Ornette Coleman: Crisis (Endless Happiness)
Purchased Music Millennium, Portland OR
I assume there's some repetition in my posts on this blog, but I'll go ahead anyway: I do not post pictures or social media notices when I am away from home on vacation or visiting family. My immediate family, both parents and all three younger sisters, have migrated to to Portland OR. My mother is now 90 (she's clearly old but you probably wouldn't guess that old) and my father turns 89 in December. It's great to not only see the family in one fell swoop, but they're in a location where there are things to do. This happens to include record shopping.
One of my favorite spots to visit is Music Millennium on Burnside St. It's a big store, solid if not comprehensive selections, and they still sell new CDs. (I bought one in addition to the vinyl, which I'll write about soon.) My 25 year old nephew is on a huge Beach Boys kick, and happily bought a triple CD live set of theirs on our mutual visit to the store.
I was in a buying mood I guess. I really don't know if this is a bootleg, there's a good chance it is. There's some Cyrillic text on the back. I don't remember the original on Impulse! sounding any less distant than this issue. I know that Mike Shanley was searching for an original copy for years, to finally land one. I'm lazier, less diligent, and maybe I don't largely care if it's on the original label.
Quite the interesting band, drawing from older and newer groupings: Ornette, Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Denardo on drums. Recorded in 1969, Denardo would have been twelve years old at the time. I don't know how feel about that. Ornette was definitely short-circuiting conventions including conventional swing. But, what does a pre-teen offer to the music?
There are five pieces on the program, and I've played three of them already, a big reason for buying this. "Broken Shadows", "Comme Il Faut", and Charlie Haden's "Song for Che". I particularly like the melody for the latter. It's one of the few pieces played by Ornette that he himself did not compose.
Ornette's playing dominates the concert. He's very fluid. If any jazz musician thinks it's easy to play, free, well, go ahead. I'm certain you'll run out of ideas quickly. It's happened to me. Ornette goes and goes and goes. His soloing is highly cohesive. He starts an idea and follows it.
If I had to pick a second MVP, it would probably be Charlie Haden. He's a constant presence in this concert, probably more than Denardo. He's limber, and has a particular particular sort of sound when he pizzicatos his walking bass. Ornette was extraordinarily lucky to have found such a solid collaborator, but I suppose the same could be said for Haden.
The over image: the Bill of Rights being burned. It's Nixon era. I don't want to diminish that fact, but holy hell they had no idea what we were in for with Trump. Or did they? No, I think not, considering Nixon was willing to resign when the Republican numbers were against him. You know, in the days of conscience and ethics. I hate the idea of reflecting on the "good ol' days" but dammit, if you go against party policy you're done. I could never abide by that. But then, I've never wanted to head a school department, and don't feel comfortable having run bands.
Am I going too autobiographical?
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