R.I.P. Ornette Coleman (1 Viewer)

Thanks for posting that old video. I liked Ornette Coleman, especially his "harmolodic" stuff. And when he had the band with 2 competing rythm sections behind him... I still have "Dancing in your head" stuck in my head..
I think from all the great freejazz saxes only Sonny Rollins is still alive now.
 
Geez, I wouldn't put Sonny Rollins in that category at all, but Marshall Allen is still going strong at 91 as the leader of Sun Ra's Arkestra. In any case, OC did some great stuff and some, not as great, but he pushed boundaries. Losing that makes a difference.
 
I'd be hard pressed to find someone who pushed the boundaries of the saxophone and composition in jazz more than Ornette did post Coltrane.

I have 50+ albums of Ornette's work and in those 50+ albums he has solidified his genius.

This isn't a passing of a marginally talented musician who had a moment in the sun, this is a passing of someone who changed improvised music in the late 20th century.

A master has died, stop shrugging.
 
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I can't say that I'm extremely familiar with Coleman. But I know a groundbreaker when I hear one. And you can bet your squealing alto that music (not just jazz) is better off because of him.

He was an innovator and those guys always get jeered at/discredited by everyone. I heard some interview excerpts with him on NPR tonight. Very humble guy with no desire to be a celebrity and kind of a "dull" interview. In my opinion, he basically.... broke rhythm and let all the melodies go at once. Like liberating a zoo or something. Pure imagination.

Here he is early on in his revolution...1959...

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Whenever I listen to The Shape of Jazz to come I get the feeling of being locked in a small, boiling room in which the sound and air is exploding around me with hot power.

I'm not always exactly sure what's going on, but that something is going on is evident.

RIP Ornette Coleman.

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