Ornette Coleman Has Died

[beat]

This one struck me hardest yesterday. Long ago, when I discovered Ornette Coleman, I listened to nothing but "The Shape of Jazz to Come" nonstop for three weeks straight, just trying to wrap my head around what he was doing with the rough unisons and blurry pitch. It deeply affected me as a musician - my guitar playing today is still full of microtonal pitch bends and hard-swinging rhythmic variation in melody lines.

[anilgulecha]

Put this on in the background: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbt9DDolcag

[microtonal]

And let's not forget that he made many great albums after 'Free Jazz' and 'The Shape of Jazz to Come':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWFIuuntE4

[topogios]

Listening to that reminds me of a joke you will likely hear multiple times if you play bigband gigs: How do you get 2 _your_own_instrument players to play unison? You shoot one of them. How do you get 2 _other_guy's_instrument players to play unison? You shoot both of them.

[anttipoi]

"Tomorrow is the question" is also available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjVURhB4bsE

Less free, more rooted in traditional tonality, yet playful and creative.

[shadgregory]

And after that, you can get a little bit funky with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM5WPCsWA3M

[eblume]

Hermann Zapf, Sir Christopher Lee, and Ornette Coleman all in one day. A dark day. Rest in peace.

[Argorak]

Strictly speaking, only the announcements where all on the same day: Zapf died on the 4th, aged 92, Lee on the 7th, aged 93, Coleman on the 11th, aged 85.

I wouldn't call it a dark day. All lived a long and varied life and their passing doesn't come unexpected.

I saw Coleman live a few years ago an Enjoy Jazz in Mannheim and I was impressed of the force he still had on stage at his advanced age. It really felt like this was the place he belonged to.

EDIT: (a typo)

[bloat]

James Last.

[mahmud]

Another one off to the eternal jam session. RIP.

[baldfat]

I am trying to think of who is left of Jazz's "Golden Age" of the late 50s and early 60s that is still with us?

I grew up knowing my Grandfather was a Jazz Band Leader in NYC (He only had one recording and the last copy got destroyed decades before) and sadly he died when I was 7 so I didn't get to grow up to listen to his stories except through my mom and grandmother. He hated Charlie Parker and Billy Holiday, I think it was their drug use and being rude I was told. He did love Colman Hawkins and Dizzy.

[known]

RIP, Sir;