People had differing opinions on Ornette Coleman. Miles Davis said that Coleman was “all screwed up inside” during some interview. Davis later recanted what he said but the statement never went away. Roy Eldridge had this to say: "I'd listened to him all kinds of ways. I listened to him high and I listened to him cold sober. I even played with him. I think he's jiving baby." You never really knew what you were going to get when it came to his music. “The Shape of Jazz to Come” came out in 1959 and was one of the first avant-garde jazz records ever. People were shocked and blown away with the fact that the record had very little chord structure and seemed to be all over the place musically. He’ll start off with a main theme followed by wild solo’s that last a few minutes then he’ll dive back into the main theme and start over again. Sometimes every band member will be soloing simultaneously causing a mess of noise that somehow comes out perfect. This record was pretty much responsible for starting a whole new type of jazz (avant-garde, free jazz) and was groundbreaking for jazz in general. I posted a song from the record and a link to his official site where you can see his discography and some videos.
Band Members for “The Shape of Jazz to Come”:
Ornette Coleman – Alto Sax
Don Cherry – Cornet
Charlie Haden – Bass
Billy Higgins – Drums
Coleman is 79 and still playing live and recording in the studio. Check out his newest record Sound Grammar where he plays alto sax, trumpet and violin and tears them all up. It was recorded live in Germany and won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music.
Ornette Coleman-Eventually
Ornette Coleman Official Site
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