The Rebellious Melody Maker: Ornette Coleman R.I.P.
/As most readers know by now, Ornette Coleman has left this mortal coil behind, passing away from cardiac arrest this past Thursday at the age of 85 at his home in New York City. As a result many wonderful things have rightly been written about the man and his career, and rather than try to better those I will simply say that Coleman was one of the true game-changers in the world of modern jazz, a musician whose name is rightly mentioned alongside Miles Davis and John Coltrane when it comes to a sphere of influence that spread throughout the jazz world and can still be felt today.
For some great in-depth remembrances check out:
Ben Ratliff's piece in The New York Times
Marc Myers piece in the Wall Street Journal
Richard Brody's piece in The New Yorker
Recommended Discography:
Something Else!!!! The Music Of Ornette Coleman • 1958 • Contemporary C 3551
The Shape Of Jazz To Come • 1959 • Atlantic LP 1317
Change Of The Century • 1959 • Atlantic LP 1327
Free Jazz • Atlantic • 1960 • Atlantic LP 1364
Science Fiction • 1971 • Columbia KC 03161
Song X (with Pat Metheny) • 1986 • Geffen GHS 24096
Sound Grammar • 2006 • Sound Grammar SG 11593
And here is some killer video of Ornette Coleman performing live in Germany in 1978 with Ben Nix (guitar), James Blood Ulmer (guitar), Fred Williams (bass), Shannon Jackson (drums) and Denardo Coleman (drums):
