've come up with!yes,it's that good!have a few stiff drinks,pop this in,and close your eyes...

I've always enjoyed Howard Shore's work, even way before he became a household name with the mammoth scores for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I personally feel that he is at his best when doing the scores for Cronenberg's works.

With Naked Lunch, I think Shore managed to create a perfect soundscape to go along with director David Cronenberg's crazed adaptation of William Burrough's cult novel. Shore, along with famed saxophonist Ornette Coleman, join together to create a strange hybrid of mood music and frenetic jazz that fits the film perfectly. This isn't typical jazz and is very free form but still, it's definitely one of the best film scores I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. It's not for everyone but if you appreciate a good, moody movie score, look no further for this is one of the absolute best.

Lastly, it reminds me a bit of the score that he did for "The Cell", due to the Middle East sounding bits laced throughout the album and out of all of his scores, I'd say it resembles that one the most. The lonely saxophone also reminds me of the score for "Angel Heart", the sax in which was played by Courtney Pine.

As good as his first Atlantic album was, this 2nd album with the same personnel is maybe Ornette's best for that label. One reason is that the writing and playing is even better that the first outing. Tunes like "Una Muy Bonita" or "The Face of the Bass" have that tunefulness that is reminscent of Monk. Also Billy Higgins is on board again and though I did like his replacement, Ed Blackwell on drums--I missed Billy's light as feather accompaniment behind Ornette. If you want an introduction to Ornette's music--start with this one.

Change of the Century, Ornette's 4th album is a work of stunning brilliance. Any doubts that because it is sandwiched between the definitive classic The Shape Of Jazz To Come & the revolutionary Free Jazz that it would be somewhat lesser can be thrown right out. This is a great a jazz album as any ever made & amongst the greatest of any music, seriously all the labels, genre-specificness & niche marketing should be thrown right out, like OC fan Captain Beefheart meant when he said "Lick my decals off, baby!", I'm sure Ornette would agree. 1st of all there is the striking stark portrait of the man himself by Lee Friedlander to get yr attention, I've seen a book full of her photography & it's good stuff [note the similar style on Miles Davis' Greatest Hits lp cover of the late 60s]. Then there are the liner notes explaining the philosophy driving the music, Ornette believes deeply in what his group were doing [I should now mention that drummer Billy Higgins recently died & a sad shame it is, also the great Don Cherry has been gone since 1995], the bold titles of the albums were not an exercise to build an ego but just great confidence in the power of the music. Now, Ramblin' which opens the album is something that should be listened to every day to wake you up & get you in the mood for lifeliving, very catchy & great playing from all members, pure genius. Free is the name of the next track & it's worth noting this is preceding the term 'free jazz' slightly, the intro of it really superb, a streaming sea of sound & then of course there is a lot of free group improvisation. The Face Of The Bass highlights the talents of Charlie Haden [& rightly so!], daring to give him an extended solo before the whole band jumps in again. Una Muy Bonita is an overwhelmingly joyous tune but never embarrassingly so, another classic. The only tune to not grab you immediately & predict the more out there abrasiveness of the free jazz scene is the title track which closes the lp, it is also the shortest track here. The other songs are top notch too of course, particularly Forerunner. Like Ornette says in the liner notes, music can't be analysed too much or it loses what makes it great in the 1st place, so all I can say is it's something I highly recommend & yr ears will thank you for it. P.S. [3 months after initial write-up]: THIS IS THE PINNACLE, IT DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!! An absolute classic that can be played every day & is always compelling. That's not to say there's not a whole lot more worth checking out, the electric Body Meta & semi-orchestral Chappaqua Suite are brilliant too. Start here though.

I must admit I'm not very much experienced with free jazz; I listened to some Pharoah Sanders and to some of Miles Davis' experiments with this style ("Cookin' at plugged nickel" or something like that...). Well, I was moderatly impressed and moderately confused. I have also listened to some of the more recent jazz explorations by Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins, as well as some recordings by Art Ensemble of Chicago and Wayne Shorter's latest explorations that go beyond most traditional achievements,,,
It therefore seemed about time I went to the source...

First of all, I am impressed by the level of expressiveness of this music; it is no accident that Coleman's liner notes mention New Orleans jazz - some of his (but also Cherry's) solos have brought back some of the tonal features that started to disappear as early as the swing era...
I'm not an expert but I'm almost certain I heard Ornette produce some blue notes on his plastic instrument!

Naturally, New Orleans style is one of the styles in jazz in which collective improvisation was not so uncommon, so it is no wonder that, in the attempt to free jazz from Charlie Parker's magnificent shadow, Ornette at times went to the sources of jazz. In addition to that, the occasional "ethno" influences on this album (not only in the last song)are a continuation of the usual manners in which jazz musicians tried to infuse new ideas into their music; Ellington, Gillespie and others were particularly impressed by Latin America(s), there were even some Middle East experiments, but it was about time in the late 50's someone shows the influences of South Asia and other sources...

However, I must admit I still dig Ornette's explanations much more than I dig the music... This is fine jazz, with strong sense of swing and, at least occasionally, with fine drive, but all in all, I'm not hypocritical enough to hide my opinion that the band at times rambles a bit too much...

Also, keeping the format of innitial and concluding statement of...well...anti-melody at some songs also doesn't seem such a good idea . I think that much better, or at least "freer", is the approach on "Change of the Century"...

Perhaps if I devote more time to this style I would get used to it or discover more beauty, but as for now, 4 stars is the maximum I can give...
Even that is a bit far fetched, rewarding the courage and determination to follow original path (regardless of the number of followers)...

This is a classic recording, only slightly less compelling than Coleman's SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME. If you like SHAPE, you'll certainly like CHANGE. These of course were recorded within a few months of each other, by the same legendary group (Coleman, Cherry, Haden, Higgins). To these ears, this remastered version is a big improvement (higher resolution) over the original CD. Same goes for the remastered version of SHAPE. These are both from the ATLANTIC MASTERS series (Warner Jazz), made in Germany. I haven't heard the much more expensive Japanese imports, but I expect the German ones may be hard to beat. The only downside is that you almost need a microscope to read the liner notes, and there's quite a bit to read.

Following up a classic album is always a difficult endeavor. Certainly to do so when that album was revolutionary and influential is even harder. Our natural tendency as listeners and amateur critics is to compare albums to each other, particularly those that are relatively contemporary to each other. Such is the case with Ornette Coleman's "Change of the Century", followup to "The Shape of Jazz to Come". Released just five months later, it finds Coleman's quartet (the leader on alto sax, Don Cherry on cornet, Charlie Haden on bass and Billy Higgins on drums) in full flight-- more comfortable as a unit, in some ways, the performance is tighter and better than "The Shape of Jazz to Come", but as a result of this, in some ways it seems to lack the urgency and immediacy of the album it followed.

Still, lacking immediacy doesn't make a bad album, and there's plenty of good material on here-- the fractured title track largely represents everything critics of Coleman have to say about him-- its disjoint theme and following solos are unpredictable, even on repeated listens, and manage somehow to be stunning each time, no dobut due to the sympathetic playing of Haden and Higgins. Likewise, on "Una Muy Bonita" and "The Face of the Bass"-- the two of them strike a delicate mix between free association with the soloist and swing that keeps things together and coherent. And check out Cherry and Haden together on "Ramblin'"-- clearly the two of them have developed an unusual rapport that they can utilize to great effect.

All in all, "Change of the Century" a good followup to "The Shape of Jazz To Come"-- not quite the masterpiece that album is, but a worthwhile listen. Recommended.

Cherry,Coleman&Lacy really are in tap here.the music has alot of Depth&Feeling all the way through.that's a Strong Musical Chemistry thing going on from start to finish.a must have.

This package is very misleading. There are no cuts of Lacy, Coleman, and Cherry playing TOGETHER. Many of the cuts can be found on Ornette's TOMORROW IS THE QUESTION or Steve Lacy's EVIDENCE (with Don Cherry). Guess I should have read the fine print about this "compilation" from the Czech Republic. I admire these musicians but am giving it one star to cause would-be buyers to take a closerlook before ordering this CD.

This is a great early Cherry recording with a unique be-bop flavor. Sound quality is excellent (you can even hear Charlie Haden uncharacteristically yelp "woo" in the background as Coleman begins his solo on Lonely Woman). This one has broad appeal and shouldn't disappoint hardcore fans of Cherry or Coleman or Lacy.

The early recordings with Ornette are classics of course. During this time, Cherry made an additional recording with Steve Lacy on several Monk and Ellington tunes. Sometimes the combination of tunes in collections such as these sound awkward and ill-conceived. Not so here. What they have assemble here works very well as a single set. Great music at a budget price.

For those previously acquainted with Ornette Coleman, this collection of compositions is like visiting an old friend...for those first discovering the work, "Free" is a great place to start. Though adventurous, the compositions are accessible and interesting from the first listen. The agility and finesse of the players is astounding. As leader, Ornette Coleman shines with his playing and his compositions. Don Cherry is outstanding, especially his muted solo on "Una Muy Bonita." Charlie Haden is inside the music weaving, pulsing, and pushing his way along with Billy Higgins (check out "Ramblin'"). Higgins drumming would be a great cd all by itself. These musicians communicate on the deepest level and it is evident in the workings of this recording. A new discovery is made with each visit. I come back to this one again and again.

This disc contains Ornette Coleman's pioneering 37-minute 'Free Jazz' PLUS 40 minutes of shorter pieces recorded in the same year. So for a little less money than the American release of 'Free Jazz' you get about twice as much music, and the title track is the final piece, a fitting climax to a great set of music. That said, the jazz on this disc may be more challenging than some listeners would like, but among the extended collective improvisations of the sixties, besides being the first, this one is more immediately accessible, because it SWINGS and it COOKS! And you can tell the musicians are actively listening to each other and responding to each other's work, not just showing off or venting their emotions. So in a nutshell, 'Free Jazz' is less cosmic than Sun Ra's 'Magic City', less cerebral than Cecil Taylor, and less primal than Coltrane's 'Ascension', but probably more likely to hook you into an intensely brilliant musical world.

I picked this cd up @ the markets for a very reasonable sum, having only heard FREE JAZZ itself before but had been immersing myself in that & was flabbergasted to see that as merely 1 track [all 37 minutes of it] on this collection of material from 1960, & decided it was very much worth the purchase + I could see what his regular songs sounded like. The packaging looked slightly 'unofficial', a multicoloured drawing of the man & his sax & obnoxious writing over it. I love Revolving Doors where you can picture Ornette running about the city w/ a briefcase in a mad rush. I tried to find out what albums this & tunes like Rise & Shine were from only to find most of them were previously unreleased until the 1993 box set Beauty Is A Rare Thing & it would be very tempting to invest/indulge in that set which this would then seem to be a sampler of. There are liner notes giving a timeline of Ornette's life from being born in Forth Worth, Texas in 1930 to having his instruments damaged by angry crowds in 1950 who couldn't handle his playing to heralding a new era w/ his avant-garde stylings. It goes on to say nowadays he is accepted & the music not too controversial, well this is hardly true when you play it & find ignorant idiots commenting "oh is that Lisa Simpson & friends? haha". The reason these comments annoy me is because Ornette Coleman is a true artist w/ a vision & the ability to craft something beautiful & unique, here being helped by players such as Don Cherry, Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard & more. This music comes thoroughly recommended from me & as another Ornette fan Captain Beefheart said "IF YOU GOT EARS, YOU GOTTA LISTEN!".