The Music Of Ornette Coleman

Sound DNA

• Jazz

About

This was Ornette Coleman’s indie debut in 1958, followed by one more for the Contemporary label (<i>Tomorrow Is the Question!</i>) and then the important signing to Atlantic in 1959. The Texas-born alto saxophonist was clearly in a lane of his own, exploring a new improvisational language and approach with pocket trumpeter Don Cherry as his stalwart ally in the frontline. This was bebop, but not—the harmonic density was absent, reconfigured, the melodies drenched in blues and folkloric inflection. It swung hard, even if differently. It was scandalous and anarchic to some, but now a tune like “When Will the Blues Leave?” is simply an essential piece of the modern jazz literature, one that well-versed players ought to know. <i>Something Else!!!!</i> is unique in that Walter Norris appears on piano, an instrument that would vanish from Coleman’s bands going forward (though he did use keyboards in Prime Time, much later). The open, non-tempered, non-chordal sound of alto and trumpet against bass and drums was Coleman’s preference. But this lineup, with Don Payne on bass and the great Billy Higgins on drums, broke important ground. The melodies on this early effort are indeed something else, and no less a part of the Coleman legacy than the earth-shaking work for Atlantic that followed.

via Apple Music

Tracklist

Credits