Ditto for The Great London Concert, which ended the two years of retirement that Ornette proclaimed in late 1962. This set is where Coleman premiered the piece known as "Forms and Sounds for Wind Quartet." It's a lot like "Dedication" from Town Hall, but it's simultaneously wittier and more ponderous. The rest of the set overlaps somewhat with Town Hall and has the same kind of crackling tension...but where the previous record is all a jolt of artistic excitement, this one is crisp with the anxiety and nerves of a comeback.
It was a successful one, of course, and it spread throughout Europe with great acclaim and incredible musical accomplishment (as documented on the Stockholm Golden Circle sets). Europe, certainly (and unfortunately), has always been more welcoming of jazz in general--and the avant-garde in particular--than America ever was, and it was packed with musical and artistic types who were desperate to make Ornette's acquaintance. Among these, apparently, were a surprising number of filmmakers, all of whom had soundtrack commissions in their hands.
Chappaqua Suite, for example. It was the first commissioned score for Conrad Rooks' film Chappaqua--which, although made by an American director and named for a Long Island town (the same place where the Clintons now live), it was a French production and was filmed almost entirely in Paris. Rooks asked Coleman to compose the music for his exploration of drug addiction, and in response our man took his trio, fellow freeman Pharoah Sanders, and several string and woodwind players into the studio in June of 1965 and made a mammoth, four-part masterpiece that showed off his plaintively emotional saxophone wailing AND his mesmerizing skill at orchestral composition. It was, in fact, so beautiful and complex that Rooks was ultimately afraid that it would overshadow the film, so he commissioned another score and released Ornette's suite as a double album.
Kind of an unlikely, fantastic story, ain't it? It didn't happen again...but it came damn close. In 1966, Coleman was asked to write and record another soundtrack, this one for a Belgian flick called Who's Crazy? Again Coleman took his trio into the studio--although this time he played his bizarre and self-taught trumpet and violin along with the trademark plastic alto sax--and again he produced a fearsome double album. This one was much less of a unified piece than was Chappaqua Suite, but it showed the Coleman trio doing one of the things it did past: playing like they were on fire, a savage and barely-controlled fury that bleeds right through the speakers.
Article comments
1 - Jay Collins
Interesting piece, though your likely to get much argument concerning his status from many of the cognoscenti.
Re: the Impulse! recordings (including the 45), they were licensed to Impulse! by Ornette himself. The label no longer has the rights to this material (blame Ornette if you must).
Denardo was 12 when Ornette At 12 was recorded (1968).
2 - Mike
Hee! I know...I'm making a pretty bold statement about his status here, but I think I'm right that he's in the top 3 (yes, I place him above Coltrane) and I've got pretty good arguments. I'll post them if I get enough interest on this article.
Hmmm...I coulda sworn Ornette at 12 was '68, but I've only got it on a CD-R. I've gotta do better research before I post these things. :-)
3 - Mark Saleski
from what i've read, Ornette is a stickler for getting a 'good deal' in his business transactions...causing him to miss out on releases/shows because he couldn't get his price.
man, i bet you he's got a lot of cool concert material in the can.
4 - godoggo
I'd think a better slogan might be "Free jazz fans of the world, do whatever the hell you want."
5 - Eric Olsen
great job Mike, I have had a few free jazz phases and love the energy and spaciosness, but eventually grow sentimental for structure
How about "Free Jazz Fans For Sale"?
6 - godoggo
I guess I should mention that I really do like free jazz, although I recoil a bit at music critic hyperbole of any kind. There, my joke is now officially deceased.
7 - Michael J. West
Point taken. I usually like to think of myself as a historian instead of a critic, since that's where my interest lies, but since I'm aware of how pretentious that sounds I'll just stop right there.
8 - godoggo
One other quick comment. Ornette's influence is huge, of course; offhand, I'd divide Ornett-influenced players into the following categories: 1) sidemen, 2)musicians who play in his style, 3)musicians who play in other free jazz styles, 4) straight ahead jazz musicans who occassionally in play free; 5) modal post bop players, and, (in order to cover my posterior) 6) miscellaneous (e.g. Ornette-influenced rock players).
OK, so it's kind of a lame list, but it gives an idea of his historical importance. However, his importance as a player is another matter. Whereas I often find his playing moving, and find his conception potentially rich, I have some reservations about his musicianship. There are four soloists of whom I'm aware who have mastered his approach to improvisation, and, because of their better musicianship (instumental technique, and superior mastery of the fundamentals of bop and/or post-bop) taken it far beyond anything Ornette can do. Here they are: Dewey Redman, John Carter, Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis.
OK, one other comment, I'm not nearly as familiar with Ornette's discography as you, but I felt confident enough to give an answer a few years ago when a friend asked for some buying advice. My first recommendation was "Stay away from anything with Denardo on it." My second recommendation was "I don't know if it's available on CD, but Science Fiction is a good one." Turns out the second was definitely good advice, for he bought the 2-CD "Science Fiction Sessions" album, which is very much in print, and called me the next day absolutely elated. Of course, I'll stand by the first recommendation as well.
Cheers.
9 - godoggo
I know, I know - horrible horrible prose.
10 - Michael J. West
Aw, poor Denardo.
I think you're right, godoggo, about Ornette's musicianship...but my understanding is that he's remained purposely unschooled about it because he's afraid that it would (1) undermine his approach to playing, and (2) ruin any chance he has of making new and unheard-of sounds on his instrument(s): after all, the more seasoned a player one is, the less likely open is to explore unconventional ways of playing.
11 - mpho
Mike,
I am a life-long (yet casual) jazz fan though I've only given over to avant/free jazz in recent years. A friend took me to see Ornette Coleman last year and it was the most purely exciting muscial moment of my life. That said, Coltrane is my jazz muse. I personally try not to compare them because they were doing different things with different motivation, but I am curious as to your "arguments" as to placing one above the other and also am wondering who your top three are?
Meanwhile thanks for the post. I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled for some of these. Grazie!
12 - Duke Ed
Hey guys,
I have been checking out a ton of Ornette. My favorite though is Shape of Jazz to come. that Lonely woman kicks ass. I have been trying to catch some live jazz around here in LA. Have any of you heard this Alto player Jason Goldman? He has some Ornette influence. I looked him up: www.jasongoldmanjazz.net. He sounds great. Also, this guy in John Birks. He plays a bit more like Joe Hen than Ornette but its still there.