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Anger sometimes tints the art of renegades, but as trumpet player Don Cherry blends his lines with Ornette Coleman's alto sax on this cornerstone of modern jazz, it's obvious that Coleman, the idiosyncratic composer, has joy in his heart. Sorrow, too: The forlorn mood that Coleman's quartet conjures on "Lonely Woman" has secured its status as one of the music's most deeply felt ballads. That respect wasn't the case initially: When Coleman dumped chord structures as the impetus for his solos in the late '50s, many members of the jazz audience were plenty befuddled. However, those who connected with the bandleader's sound were privy to a small miracle. Charlie Haden's strummed bass and Billy Higgins's cymbal chatter helped Coleman swing in a novel way -- just listen to the refracted bop of "Congeniality" or "Focus on Sanity." It wasn't long before the charm of the foursome's creativity tromped the initial wariness, and THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME helped turn the tide. A gorgeous record pushing a highly original agenda, its innovations and beauty are still being assessed to this day. Jim Macnie - Barnes & Noble |
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Ornette Coleman's Atlantic debut, 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. The pieces here follow almost no predetermined harmonic structure, which allows Coleman and partner Don Cherry an unprecedented freedom to take the melodies of their solo lines wherever they felt like going in the moment, regardless of what the piece's tonal center had seemed to be. Plus, this was the first time Coleman recorded with a rhythm section -- bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins -- that was loose and open-eared enough to follow his already controversial conception. Coleman's ideals of freedom in jazz made him a feared radical in some quarters; there was much carping about his music flying off in all directions, with little direct relation to the original theme statements. If only those critics could have known how far out things would get in just a few short years; in hindsight, it's hard to see just what the fuss was about, since this is an accessible, frequently swinging record. It's true that Coleman's piercing, wailing alto squeals and vocalized effects weren't much beholden to conventional technique, and that his themes often followed unpredictable courses, and that the group's improvisations were very free-associative. But at this point, Coleman's desire for freedom was directly related to his sense of melody -- which was free-flowing, yes, but still very melodic. Of the individual pieces, the haunting "Lonely Woman" is a stone-cold classic, and "Congeniality" and "Peace" aren't far behind. Any understanding of jazz's avant-garde should begin here. Steve Huey - AMG |
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Ornette Coleman
Saxofonista (alto y tenor), trompetista, violinista y compositor norteamericano (Fort Worth, Texas, 19-3-1930).
A los catorce años comienza sus estudios de saxo alto y dos años mas tarde se vuelca al tenor.
Recorre el sur de Estados Unidos con orquestas de rhythm and blues y recala en Nueva Orleans durante varios meses antes de establecerse en Los Angeles.
Durante el día trabaja de ascensorista y estudia armonía por las noches o viceversa, y ahonda en al teoría musical al tiempo que desarrolla un estilo sin precedente, prácticamente atonal, sobre bases rítmicas que rompen con los moldes armónicos habituales. Y también con los del jazz, por modernos que fueran.
Tras escuchar una de sus composiciones, red Mitchell le presenta a Lester Koening, por cuya decisión graba sus primeros discos para Contemporary (en 1958, con Don Cherry, Walter Norris, Don Payne y Billy Higgins). Durante el otoño del mismo año, Coleman, Cherry, Charlie Haden y Higgins conforman el quinteto de Paul Bley.
John Lewis facilita al saxofonista y al trompetista la obtención, en agosto de 1959, de sendas becas para la School of Jazz de Lenox (Massachusetts). A su regreso en Nueva York (otoño de 1959), Ornette Coleman inaugura el Five Spot junto a Don Cherry, tocando en la ocasión un saxo alto de plástico.
El grupo es objeto de inmediatas y vehementes controversias pero el escándalo no los favorece y no consiguen demasiados compromisos.
Ornette graba para Atlántic, junto a Hacen, Cherry y Higgins, una serie de discos de elocuentes títulos: “The Shape of Jazz To Come”, “Change Of Century”, “This Is Our Music”... Son anuncios o declaraciones de la estética del free jazz. La misma expresión “free jazz” sirve de titulo a uno de los discos mas celebres del periodo, composición espontanea y fulgurante de un doble cuarteto: Ornette, Cherry, Scott LaFaro y Higgins por una parte; Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard; Haden y Ed Blackwell por la otra.
Tras dos años de inactividad, Coleman regresa con un trio (David Izenzon, Charles Moffett): conciertos, gira europea, cine.
Ornette incorpora a sus grupos a su hijo Denardo, baterista desde los doce años de edad.
Hacia el final de la decada parece ganar cierto reconocimiento oficial (“Jazzman of the Year” para la revista Down Beat en 1966, “Hall Of Fame” en 1969) e instala un estudio en un loft: el Artist House, en Soho, donde ofrece exposiciones, proyecciones, conciertos, etc.
En 1972 crea Skies Of America, una obra para orquesta sinfónica cimentada en sus concepciones “armolódicas” según la cuál todas las melodías, todas las armonías, todos los ritmos y todos los tiempos son iguales.
Luego, en una carrera cuajada de eclipses, llega a propiciar sorprendentes encuentros (su grupo Prime Time), donde se mezclan free, rock, funk y otras expresiones.
En 1987, como para consumar la ruptura con el mayor estruendo posible, graba con su antiguo cuarteto (Cherry, Haden, Higgins) y su reciente Prime Time.
Pocos meses antes, el joven Pat Metheny lo invita a tocar con él, aunque a partir de sus propios e inmutables principios.
De hecho, siempre ha dado la sensación de que la música de Ornette Coleman no dejaba lugar a medias tintas: o se la acepta tal cual, o se la rechaza. Una premisa trazada desde el primer disco. Ornette siempre ha generado un espacio diferente. Del free jazz al free funk, el mas “alternativo” de los saxofonistas altos ha hecho de la improvisación un arte en bruto, sin por ello dudar en destruir su propio genio melódico. |
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