20 nov 2008

(11)

Ornette Coleman. Something Else! (1958)

This is kind of an odd album, because it features Ornette and Cherry with a more standard hard bop chord-change format with piano. Actually, I kind of lack the fact that it has these hard bop moorings: it's Ornette as comfort music, but still recognizably Ornette. Purists will object, but uckfay ouyay to them. The tunes are extremely tuneful, catchy: Chippie, Jayne, Angel Voice, Alpha, The Sphinx. "The Blessing" off this album became a standard.

What if Ornette's ultimate contribution is as a composer?

1 comentario:

John dijo...

Worth noting:
* It's Ornette's first album.
* He presented himself to the record label as a composer, and that's why they signed him.
* The label hired the rhythm section, which wouldn't have been Ornette's first choice.