8 comments

  • Ornette Coleman – fearless innovator – RIP

  • Gregory The Fish

    Oh man, I was so sad when I heard this. I try not to be. The death of a giant like this means one great thing: it means that giant LIVED!

    But Ornette’s “Free Jazz” was what got me into jazz at all. It was like looking on the face of pure artistic expression. Ornette was the man who opened the door for me.

  • …Sad to hear the news, as he was a prolific improviser who was still at the top of his game even when I caught him perform about 5 years ago. I got the opportunity to meet him after the show, and he had such a gentle / timid nature, which seemed in contrast to his music. Afterwards, he signed an LP for me and posed for a photo, but to this day, watching him perform and create live on stage was like watching an artist paint, and was certainly an unforgettable experience. Thanks Ornette.

  • great age, 85!

    great music

    hope he was happy too

  • For me, one of the most important, if not the most important improvising composer on the planet. Hearing his music shoved open a door that had already cracked. Thank you Ornette, and rest in peace.

  • A fine piece of writing in the NY Times obituary,although the later work seems overly praised,IMHO. Like most really innovative artists,Ornette would struggle to find anything as earth-shaking as his ground-breaking SOMETHIN’ELSE,THIS IS OUR MUSIC periods. Everything else paled by comparison. After all,once you split the atom-what do you do for an encore? By the way,the b/w photo of OC and his white plastic alto from 1961 is one of the few I’ve seen that have him w/ Scott LaFaro on bass. That will look nice scanned on quality paper,framed on my wall. Looking forward to spinning a CIRCLE WITH A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE(or two),later tonight.
    RIP,Ornette.

  • I always liked Science Fiction, what a great tune “Law Years” is.

  • Love Prime Time but it’s of a different ilk.

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