DON CHERRY — Symphony for Improvisers (1967-2005) RM | RVG Edition Series | APE (image+.cue), lossless

For his second album, Symphony for Improvisers, Don Cherry expanded his Complete Communion quartet -- tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri, bassist Henry Grimes, and drummer Ed Blackwell -- to a septet, adding vibraphonist Karl Berger, bassist Jean François Jenny-Clark, and tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders (who frequently plays piccolo here). The lineup has a real international flavor, since Barbieri was from Argentina, Berger from Germany, and Jenny-Clark from France; Cherry had gigged regularly with all three during his 1964-1965 sojourn in Europe, and brought them to New York to record. With all the added firepower, it's remarkable that Symphony for Improvisers has the same sense of shared space and controlled intelligence as its predecessor, even when things are at their most heated. Once again, Cherry sets up the album as two continuous medleys that fuse four compositions apiece, which allows the group's improvisational energy and momentum to carry straight through the entire program. The "Symphony for Improvisers" suite is the most raucous part of Cherry's Blue Note repertoire, and the "Manhattan Cry" suite pulls off the widest mood shifts Cherry had yet attempted in that format. Even though the album is full of passionate fireworks, there's also a great deal of subtlety -- the flavors added to the ensemble by Berger's vibes and Sanders' piccolo, for example, or the way other instrumental voices often support and complement a solo statement. Feverish but well-channeled, this larger-group session is probably Cherry's most gratifying for Blue Note. Steve Huey   
Tracklist
 1 Symphony for Improvisers:
 Symphony for Improvisers/Nu Creative Love 19:43
Don Cherry
2 Manhattan Cry: Manhattan Cry/Lunatic/Sparkle Plenty/Om Nu 19:17
Don Cherry
Credits
Bass – Henry Grimes, Jean-François Jenny-Clark
Cornet, Composed By – Don Cherry
Drums – Edward Blackwell
Tenor Saxophone – Gato Barbieri
Tenor Saxophone, Piccolo Flute – Pharoah Sanders
Vibraphone, Piano – Karl Berger

CHARLIE HADEN — Liberation Music Orchestra (1970) Two Version | 1996, RM | BONUS TRACK | Impulse! – IMP 11882 + 2001, RM | Impulse! Best 50 – 38 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A fascinating reissue that comfortably straddles the lines of jazz, folk, and world music, working up a storm by way of a jazz protest album that points toward the Spanish Civil War in particular and the Vietnam War in passing. Haden leads the charge and contributes material, but the real star here may in fact be Carla Bley, who arranged numbers, wrote several, and contributed typically brilliant piano work. Also of particular note in a particularly talented crew is guitarist Sam Brown, the standout of "El Quinto Regimiento/Los Cuatro Generales/Viva la Quince Brigada," a 21-minute marathon. Reissue producer Michael Cuscuna has done his best with the mastering here, but listeners will note a roughness to the sound -- one that is in keeping with the album's tone and attitude. Steven McDonald 
Tracklist :
1  The Introduction 1:15
Carla Bley 
2  Song of the United Front 1:52
Bertolt Brecht / Hanns Eisler 
3  El Quinto Regimiento (The Fifth Regiment)/Los Cuatro Generales (The Four G 20:58
Carla Bley / Traditional 
4  The Ending to the First Side 2:07
Carla Bley 
5  Song for Ché 9:29
Charlie Haden 
6  War Orphans 6:42
Ornette Coleman 
7  The Interlude (Drinking Music) 1:24
Carla Bley 
8  Circus '68 '69 6:10
Charlie Haden 
9  We Shall Overcome 1:19
Guy Carawan / Frank Hamilton / Zilphia Horton / Pete Seeger / Traditional 
Credits :
Bass, Producer – Charlie Haden
Clarinet – Perry Robinson
Cornet, Flute [Indian Wood Flute, Bamboo Flute] – Don Cherry (tracks: 3, 5) 
French Horn, Wood Block [Hand Wood Blocks], Bells, Reeds [Crow Call], Whistle [Military Whistle] – Bob Northern
Guitar, Kalimba [Thumb Piano] – Sam Brown (tracks: 1, 3 to 7) 
Percussion – Andrew Cyrille (tracks: 8), Paul Motian
Tambourine, Arranged By – Carla Bley
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Gato Barbieri
Trombone – Roswell Rudd
Trumpet – Michael Mantler
Tuba – Howard Johnson

CLIFFORD JORDAN — Clifford Jordan In The World (1972-2006) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Whether at the helm of a record date or as a sideman, Clifford Jordan was known for giving his all. These studio recordings were originally made for Strata East, a label known for its adventurous spirit. The tenor saxophonist leads two separate groups. The sextet selections include trombonist Julian Priester, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassists Wilbur Ware and Richard Davis, drummer Albert Heath, and trumpeter Don Cherry. Jordan's pensive "Vienna" is given an extended workout, with Cherry's somewhat abstract playing fitting in rather well. The second piece, Jordan's "Doug's Prelude," is also a bit brooding, showcasing the leader, Priester, and Kelly. Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1 Vienna 17:10
Clifford Jordan
2 Doug's Prelude 4:47
Clifford Jordan
3 Ouagoudougou 11:00
Clifford Jordan
4 872 7:14
Clifford Jordan
Credits :
Bass – Richard Davis, Wilbur Ware
Drums – Al Heath (tracks: 1, 2), Ed Blackwell (tracks: 3, 4), Roy Haynes (tracks: 3, 4)
Piano – Wynton Kelly
Tenor Saxophone – Clifford Jordan
Trombone – Julian Preister
Trumpet – Don Cherry (tracks: 1, 2), Kenny Dorham (tracks: 3, 4)

ORNETTE COLEMAN - Beauty Is a Rare Thing : The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1993) RM | Atlantic Jazz Gallery | 6CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

While it's true this set has been given the highest rating AMG awards, it comes with a qualifier: the rating is for the music and the package, not necessarily the presentation. Presentation is a compiler's nightmare in the case of artists like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, who recorded often and at different times and had most of their recordings issued from the wealth of material available at the time a record was needed rather than culling an album from a particular session. Why is this a problem? It's twofold: First is that listeners got acquainted with recordings such as The Shape of Jazz to Come, This Is Our Music, Change of the Century, Twins, or any of the other four records Ornette Coleman released on Atlantic during that period. The other is one of economics; for those collectors who believe in the integrity of the original albums, they need to own both those recordings and this set, since the box features one album that was only issued in Japan as well as six unreleased tunes and the three Coleman compositions that appeared on Gunther Schuller's Jazz Abstractions record. Politically what's interesting about this box is that though the folks at Rhino and Atlantic essentially created a completely different document here, putting Coleman's music in a very different context than the way in which it was originally presented, his royalty rate was unchanged -- he refused to do any publicity for this set when it was issued as a result. As for the plus side of such a collection, there is a certain satisfaction at hearing complete sessions in context. That cannot be argued -- what is at stake is at what price to the original recorded presentations. Enough complaining. As for the music, as mentioned, the original eight albums Coleman recorded for Atlantic are here, in one form or another, in their entirety: Shape of Jazz to Come, Change of the Century, The Art of the Improvisers, Twins, This Is Our Music, Free Jazz, Ornette, and Ornette on Tenor, plus To Whom Keeps a Record, comprised of recordings dating from 1959 to 1960. In fact all of the material here was recorded between 1959 and 1961. Given that there is a total of six completely unreleased compositions as well as alternate takes and masters, this is a formidable mountain of material recorded with not only the classic quartet of Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins, but also the large double quartet who produced the two-sided improvisation that is Free Jazz with personalities as diverse as Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, and Scott LaFaro, as well as Coleman, Cherry, Haden, and Ed Blackwell, who had replaced Higgins on the music for To Whom Keeps a Record and This Is Our Music -- though Higgins does play on Free Jazz.

The progression of the recording sessions musically is one of dynamics, color, and, with the addition of Blackwell, firepower. As the listener moves from the first session that would become most of The Shape of Jazz to Come, listeners can hear how the interplay between Cherry and Coleman works lyrically not so much as a system, but as system of the creation of melody from dead fragments of harmony, thereby creating a harmonic sensibility that cares not for changes and chord progressions, but for the progression of music itself in the context of a quartet. From the sharp edges on "Focus on Sanity," through "Peace" and "Congeniality," through "Lonely Woman," Coleman's approach to harmony was one of disparate yet wholly compatible elements. This is the story as the sessions unfold, one kind of lyricism evolving into itself more fully and completely with time. On Change of the Century, Twins, and This Is Our Music, Coleman shifts his emphasis slightly, adding depth and dimension and the creation of melody that comes out of the blues as direct and simply stated as possible. By the time LaFaro enters the picture on Free Jazz and Art of the Improvisers, melody has multiplied and divided itself into essence, and essence becomes an exponential force in the creation of a new musical syntax. The recordings from 1960 and 1961, along with the unreleased masters and alternates, all show Coleman fully in possession of his muse. The trek of musicians through the band -- like Jimmy Garrison and Eric Dolphy, as well as people like Jim Hall and Bill Evans where Coleman appeared in Gunther Schuller's experiments -- all reveal that from The Shape of Jazz to Come through Ornette on Tenor, Coleman was trying to put across the fully developed picture of his musical theory of the time. And unlike most, he completely succeeded. Even on the unreleased compositions, such as the flyaway storm of "Revolving Doors" or "PROOF Readers" or the slippery blues of "The Tribes of New York," Coleman took the open-door approach and let everything in -- he didn't necessarily let it all out. The package itself is, as are all Rhino boxes, handsome and original; there are three double-CD sleeves that all slip into a half box, which slips, reversed, into the whole box. There is a 68-page booklet with a ton of photographs, complete session notes, and liners by Coleman (disappointingly brief, but he was pissed off at the label), a fantastic essay by the late Robert Palmer, recollections by all the musicians, and quotes from Coleman from interviews given through the decades. The sound is wonderful and the mastering job superb. In all -- aside from the breach of pop culture's own historical context, which is at least an alternate reality -- this is, along with John Coltrane's Atlantic set and the Miles & Coltrane box, one of the most essential jazz CD purchases.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
All Tracks & Credits :
Notas.
This six-CD set contains the entirely of Ornette Coleman's recorded output for the Atlantic label, including the contents of the following albums:
The Shape Of Jazz To Come
Change Of The Century
This Is Our Music
Free Jazz
Ornette!
Ornette On Tenor
The Art Of The Improvisers
Twins
To Whom Who Keeps A Record
Also included are six previously unreleased compositions (2-7, 2-9, 2-10, 2-12, 3-2, 5-1) and two selections from (composer) Gunther Schuller's Jazz Abstractions featuring Ornette Coleman on alto saxophone.

ORNETTE COLEMAN - Broken Shadows (1982) LP | Contemporary Masters Series | 24bits-192Hz | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This LP contains eight selections taken from Ornette Coleman's three-year period with Columbia that were previously unreleased. Cut prior to Coleman's formation of Prime Time, these performances serve as an unintentional retrospective of his career up to that point. Not that any of the original compositions (all by Coleman) had ever been recorded before but such alumni as trumpeters Don Cherry and Bobby Bradford, tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummers Ed Blackwell and Billy Higgins appear on most of the selections in one combination or another (and all of them are on two septet selections). In addition, a pair of numbers ("Good Girl Blues" and "Is It Forever") have Coleman, Redman, Haden and Blackwell joined by guitarist Jim Hall, pianist Cedar Walton, a singer and a woodwind section; these look back a bit at Ornette's guest appearances on a John Lewis/Gunther Schuller album. Scott Yanow
SIDE A
A1     Happy House 9'50
(Ornette Coleman)
Acoustic Bass – Charlie Haden
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Drums – Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Trumpet – Bobby Bradford
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry
A2     Elizabeth 10'30
(Ornette Coleman)
Acoustic Bass – Charlie Haden
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Drums – Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Trumpet – Bobby Bradford
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry
A3     School Work 5'40
(Ornette Coleman)
Acoustic Bass – Charlie Haden
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Trumpet – Bobby Bradford
SIDE B
B1     Country Town Blues 6'27
(Ornette Coleman)
Acoustic Bass – Charlie Haden
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Drums – Billy Higgins
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry
B2     Broken Shadows 6'45
(Ornette Coleman)
Acoustic Bass – Charlie Haden
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Drums – Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Trumpet – Bobby Bradford
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry
B3     Rubber Gloves 3'26
(Ornette Coleman)
Acoustic Bass – Charlie Haden
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
B4     Good Girl Blues 3'07
(Ornette Coleman)
Acoustic Bass – Charlie Haden
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Electric Guitar – Jim Hall
Piano [Acoustic] – Cedar Walton
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Vocals – Webster Armstrong
B5     Is It Forever 4'52
(Ornette Coleman)
Acoustic Bass – Charlie Haden
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Electric Guitar – Jim Hall
Piano [Acoustic] – Cedar Walton
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Vocals – Webster Armstrong
Notas.
Uncredited woodwind section on B4 and B5.
Original Contemporary Masters Series. Red and black label. "Columbia NY" on run-out groove.
A1 to B2 are previously unreleased sessions from the recording of Science Fiction in September 1971. Tracks B3 to B5 previously unreleased sessions recorded in September 1972.

ORNETTE COLEMAN QUARTET - The 1987 Hamburg Concert (2011) 2CD | Unofficial Release | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossles

Tracklist :
1-1    Chanting    2:24
1-2    Africa Is The Mirror Of All Colours    10:46
1-3    Word For Bird    10:52
1-4    Lonely Woman    10:24
1-5    The Art Of Love Is Happiness    8:13
2-1    Storytellers    10:12
2-2    Peace Warriors    6:11
2-3    The Sphinx    10:23
2-4    Latin Genetics    7:03
2-5    Today, Yesterday And Tomorrow    6:54
2-6    City Living    10:07
2-7    Turnaround    9:22
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Composed By – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Cornet – Don Cherry
Drums – Billy Higgins
Notas.
NDR Jazzworkshop 219, Hamburg, Germany, October 29, 1987.

ORNETTE COLEMAN QUARTET - Reunion 1990 (2010) 2CD | Unofficial Release | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1-1    Telescope    4:49
1-2    Him And Her    8:28
1-3    Buckminster Fuller    7:37
1-4    Magic    8:33
1-5    Dancing Flower    6:34
1-6    If You Could See My Eyes    9:48
1-7    Spelling The Alphabet    8:10
2-1    Word For Bird    8:26
2-2    Latin Genetics    12:34
2-3    Singing In The Shower    10:05
2-4    Lonely Woman    12:21
2-5    The Sphinx    5:46
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Composed By, Liner Notes – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Cornet – Don Cherry
Drums – Billy Higgins
Notas.
This release contains a complete never before released live performance by the original Ornette Coleman quartet, in a reunion concert that took place in Reggio Emilia (between Modena and Parma), Italy, thirty years after the recording of their first album, the wonderful "The Shape of Jazz To Come". Among the many highlights here are revised versions of "Lonely Woman", from that album, and "The Sphinx", from Ornette's first album, "Something Else"!!
Recorded live at Teatro Municipale Valli, Reggio Emilia, Italy, April 24, 1990

ORNETTE COLEMAN - "Free Jazz" (1996) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Little Symphony    5:14
Ornette Coleman
2    Rise And Shine    6:12
Ornette Coleman
3    Kaleidoscope    6:34
Ornette Coleman
4    Revolving Doors    4:26
Ornette Coleman
5    The Legend Of Bebop    7:16
Ornette Coleman
6    Embraceable You 4:55
Composed By – G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin
7    Folk Tale    4:48
Ornette Coleman
8    Free Jazz    37:04
Ornette Coleman
Credits :
1-7
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
New York City, July 19, 26, August 2, 1960
1-8
The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet
Left Channel
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry
Drums – Billy Higgins
Bass – Scott LaFaro
Right Channel
Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy
Trumpet – Freddie Hubbard
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
New York City, December 21, 1960

ORNETTE COLEMAN - Something Else !!!! The Music of Ornette Coleman (1958-2011) RM | Original Jazz Classics Remasters | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This 1958 debut recording by the Ornette Coleman Quintet, which featured Coleman on his trademark white plastic alto, Don Cherry on trumpet, Billy Higgins on drums, Walter Norris on piano, and Don Payne on bass, shook up the jazz world -- particularly those musicians and critics who had entered the hard bop era with such verve and were busy using the blues as a way of creating vast solo spaces inside tight and short melody lines. Something Else!!!! is anathema to that entire idea, and must have sounded like it came from outer space at the time. First, Coleman's interest was in pitch, not "being in tune." His use of pitch could take him all over -- and outside of -- a composition, as it does on "Invisible," which begins in D flat. The intervals are standard, but the melodic component of the tune -- despite its hard bop tempo -- is, for the most part, free. But what is most compelling is evident in abundance here and on the next two tunes, "The Blessing" and "Jayne": a revitalization of the blues as it expressed itself in jazz. Coleman refurbished the blues framework, threaded it through his jazz without getting rid of its folk-like, simplistic milieu. In other words, the groove Coleman was getting here was a people's groove that only confounded intellectuals at the time. Coleman restored blues to their "classic" beginnings in African music and unhooked their harmonies. Whether the key was D flat, A, G, whatever, Coleman revisited the 17- and 25-bar blues. There are normal signatures, however, such as "Chippie" in F and in eight-bar form, and "The Disguise" is in D, but in a strange 13-bar form where the first and the last change places, altering the talking-like voice inherent in the melodic line. But the most important thing about Something Else! was that, in its angular, almost totally oppositional way, it swung and still does; like a finger-poppin' daddy on a Saturday night, this record swings from the rafters of the human heart with the most unusually gifted, emotional, and lyrical line since Bill Evans first hit the scene.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    Invisible    4:15
2    The Blessing    4:45
3    Jayne    7:17
4    Chippie    5:37
5    The Disguise    2:46
6    Angel Voice    4:19
7    Alpha    4:09
8    When Will The Blues Leave?    4:58
9    The Sphinx    4:13
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Composed By – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Don Payne
Drums – Billy Higgins
Piano – Walter Norris
Trumpet – Don Cherry

ORNETTE COLEMAN - The Shape Of Jazz To Come (1959-2013) RM | Atlantic 60th | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

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  
Tracklist :
1    Tomorrow Is The Question!    3:09
2    Tears Inside    5:00
3    Mind And Time    3:08
4    Compassion    4:37
5    Giggin'    3:19
6    Rejoicing    4:01
7    Lorraine    5:55
8    Turnaround    7:55
9    Endless    5:18
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Cornet – Don Cherry
Drums – Billy Higgins

ORNETTE COLEMAN - Tomorrow Is the Question! (1959-1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On his second outing for the Contemporary label, Ornette dusted the piano from the bandstand and focused instead on a quartet. For some unexplained reason, Billy Higgins was replaced by Shelly Manne; the only constants remain Coleman and Don Cherry. The focus, then, is on the interplay between the altoist and trumpeter in executing Ornette's tunes, which were, more than on the preceding album (Something Else!, recorded a year earlier), knottier and tighter in their arrangement style. The odd-syncopation style of the front line on numbers such as "Tears Inside," which comes out of the box wailing and then simmers down into a moody, swinging blues, was a rough transition for the rhythm section. And the more Ornette and Cherry try to open it up into something more free and less attached to the tune's form, the more Manne and especially bassist Percy Heath hang on. Still, there are great moments here: for example, the celebratory freedom of "Giggin'," with its wonderful trumpet solo, and "Rejoicing," which has become one of Coleman's classics for its elongated melody line and simple obbligato phrasing, which become part of a wonderfully complex solo that keeps the blues firmly intact. The final track, "Endless," is pure magic. After Manne carries it in 6/8, Coleman uses a nursery rhyme to move to the solo terrain and, when he does, the solo itself becomes a part of that rhyme as even Don Cherry feels his way through it in his break. And, if anything, this is one of the things that came to define Ornette -- his willingness to let simplicity and its bright colors and textures confound not only other players and listeners, but also him too. In those days, Coleman's musical system -- although worked out in detail -- always left room for the unexpected and, in fact, was played as if his life depended on it. As a result, Tomorrow Is the Question! was a very literal title; who could have guessed the expansive, world-widening direction that Coleman's system would head into next?
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    Tomorrow Is The Question!    3:09
2    Tears Inside    5:00
3    Mind And Time    3:08
4    Compassion    4:37
5    Giggin'    3:19
6    Rejoicing    4:01
7    Lorraine    5:55
8    Turnaround    7:55
9    Endless    5:18
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Composed By – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Percy Heath (pistas: 1 to 6), Red Mitchell (pistas: 7 to 9)
Drums – Shelly Manne
Trumpet – Don Cherry

ORNETTE COLEMAN - Change of the Century (1960-1992) RM | Atlantic & ATCO Remasters Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The second album by Ornette Coleman's legendary quartet featuring Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins, Change of the Century is every bit the equal of the monumental The Shape of Jazz to Come, showcasing a group that was growing ever more confident in its revolutionary approach and the chemistry in the bandmembers' interplay. When Coleman concentrates on melody, his main themes are catchier, and when the pieces emphasize group interaction, the improvisation is freer. Two of Coleman's most memorable classic compositions are here in their original forms -- "Ramblin'" has all the swing and swagger of the blues, and "Una Muy Bonita" is oddly disjointed, its theme stopping and starting in totally unexpected places; both secure their themes to stable, pedal-point bass figures. The more outside group improv pieces are frequently just as fascinating; "Free," for example, features a double-tongued line that races up and down in free time before giving way to the ensemble's totally spontaneous inventions. The title cut is a frantic, way-out mélange of cascading lines that nearly trip over themselves, brief stabs of notes in the lead voices, and jarringly angular intervals -- it must have infuriated purists who couldn't even stomach Coleman's catchiest tunes. Coleman was frequently disparaged for not displaying the same mastery of instrumental technique and harmonic vocabulary as his predecessors, but his aesthetic prized feeling and expression above all that anyway. Maybe that's why Change of the Century bursts with such tremendous urgency and exuberance -- Coleman was hitting his stride and finally letting out all the ideas and emotions that had previously been constrained by tradition. That vitality makes it an absolutely essential purchase and, like The Shape of Jazz to Come, some of the most brilliant work of Coleman's career. Steve Huey  
Tracklist :
1    Ramblin'    6:34
2    Free    6:20
3    The Face Of The Bass    6:53
4    Forerunner    5:13
5    Bird Food    5:25
6    Una Muy Bonita    5:51
7    Change Of The Century    4:41
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Written-By – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Billy Higgins
Trumpet [Pocket] – Donald Cherry

THE ORNETTE COLEMAN QUARTET - Ornette (1962-2003) RM | Atlantic Jazz Masters | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded a little over a month after his groundbreaking work Free Jazz, this album found Coleman perhaps retrenching from that idea conceptually, but nonetheless plumbing his quartet music to ever greater heights of richness and creativity. Ornette! was the first time bassist Scott LaFaro recorded with Coleman, and the difference in approach between LaFaro and Charlie Haden is apparent from the opening notes of "W.R.U." There is a more direct propulsion and limberness to his playing, and he can be heard driving Coleman and Don Cherry actively and more aggressively than Haden's warm, languid phrasing. The cuts, with titles derived from the works of Sigmund Freud, are all gems and serve as wonderful launching pads for the musicians' improvisations. Coleman, by this time, was very comfortable in extended pieces, and he and his partners have no trouble filling in the time, never coming close to running out of ideas. Special mention should be made of Ed Blackwell, with one of his finest performances. Ornette! is a superb release and a must for all fans of Coleman and creative improvised music in general. Brian Olewnick  
Tracklist :
1     W.R.U. 16'25
Ornette Coleman
2     T. & T. 4'35
Ornette Coleman
3     C. & D. 13'10
Ornette Coleman
4     R.P.D.D. 9'39
Ornette Coleman
- BONUS TRACK -
5    Proof Readers 10'25
Ornette Coleman
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Scott LaFaro
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Trumpet [Pocket] – Donald Cherry

ORNETTE COLEMAN DOUBLE QUARTET - Free Jazz (1961-2003) RM | Atlantic Masters | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

As jazz's first extended, continuous free improvisation LP, Free Jazz practically defies superlatives in its historical importance. Ornette Coleman's music had already been tagged "free," but this album took the term to a whole new level. Aside from a predetermined order of featured soloists and several brief transition signals cued by Coleman, the entire piece was created spontaneously, right on the spot. The lineup was expanded to a double-quartet format, split into one quartet for each stereo channel: Ornette, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Billy Higgins on the left; trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Ed Blackwell on the right. The rhythm sections all play at once, anchoring the whole improvisation with a steady, driving pulse. The six spotlight sections feature each horn in turn, plus a bass duet and drum duet; the "soloists" are really leading dialogues, where the other instruments are free to support, push, or punctuate the featured player's lines. Since there was no road map for this kind of recording, each player simply brought his already established style to the table. That means there are still elements of convention and melody in the individual voices, which makes Free Jazz far more accessible than the efforts that followed once more of the jazz world caught up. Still, the album was enormously controversial in its bare-bones structure and lack of repeated themes. Despite resembling the abstract painting on the cover, it wasn't quite as radical as it seemed; the concept of collective improvisation actually had deep roots in jazz history, going all the way back to the freewheeling early Dixieland ensembles of New Orleans. Jazz had long prided itself on reflecting American freedom and democracy and, with Free Jazz, Coleman simply took those ideals to the next level. A staggering achievement. Steve Huey
Tracklist :
1     Free Jazz 37:03
Ornette Coleman   
2     First Take 17:06
Ornette Coleman   
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden, Scott LaFaro
Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy
Drums – Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell
Trumpet – Freddie Hubbard
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry

THE ORNETTE COLEMAN QUARTET - This Is Our Music (1961-2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With two landmark albums already under its belt, the Ornette Coleman Quartet spent nearly a year out of the studio before reconvening for This Is Our Music. This time, Billy Higgins is replaced on drums by Ed Blackwell, who has a similar knack for anticipating the ensemble's direction, and proves a more fiery presence on tracks like "Kaleidoscope" and "Folk Tale." The session is also notable for containing the only standard (or, for that matter, the only non-original) Coleman recorded during his tenure with Atlantic -- Gershwin's "Embraceable You," which is given a lyrical interpretation and even a rather old-time, sentimental intro (which may or may not be sarcastic, but really is pretty). In general, though, Coleman disapproved of giving up his own voice and viewed standards as concessions to popular taste; as the unapologetic title of the album makes clear, he wanted to be taken (or left) on his own terms. And that word "our" also makes clear just how important the concept of group improvisation was to Coleman's goals. Anyone can improvise whenever he feels like it, and the players share such empathy that each knows how to add to the feeling of the ensemble without undermining its egalitarian sense of give and take. Their stark, thin textures were highly distinctive, and both Coleman and Cherry chose instruments (respectively, an alto made of plastic rather than brass and a pocket trumpet or cornet instead of a standard trumpet) to accentuate that quality. It's all showcased to best effect here on the hard-swinging "Blues Connotation" and the haunting "Beauty Is a Rare Thing," though pretty much every composition has something to recommend it. All in all, This Is Our Music keeps one of the hottest creative streaks in jazz history going strong. Steve Huey
Tracklist :
1    Blues Connotation    5:14
Ornette Coleman
2    Beauty Is A Rare Thing    7:12
Ornette Coleman
3    Kaleidoscope    6:33
Ornette Coleman
4    Embraceable You    4:54
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
5    Poise    4:37
Ornette Coleman
6    Humpty Dumpty    5:20
Ornette Coleman
7    Folk Tale    4:46
Ornette Coleman
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Trumpet [Pocket Trumpet] – Don Cherry

ORNETTE COLEMAN - "Harlem's Manhattan" 1961 (1999) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Notable for the inclusion of the opening track "Proof Readers," Harlem's Manhattan showcases the Ornette Coleman band lineup of Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, and either Scott LaFaro on bass -- his style is so distinctive you can hear him on the middle portion of the disc -- and Jimmy Garrison. These recordings are stellar both in presentation as well as musicianship. LaFaro's playing on "Check Up" and "W.R.U." offers an incredible insight into these sides as LaFaro completely understood the circular notion of rhythm in Coleman's early work.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    Proof Readers 10'28
2    R.P.D.D 9'41
3    W.R.U. 16'27
4    Check Up 10'13
5    Eos 6'37
6    Cross Breeding 11'20
7    Harlem's Manhattan 8'11
Credits :
Ed Blackwell - Drums
Don Cherry - Trumpet (Pocket), Cornet, Flute, Multi Instruments, Piano, Vocals
Ornette Coleman - Composer, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Trumpet, Violin
Jimmy Garrison, Scott LaFaro - Bass

ORNETTE COLEMAN - Ornette on Tenor (1962-2012) RM | Jazz Best Collection 1000 – 2 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

It's an understatement to say that Ornette Coleman's stint with Atlantic altered the jazz world forever, and Ornette on Tenor was the last of his six LPs (not counting outtakes compilations) for the label, wrapping up one of the most controversial and free-thinking series of recordings in jazz history. Actually, it's probably his least stunning Atlantic, not quite as revolutionary or memorable as many of its predecessors, but still far ahead of its time. Coleman hadn't played much tenor since a group of Louisiana thugs beat him and destroyed his instrument, but he hadn't lost his affection for the tenor's soulful, expressive honk and the ease with which people connected with it. That rationale might suggest a more musically accessible session, but that isn't the case. Ornette on Tenor is just as challenging and harmonically advanced as any of his previous Atlantics. In fact, it's arguably more so, since there aren't really any memorable themes to return to. That means there are fewer opportunities for Coleman and Don Cherry to interact and harmonize, which puts the focus mainly on Coleman's return to tenor playing. And, actually, it isn't tremendously different from his alto playing. There are a few traces of Coleman's early Texas gutbucket R&B days, plus a few spots where he explores a breathier tone, but for the most part his spiraling solo lines are very similar to his other Atlantic albums, and his upper-register sound is often a dead ringer for his plaintive alto cries. With Coleman ostensibly exploring new territory, it's hard not to be a little disappointed that Ornette on Tenor doesn't have the boundary-shattering impact of his previous work -- but then again, it's probably asking too much to expect a revolution every time out. Steve Huey  
Tracklist :
1    Cross Breeding    11:20
2    Mapa    9:08
3    Enfant    6:29
4    Eos    6:38
5    Ecars    7:37
Credits :
Bass – Jimmy Garrison
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Tenor Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Trumpet [Pocket] – Donald Cherry

ORNETTE COLEMAN - The Art of the Improvisers (1970-2017) SHM-CD | Jazz Masters Collection 1200 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Like many of Ornette Coleman's Atlantic sides, The Art of the Improvisers was recorded in numerous sessions from 1959-1961 and assembled for the purpose of creating a cohesive recorded statement. Its opening track, "The Circle with the Hole in the Middle," from 1959, with the classic quartet of Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, and Charlie Haden, is one of Coleman's recognizable pieces of music. Essentially, the band is that quartet with two very notable exceptions: The last tracks on each side feature a different bass player. On the end of side one, the great Scott LaFaro weighs in on "The Alchemy of Scott La Faro," and Jimmy Garrison weighs in on "Harlem's Manhattan" to close the album out. These last two sessions were recorded early in 1961, in January and March respectively. As an album, The Art of the Improvisers is usually undervalued when placed next to This Is Our Music or The Shape of Jazz to Come. This is a mistake in that some of Coleman's most deeply lyrical harmonic structures reside here in tracks such as "Just for You," with literally stunning intervallic interplay between him and Cherry from the middle to the end. The track also messes with standard blues form and comes up in a modal way without seemingly intending to. The set roars into "The Fifth of Beethoven," which collapses a series of flatted fifths around Haden and Cherry, and Coleman goes on a Texas blues spree in his solo, dancing all around them. "The Alchemy of Scott La Faro" must have pissed off the hard boppers like nothing else. Here is a straining sprint that the quartet takes in stride as LaFaro and Blackwell charge around the edges in frightening time signatures. Coleman and Cherry for the most part clamor around a B flat-C sharp major figure and run circles around each other in muscular fashion as LaFaro goes pizzicato to head with Coleman in the middle, turning the saxophonist's phrases into rhythmic structures which Blackwell accents as if cued. But he's not; this is invented on the spot. Coleman's deep lyricism shines through despite the tempo, and the entire thing goes out in a blaze of light. "The Legend of Bebop" is a jazz history lesson with the band working out on the front line, quoting from Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong, moving through some Ellingtonian themes, and slipping around the corner to a slow, blued-out bebop before taking off in consonant solos and counterpoint. "Harlem's Manhattan," with Garrison in Haden's bass chair, begins with a quote right from Parker and Gillespie before challenging the framework of the blues and its tempos. Blackwell is a blur of the dance, his cymbal work against Garrison's punctuated accents make Coleman's and Cherry's jobs knotty and difficult, but always rooted in the melody that blues inspires. This is basically one of Coleman's most uptempo records for Atlantic, but also one of his most soulful. It deserves serious re-evaluation.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    The Circle With A Hole In The Middle    4:53
2    Just For You    3:48
3    The Fifth Of Beethoven    6:35
4    The Alchemy Of Scott La Faro    8:48
5    Moon Inhabitants    4:28
6    The Legend Of Bebop    7:14
7    Harlem's Manhattan    8:10
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Painting [Cover], Written-By – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden (pistas: 1 to 3, 5, 6), Jimmy Garrison (pistas: 7), Scott LaFaro (pistas: 4)
Cornet, Trumpet – Don Cherry
Drums – Billy Higgins (pistas: 1, 2), Ed Blackwell (pistas: 3 to 7)

ORNETTE COLEMAN - Twins (1971-2008) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Ornette Coleman's Twins (first issued on LP in 1971) has been looked at as an afterthought in many respects. A collection of sessions from 1959, 1960, and 1961 with different bands, they are allegedly takes from vinyl LP sessions commercially limited at that time to 40 minutes on vinyl, and not initially released until many years later. Connoisseurs consider this one of his better recordings in that it offers an overview of what Coleman was thinking in those pivotal years of the free bop movement rather than the concentrated efforts of The Art of the Improvisers, Change of the Century, The Shape of Jazz to Come, This Is Our Music, and of course the pivotal Free Jazz. There are three most definitive selections that define Coleman's sound and concept. "Monk & the Nun" is angular like Thelonious Monk, soulful as spiritualism, and golden with the rhythm team of bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins driving the sweet and sour alto sax of Coleman and piquant trumpeting of Don Cherry. "Check Up" is a wild roller coaster ride, mixing meters, tempos, and dynamics in a blender in an unforgettable display of sheer virtuosity, and featuring bassist Scott LaFaro. "Joy of a Toy" displays the playful Ornette Coleman in interval leaps, complicated bungee jumps, in many ways whimsical but not undecipherable. It is one of the most intriguing of all of Coleman's compositions. Less essential, "First Take" showcases his double quartet in a churning composition left off the original release This Is Our Music, loaded with interplay as a showcase for a precocious young trumpeter named Freddie Hubbard, the ribald bass clarinet of Eric Dolphy, and the first appearance with Coleman's groups for New Orleans drummer Ed Blackwell. "Little Symphony" has a great written line with room for solos in a joyful hard bop center with the quartet of Coleman, Cherry, Haden, and Blackwell. All in all an excellent outing for Coleman from a hodgepodge of recordings that gives a broader view of his vision and the music that would come later in the '60s. Michael G. Nastos  
Tracklist :
1    The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet–    First Take 17'06
Alto Saxophone [L] – Ornette Coleman
Bass Clarinet [R] – Eric Dolphy
Bass [L] – Scott Lafaro
Bass [R] – Charlie Haden
Drums [L] – Billy Higgins
Drums [R] – Ed Blackwell
Engineer [Recording] – Tom Dowd
Trumpet [Pocket Trumpet] [L] – Don Cherry
Trumpet [R] – Freddie Hubbard
2    The Ornette Coleman Quartet–    Little Symphony 5'17
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Engineer [Recording] – Phil Iehle, Tom Dowd
Trumpet – Don Cherry
3    The Ornette Coleman Quartet–    Monk And Nun 5'56
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Cornet – Don Cherry
Drums – Billy Higgins
Engineer [Recording] – Bones Howe
4    The Ornette Coleman Quartet–    Check Up 10'13
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Scott Lafaro
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Engineer [Recording] – Tom Dowd
Trumpet [Pocket Trumpet] – Don Cherry
5    The Ornette Coleman Quartet–    Joy Of A Toy 4'55
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Engineer [Recording] – Tom Dowd
Trumpet – Don Cherry

ORNETTE COLEMAN - To Whom Who Keeps a Record (1975-2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Music Always    5:28
Ornette Coleman
2    Brings Goodness    6:35
Ornette Coleman
3    To Us    4:35
Ornette Coleman
4    All    4:27
Ornette Coleman
5    P.S. Unless One Has (Blues Connotation No. 2)    5:50
Ornette Coleman
6    Some Other    7:20
Ornette Coleman
7    Motive For Its Use    5:40
Ornette Coleman
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Cornet – Don Cherry (pistas: 1)
Drums – Billy Higgins (pistas: 1), Ed Blackwell (pistas: 2 to 7)
Trumpet – Don Cherry (pistas: 2 to 7)