ORNETTE COLEMAN PART 1 A Shape of Revolution to Come

Shape of Jazz to Come is one of my favorite albums of all time.  I place it up there with Grace by Jeff Buckley and Marquee Moon by Television.  I know I have talked about the influence of Ornette's music in the past on this blog, but Ornette has meant so much to many people and to Jazz fans.  I also understand why Coleman's music is controversial because of his disregard for the tradition before it.  I hear Ornette's music in a lot of great Jazz and I hear his music in the people who are influenced by him.  If you can find a copy of Virgin Beauty with Ornette and Jerry Garcia it's worth picking up.

When I was in High School I was always digging for new music to listen to.  I would look at something at the local library and bring it home. I started working there when I was 15 and I would always ask questions to the reference librarian for help.  My co-worker always had cool music blasting from his radio or cassette player and I wanted to know more.  He was my early guru on what to listen to.  I would ask him all about things music.

One day after classes at the local community college I headed into work.  I told the co-worker that I was taking a Jazz class.  This class was the history of Jazz.  I took it for two reasons.  My first reason was I was really interested in Jazz music.  The second was because I had an uncle who was obsessed with Jazz.  He liked all kinds, but one day he mentioned that he hated jazz after Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck.  Well hate is a strong word.  I decided just for the fun of it I would start listening to music after those musicians.  It's not out of spite to get back my uncle it was because there has to be something good about the music that he was missing.  The music he should be listening to and maybe enjoy.

The Ornette Coleman Quartet is music that goes against the norms of the time, and the norms of what Jazz should be.  Hey we all have problems with change, and this in a way forces you to think differently.  It takes a few listenings but it sure a beauty to listen to.  When I first heard it it sounded like no other jazz album I had at the time.  I could not understand why my uncle would hate this, but he was not the only one.

Lonely Woman

The Jazz classroom professor hated the music too.  Was it that bad?  Was it unlistenable?  I did not think so.  After class one day I went to see my English teacher to drop off a copy of my essay I was doing when I heard music coming from another English teachers office.  I  peaked my head in and he too was playing Ornette, but not the album I was thinking of, this must be the music my uncle and the teacher was thinking of.  I asked the professor who was a friend of my English Professor and who knew me well since I had a class with him before about the Jazz that was coming from his little player.  "Is this Ornette I asked?"  "It sure is," the professor smiled  and told me how he too liked Ornette's music.  For about an hour he talked about all the great albums of the early 1960's that I should own.  The next day I came in with three cassette blank cassette tapes and told him to fill me up with those albums we talked about.  I could not wait to dive in.

When I got them he told me that all these albums were taken from his vinyl collection and he had plenty more music for me if I wanted it.  He gave me two Ornette's on one cassette and on the other he gave me an Eric Dolphy and a Charles Mingus album (will talk about in future blogs).  I never heard any of these but was ready to explore.  The Ornette tape was the tape I grabbed first after all I wanted to know about this musician who was not only ignored by my uncle, but my music professor.  Why would this music be skipped over?

At first listen I was amazed why this music was so amazing and confused why two people who knew so much about Jazz ignored it.  The Shape of Jazz to Come begged me to play it again and again.  I did too.  Repeated listings were a must.  I did not flip the tape over for a long time, because if the album was this good, how could Ornette top this achievement.  One day on my home I was driving and the Jazz radio station decided to dedicate it's first two hours to a new Ornette Coleman retrospective.  As the radio disc jockey spoke, he spoke about Ornette in the best positive words.  He put Ornette in a scholarly text and let the music do the speaking.  He opened up with side two of the cassette I had.  Free Jazz was the title and the name of the album.  "It's not for the faint of heart or the less adventurous listener," he said.  I was so engrossed that I had to pull my car over and just listen.  This was just as amazing as The Shape of Jazz to Come that it sounded like controlled chaos.  This music was beautiful and very, very creative.

When I got home I rushed to our stereo at our house and played the rest of the tribute.  I asked my father about it.  He had a less then positive comment about it too.  Why is this music so dismissive by some and praised by others?  Ornette's music was great and sure it was captivating.  I could not wait to tell the professor who gave me this music for more.

Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry circa 1960

When we reconnected he was all smiles.  He loved the radio feature and then some.  "I'm glad they played his early Atlantic period" he said.  I was too, because this made me save the few dollars I had to get the Box Set that focused on this period.  I told my mother that this is what I want to save my money for.  This man is a revolutionary and game changer.  All what I needed to hear was during the years 1959-1961.  His music made my head spin, and continues to do so.

The Shape of Jazz to Come, was a watershed event in the genesis of avant-garde jazz, profoundly steering its future course and throwing down a gauntlet that some still haven't come to grips with. The record shattered traditional concepts of harmony in jazz, getting rid of not only the piano player but the whole idea of concretely outlined chord changes. (AMG)