While I am no jazz expert (by any means) I know what I like and what sounds good to these ears. And, as a fan of a lot of music that could be considered noisy, I absoultely love the work of saxophonist Ornette Coleman.
Jazz critics all agree that Ornette Coleman was one of the most important (and controversial) innovators of the jazz avant-garde. He was a revolutionary and challenged the notions of what jazz should sound like when he burst on the scene in 1959. His music may sound tame by today's standards, but back then it was a bold new statement that rattled, turned off, and even frightened many listeners. Even Miles Davis said, "Hell, just listen to what he writes and how he plays. If you're talking psychologically, the man is all screwed up inside."
Now my first exposure to jazz music was (as a kid) to the the generic, boring, click-track stuff you can readily hear on smooth jazz radio stations. I wasn't impressed at all and forgot about jazz until sometime in college when I was exposed to Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue. I discovered that jazz could be really good and (over the next few years) slowly expanded my collection and knowledge of the genre. In my early 20's I stumbled upon some recordings by Ornette Coleman in the library. I took them home and put 'em on the stereo. As my jaw dropped I may have said something like, "Holy s#!t, what the f#&k is this?"
I had never heard jazz music like that before. Ornette's performances were virtuostic, emotional, and exciting. His music was all over the map and seemed to just flow and move along as if it had a life of its own. The music wasn't so much dissonant as it was chaotic and definately pulse-quickening. If Thurston Moore played saxophone he might be Ornette Coleman.
In 1961 Coleman released Free Jazz, a 37-minute improvisational jam that featured Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, Eric Dolphy, and others as a double quartet. The left channel features Coleman's quartet and the right channel features Dolphy's. This is glorious noise and (although a bit challenging) pure musical magic.
MP3 | Ornette Coleman - Free Jazz Free Jazz
2 Comments ↓
Again, dead on . . . Coleman is amazing. Keep up the fine posts.
Nice. I am trying to get into jazz more and more and move past the regulars. Thanks for the heads up. I am digging this Ornette Coleman track.
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