The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/29770
Vinyl Vault The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet ‘Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation’ Atlantic, 1961 Ornette Coleman has never been a universally praised figure in jazz. To some, he is the antithesis of jazz, the end of the Bop era. Com- pared to his contemporaries, Coleman’s outputs of the late 1950s and early ’60s sound like transmissions from another planet, each record more unique than the last. His debut on the Atlantic label, 1959’s “The Shape Of Jazz To Come” was a musical manifesto out- lining the direction Coleman’s music was to take. As difficult as many jazz purists found this album, nothing could have prepared them for his fourth Atlantic release, 1961’s “Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation,” a record that took jazz further than it had ever gone before, creating a new genre and inspiring generations of future musicians. Released in the summer of 1961, “Free Jazz” tested more than just the patience of the purists. It was also recorded using a highly complex process for the era. It was the longest improvised piece of music ever recorded. In the liner notes, Coleman explains: “We were expressing our minds and our emotions as much as could be captured by electronics.” To further complicate the recording process (and create the unique feel of the record), the record was recorded in stereo, a technology still in its infancy, with each channel containing a separate quartet. The improvisation was recorded live, then split between left and right channels. As avant-garde as the album seemed at the time, it was far more rooted in jazz tradition than its detractors liked to admit. In discussing Writers The Scene is hiring experienced feature writers, as well as those interested in contributing reviews of music, films and theater. E-mail clips to editor@otownscene.com April 21, 2011 O-Town Scene 5 This is not dissonant sound, but a brilliantly executed musical piece, one of both great creativity and restraint. the ideas behind “Free Jazz,” Coleman writes that “the most important thing was for us to play together, all at the same time, without getting in each other’s way, and also to have enough room for each player to ad lib alone _ and to follow this idea for the duration of the album.” There are concrete themes the eight musicians return to, each man solos, each contributes evenly to the piece. This is not dissonant sound, but a brilliantly executed musical piece, one of both great creativity and restraint. Atlantic Records was well aware of the con- troversy when the record was released. The critic Martin Williams, who wrote the liner notes for the album, begins by saying, “This is an exceptional record-exceptional in so many ways that it is hard to know where to begin!” He ends cautiously with, “On the other hand, the man who isn’t bothered about ‘newness’ or ‘difference’... is having the soundest sort of response to Ornette Coleman’s music.” Fifty years on it is still as fresh and bold as it was upon release. Jackson Pollock’s “White Light,” which graces the cover, still compli- ments the vibrant creativity and spontane- ity of these musicians. This is still a divisive record for some jazz fans, but also a fantastic introduction for people who enjoy improvised or experimental music. Ornette Coleman has recorded dozens of fantastic albums in his six decades of performance, but “Free Jazz” still stands out as a challenging and ultimately rewarding listen. _ James Derek Sapienza James Derek Sapienza is a 25-year-old musi- cian and artist. His record collec- tion contains more than 1,000 LPs and singles, which he has been col- lecting since he was 8 years old.