Ornette Coleman
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Fort Worth TX, United States (1930 – present)
Ornette Coleman (born 1930) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is one of the major innovators of the 1960s free jazz movement and one of the most notable figures in jazz history.
Coleman was born on 9th March 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas, where he began performing rhythm and blues and bebop, initially on tenor saxophone. He later switched to alto, which has remained his primary instrument. Coleman’s timbre is perhaps one of the most easily recognised in jazz; his keening, crying sound draws heavily on the blues. Part of the uniqueness of his sound came from his use of a plastic saxophone on his classic early recordings (Coleman claimed that it sounded drier, without the pinging sound of metal), though in more recent years he has played a metal saxophone.
Coleman is most famous for his albums The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959), Free Jazz (1961), and Skies of America (1972). In The Shape of Jazz to Come, he and his famous quartet, consisting of Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden on upright bass, and Billy Higgins on drums, play solos free of a chordal structure, due in part to the absence of the pianist or guitarist that had been traditional in jazz. On Free Jazz, Coleman brings together his quartet from the previous album, together with multi-instrumental reedist Eric Dolphy, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Ed Blackwell for a forty-minute double-quartet recording.
Coleman was born on 9th March 1930 in Fort Worth, Texas, where he began performing rhythm and blues and bebop, initially on tenor saxophone. He later switched to alto, which has remained his primary instrument. Coleman’s timbre is perhaps one of the most easily recognised in jazz; his keening, crying sound draws heavily on the blues. Part of the uniqueness of his sound came from his use of a plastic saxophone on his classic early recordings (Coleman claimed that it sounded drier, without the pinging sound of metal), though in more recent years he has played a metal saxophone.
Coleman is most famous for his albums The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959), Free Jazz (1961), and Skies of America (1972). In The Shape of Jazz to Come, he and his famous quartet, consisting of Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden on upright bass, and Billy Higgins on drums, play solos free of a chordal structure, due in part to the absence of the pianist or guitarist that had been traditional in jazz. On Free Jazz, Coleman brings together his quartet from the previous album, together with multi-instrumental reedist Eric Dolphy, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Ed Blackwell for a forty-minute double-quartet recording.
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The Shape of Jazz to Come
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Ken Burns Jazz
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Science Fiction
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Tomorrow Is The Question!
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Shoutbox
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optimistic_tour wrote:
so anyway people don't listen to enough Skies of America.
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baslisten2rock wrote:
yeah i think i drew my conclusions too fast, they're both very different but both the best at what they do.
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optimistic_tour wrote:
yeah I couldn't and wouldn't compare Coleman and Mingus. worlds apart, equally adept at what they do best.
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bloodmaw wrote:
their approach to jazz is entirely different. i love both pretty much equally
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baslisten2rock wrote:
coleman > mingus imo and that's really something cause mingus > all
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KingsAndQueen wrote:
yay I made the main picture change :D !
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jakobdorof wrote:
can't believe the drummer on the Empty Foxhole LP was Ornette's ten year old son.
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hatredofmusic wrote:
Ornette Coleman is probably the only thing I don't hate about Texas these days.
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Splif4d wrote:
фри
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Druid66 wrote:
So much good musical talent came out of Texas, this man's no exception.
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b-l-ackstage wrote:
The Shape of Jazz to Come < visionaire egotist
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mk741 wrote:
Ripping off the Refused? Lame.
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mudkipzftw wrote:
I didn't know Coleman was born in Fort Worth. I live there. That's awesome.
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danielrib3 wrote:
vou baixar
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innerwille wrote:
Free Jazz is breathtaking!
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KingsAndQueen wrote:
Dancing In Your Head. Especially the Second Variation from The From A Symphony. So funky! Anyone knows if he did more funky stuff?
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mrmichel0927 wrote:
Very good
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ClaeBeast wrote:
i fookin love ornette coleman, jayne tickles my sides
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kobushi_ wrote:
yeah
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Ahampe wrote:
Holy shit Skies of America
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