Shape of Jazz to Come

Artist: Ornette Coleman

Number of Discs: 1

Total time: 37:59
Availability: In stock
Item #: 5182636

Cover art displayed on website may vary from product shipped. Please see printed catalog for accurate cover art.

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Review

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, All Music Guide

Read About This Recording

Ornette Coleman pushed the envelope even while playing honky tonks, blues bars and carnivals. He was so far ahead of his time that musicians told him he couldn't play and a bandleader who hired him paid him not to play.

When Coleman left Fort Worth, Texas and relocated to Los Angeles, he knew and respected the history of jazz. He also knew the best way to honor the past was not to become a slave to it. He met musicians that felt the same way. They left behind the traditional song form. Some awkwardly referred to this as playing without chords. It was later known as harmolodics.

Coleman found supporters like Red Mitchell, who helped him get signed to Contemporary, where he recorded his debut, Something Else! John Lewis and Percy Heath heard him, and Lewis was key in his signing with Atlantic. Between 1959 and 1961 he recorded The Shape of Jazz to Come, This is Our Music and Free Jazz.

In 1959, his two week stint at New York's Five Spot was extended for months. He became a lightning rod of controversy. It became a cause to champion him or put him down. The critics and musicians that would later be dubbed the jazz police were especially vicious. They accused him of destroying jazz even as he revitalized it.

While there is dissonance on The Shape of Jazz to Come, Coleman and cornetist Don Cherry are in sync with each other as they shape their sounds. There are traces of the frenetic tempos and stop time patterns that Charlie Parker made famous. Bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins make a daring, consistently swinging rhythm section, deftly navigating the rapid changes and moodiness of Lonely Woman and Congeniality and the subtle nuances of Peace.

-Richard Antone

Quotes

"There is an order to what I do." —Ornette Coleman

Product Info

Cover art displayed on website may vary from product shipped. Please see printed catalog for accurate cover art.

Lonely Woman; Eventually; Peace; Focus on Sanity; Congeniality; Chronology.

Ornette Coleman, Alto Sax; Don Cherry, Cornet; Charlie Haden, Bass; Billy Higgins, Drums.

Tracks + Soundclips

Shape of Jazz to Come
	1. Lonely Woman	5:01
	2. Eventually	4:22
	3. Peace	9:02
	4. Focus on Sanity	6:50
	5. Congeniality	6:47
	6. Chronology	6:04

Details and Credits

Product Details

Label:
Release date: 1959/05/22
Instrumental

Styles

Free Jazz
Avant-Garde Jazz

Browse all jazz styles

Album Credits
Performance Credits
Billy Higgins	Drums
Charlie Haden	Bass
Don Cherry	Cornet
Ornette Coleman	Sax (Alto)

Technical Credits
Bones Howe	Engineer
Florence Halfon	Reissue Supervisor
Giovanni Scatola	Remastering
Martin Williams	Liner Notes
Marvin Israel	Cover Design
Nesuhi Ertegun	Producer
Stephen Innocenzi	Mastering
Stuart Nicholson	Liner Notes
William Claxton	Photography