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Ornette Coleman
by John Eyles
June 11th 2015 was one of those momentous days in jazz history that can truly be said to signal the end of an era--it was the day Ornette Coleman died. It is a mark of his stature that, on the day in question, when jazz fans told each other, “Ornette is dead" no-one ever asked, “Ornette who?" As with Elvis or Miles, one name was sufficient. There have been other Colemans, but there was only ever one Ornette...
Continue ReadingThe Day the Music Died
by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
On one of my infrequent trips outside the 'Dome recently, I stopped at a convenience store for a cold Coke Zero when I noticed a man about my age (48. 52, in heels) driving a red 1988 Pontiac Trans Am and blasting Whitesnake's “Here I Go Again" on his car stereo. He wore Zubaz workout pants that were at least twenty years out of style, a faded Def Leppard T-shirt, and sported a greying mullet. In that moment, I could ...
Continue ReadingOrnette Coleman at the Golden Circle - 1965
by Marc Davis
Let's start with a disclaimer: I'm not a fan of free jazz. So why would I even bother with an album I was pretty sure I'd dislike? There's a practical answer: It was on sale. I was in a record store recently that was having a buy-one-get-one-for-$1 sale. So I got a CD I knew I'd like and then saw Ornette Coleman at the Golden Circle, Volume One. Did I mention I collect Blue Note CDs? It's the ...
Continue ReadingOrnette Coleman and Humanity: Parts 1 and 2
by Matt Lavelle
Part One When we sleep, we're often in commune with our soul. As you wake, you may receive some gentle messages for you to try and remember or use. A few years back as I was waking up I felt that everything in my life was about to change in a way I could never expect. A massive shift was imminent. Shortly after that photographer John Rogers introduced me to Ornette Coleman. I'll always be very grateful to ...
Continue ReadingOrnette Coleman: The Music of Ornette Coleman / Skies of America
by AAJ Italy Staff
Questa nuova ristampa abbina due lavori centrali nel percorso dell'Ornette Coleman compositore come The Music of Ornette Coleman e il più celebre Skies Of America e ci dà l'opportunità di riflettere nuovamente su questo versante dell'attività del musicista. The Music of Ornette Coleman esce originariamente nel 1967 [anno in cui il musicista riceve anche una prestigiosa borsa di studio in composizione dalla John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation], unico della sua discografica per l'etichetta RCA e unisce tre differenti composizioni. “Forms ...
Continue ReadingRahsaan Roland Kirk: Spirits Up Above - The Atlantic Years 1965-1976
by Chris May
Rahsaan Roland KirkSpirits Up Above: The Atlantic Years 1965-1976Warner Jazz2012He was as funky as singer James Brown. With three horns in his mouth, he sounded like the entire JB reed section. And onstage, with a truckload of instruments around his neck, he was the hardest working man in jazz business. Saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist and multiple custom-reed instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936-77) livened up the music scene like few other artists before or ...
Continue ReadingOrnette Coleman and Don Cherry Once Blew Us Away Under LA’s Big Top
by Mort Weiss
Los Angeles/Hollywood, California, in the late 1940s through the early 1960s was a happening place for jazz and jazz musicians. There was always a place to play a jam session, or more correctly session(s)--mostly in beer bars. (I'm not counting the ones that went on all night in some one's pad, if they were lucky enough to live up in one of the many canyons in the Hollywood hills) I've seen many a sunrise from the Laurel and Topanga canyons, ...
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