Well-executed buffet

Friday, February 15, 2008

Ornette Coleman At PDX Jazz 2.15.08

Ornette Coleman turns 78 next month. And he was here tonight in Portland and Sunday in BC before taking off next week for Australia and Hong Kong. My anticipation for his Portland Jazz Festival performance has been building for a couple days.

Yesterday I got a hold of a copy of AB Spellman's Four Lives in Jazz (FKA Four Lives in the Bebop Business). I'm walking around with it like an art student would have a copy of Vassari in his rucksack while in Florence. I secured a copy of Spellman's 1966 book, recently republished with the new name features extensive because I knew it had a study on Herbie Nichols, who I blogged about a couple of weeks back. Unbeknown to me was that it also had long essays about Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, two central components of my weekend. (The fourth life is Jackie McLean, a player I want to explore more of)

Laurie Anderson has a bit about "difficult music." Sitting yourself upright in a straight back chair" etc. What I have discovered is that at this stage in my Ornette journey, I am getting past the stage of finding his music difficult because I am trying to learn his language. He will give you clues in interviews and alike, calling it hamolodics (A word that reminds me of when Tiger Woods was describing himself as Caublacasion) or sound grammar or asking playful questions ("What is the sound of sound?") like Sun Ra used to do so profoundly.

There were three main components in his music that were really evident to me tonight .

Beauty
Ornette's anthology of the Atlantic releases is called Beauty is a Rare Thing. He also released an album called Virgin Beauty with a cover that featured African tribeswomen in native finery. His music of recent years prominently features Denardo and various bass players and configuration of bass and sometimes guitar. There are few lovelier sounds in the world than a bow coming across the strings of a bow or cello. It can conjure beauty of all sorts: natural, sensual or terrible. Tony Fallanga, the same upright bass player from the Pulitzer Prize-winning album, Sound Grammar created some ballad sounds and a piece I believe was Bach while Ornette shined back at him with his plastic alto or his trumpet or violin if thats what territory of sound is called for.

The Blues
I have been looking at a lot of blogs and press about Ornette in recent days. One of these sources somewhere spoke of the fact that Ornette is more accessible than other so-called Free Jazz artists because of the blues, which is something a listener can grab on to. I believe this is true. He did an excellent blues last night called Turnaround that appeared on both Sound Grammar and on his second album Tomorrow is the Question in 1959 when it was titled Turnabout. And it is a lovely blues that also gives Coleman to be whimsical. In the solo last night as he does on the recordings, he quoted If I Love You, a fun and rare tip. One never thinks of Ornette getting into a big fat show tune, that's Sonny Rollins territory. Besides Turnaround/Turnabout, many of Coleman's other selections had distinctive bluesiness. And he has gotta know the blues, being from Texas and being and insisting on playing different with folks who did not share the music as the core musicians who he was fortunate to converge with like Charlie Haden and Don Cherry.

Sketches and Abstratctions
There were lots of short playful sketches that were investigations of color shape and form of what this band had to offer. Charnett Moffett on electric bass, leading the expedition at times with a a range of dynamics, physicality and effects pedals. At other points in the proceedings drummer son Denardo punished and was at one with his drumset at the same time. Many of the songs were brief, angular but somehow they told a complete story.

It was a wonderful and varied set. When it was over, the band took a most majestic bow and came back for Coleman's classic Lonely Woman, the tune that defines plaintiveness.
And then for a second bow and the man with the blue suit and Zorro porkpie leaves the stage with many of us blissed in legendary presence fortunate to have shared with one of the most unique and pivotally important voices in the world of jazz.

Three Great Links of Ornette
Keep Swinging Tribute to the 50th Anniversary of Coleman Recording
Fifty years ago this week Ornette made his first recording on Contemporary The Music Of Ornette Coleman Something Else!!!! Yes, there are four exclamation marks in the title. I'm listening to it now. (Thanks, EMusic) It is kind of straight bebop until Coleman solos. That voice colored only a few bands lower or less frenetic and angular, maybe mellower. Somehow it reminds me that Ornette started out a tenor player. And as a honky tonk player intersecting another Texas music notable, King Curtis. (Note on the blogger: Looks like KKeep Swinging is the full well excuted jazz buffet from the Netherlands:"A daily web log in English and Dutch to share my passion for jazz, record collecting and other music projects that surprise me."

Acceptance Award Speech: Lifetime Achievement Award 2007 Grammys.
How heavy is Ornette and how deep does he get? Among the comments: "No one can know anything that life creates since no one is life itself."

Big Coleman Dossier
Be sure to check out the press kit from this publicist of the Sound Grammar album. Lots of fine articles.

posted by well-executed buffet at 4:58 PM

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