Ornette Coleman, RIP

Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015)


















Ornette Coleman: "Lonely Woman" (2006)


The Modern Jazz Quartet: "Lonely Woman"


John Lewis, Ornette Coleman, Jim Hall, Scot LaFaro: "Abstraction"


Ornette Coleman Quartet: "Abstraction"


Downbeat obituary
JazzTimes obituary and links
from Cadence: 1987 interview with Coleman (terrible background warning...highlight to read, I'd say).
previously on Sweet Freedom

Tempo International: "Ornette Coleman Trio" (1966)


1959: The Year That Changed Jazz (y'know, unlike every year, though it was an important one)


Ornette Coleman: The Shape of Jazz to Come


Ornette Coleman Double Quartet: Free Jazz


Ornette Coleman and the London Symphony Orchestra:  Skies of America


Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, with Jerry Garcia: "3 Wishes"

Saturday Music Club: Some More 3rd Stream Music: Modern Jazz Quartet, Brubeck Quartet, McKay & Turtle Island Quartet, Monk Quartet, Jazz Abstractions, Ellington Orchestra, Mingus Sextet, Akiyoshi/Tabackin Big Band, Roach Double Quartet, Coleman with the LSO

The Modern Jazz Quartet: "Lonely Woman"

Brubeck Quartet (Paul Desmond, Joe Morello, Gene Wright): "Koto Song"

The Brubeck Quartet on Jazz 625 (BBC-TV, 1964) (sadly, the bit of "In Your Own Sweet Way" at the close is pretty distorted, but most of the rest has survived OK)

Nellie McKay and the Turtle Island Quartet: "Send Me No Flowers"


Thelonious Monk Quartet: "Epistrophy"; "'Round Midnight"; "Lulu's Back in Town"

1. Epistrophy (0:00)
2. Round Midnight (3:20)
3. Lulu's Back In Town (10:30)
Thelonious Monk - piano
Charles Rouse - tenor
Lawrence Gales - bass
Benjamin Riley - drums

Gunther Schuller and the Jazz Abstractions Band: "Variants on a Theme of John Lewis (Django)"

John Lewis presents contemporary music " Jazz Abstractions "
Eric Dolphy (fl), Robert DiDomenica (fl), Jim Hall (g), Eddie Costa (vib), Bill Evans (p), Scott Lafaro (b), George Duvivier (b),  Sticks Evans (ds), The Contemporary String Quartet
Recorded 20/12/1960 in NYC

The Duke Ellington Orchestra: "Idiom '59" (Part 2)

Mingus Sextet: "Take the 'A' Train"

live on April 12, 1964 in Norway--sadly, the recording quality's a little rough in intense spots, but...
Charles Mingus - Bass
Eric Dolphy - Bass Clarinet
Clifford Jordan - Tenor Sax
Johnny Coles - Trumpet
Jaki Byard - Piano
Dannie Richmond - Drums

The Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band: "Feast in Milano"

Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band in Vienne (France), 1996.
Piano, leader and arranger: Toshiko Akiyoshi,
Trumpets: Mike Ponella, John Eckert, Andrew J. Gravish, Joe Magnarelli
Trombones: Pat Hallaren, Joe Helleny, Scott Whitfield, Tim Newman
saxes, flutes, clar.: Lew Tabackin, Dave Pietro, Jim Snidero, Tom Christensen, Scott Robinson
Bass: Doug Weiss
Drums: Terry Clarke

The Max Roach Double Quartet in Stuttgart, 1990

Roach, Cecil Bridgewater, Odean Pope, Tyrone Brown, Diane Monroe, Lesa Terry, Maxine Roach and Eileen Folson. The latter four being The Uptown String Quartet 

Max Roach, Stanley Cowell and the Northern Colorado University Big Band

Ornette Coleman and the London Symphony Orchestra: Skies of America

1. "Skies of America" — 2:49
2. "Native Americans" — 1:10
3. "The Good Life" — 1:33
4. "Birthdays and Funerals" — 3:13
5. "Dreams" — 0:51
6. "Sounds of Sculpture" — 1:20
7. "Holiday for Heroes" — 1:10
8. "All of My Life" — 3:08
9. "Dancers" — 1:17
10. "The Soul Within Woman" — 0:47
11. "The Artists in America" — 3:54
12. "The New Anthem" — 0:31
13. "Place in Space" — 2:44
14. "Foreigner in a Free Land" — 1:19
15. "Silver Screen" — 1:10
16. "Poetry" — 1:15
17. "The Men Who Live in the White House" — 2:48
18. "Love Life" — 4:34
19. "The Military" — 0:32
20. "Jam Session" — 0:39
21. "Sunday in America" — 4:29