Free Jazz King Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman

One of the most influential & important living musicians will be gracing Lower Manhattan with a visit this Friday. On September 15th, the legendary Ornette Coleman will be appearing at J&R for an autograph signing session. He’s touring behind his new album, Sound Grammar - his first in over a decade.

It’s hard to explain the importance of a man who was on the cutting edge of musical experimentation for over two decades — and still pushes the envelope as an “elder statesman of jazz.” Whether we’re talking about his solo work, or his compositions as leader of a trio or quartet (and even a double quartet), he’s always been at the forefront of jazz, pushing the music to strange new places and inspiring others to do the same. Almost every saxophone player owes Coleman a debt; his playing redefined what could be done with the instrument & played a major part in creating the modern sax sound.

Coleman was already a well-respected (if not well-known) jazz musician when he freaked everyone out with his experimental album, The Shape Of Jazz To Come. He got even freakier with his follow-up, Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation - an album that divided the jazzmen of his time. Fellow cutting-edge musician Miles Davis didn’t like it, but the more traditional Lionel Hampton did. (Interestingly, so did Leonard Bernstein, the king of Broadway show tunes.) Coleman pressed ahead in spite of the controversy he started, playing a series of shows at the now-gone Five Spot Cafe — a hotspot for jazz, on the corner of St Mark’s Place & Cooper Square. His performances blew the crowd away and started the “free jazz” movement, taking its name from the Ornette Coleman record that started it all.

Freaking out the jazz greats of his day & starting a new musical movement would be enough for most people, but Coleman hasn’t been resting on his laurels. He’s consistently pushed into new territory, often working with younger musicians and experimenting with music from other cultures. Most recently, he’s been playing with The Bad Plus, like-minded experimentalists known for their free jazz covers of everything from Nirvana to Aphex Twin.

Sound Grammar is out on Sept. 12th. The man himself appears at J&R on Friday, on the second floor of 25 Park Row, for autograph signings at 12:30pm. Come down and meet a living legend.

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This entry was posted by A.Rehak on Monday, September 11th, 2006 at 9:48 pm