Ornette Coleman's 1960s recordings for
Blue Note are usually -- and perhaps unjustly -- de-emphasized when accounting for the enormity of his contribution to the evolution of jazz. The saxophonist recorded five albums under his own name: There are two volumes of
At the "Golden Circle" Stockholm,
The Empty Foxhole,
Love Call, and
New York Is Now. Further,
Coleman served as a sideman on
Jackie McLean's
New and Old Gospel.
Round Trip, on 180-gram vinyl, is the first box set in
Blue Note's Tone Poet series. Beautifully illustrated and authoritatively annotated, these titles appear in exact reproductions.
The two volumes of
At the "Golden Circle" Stockholm showcase
Coleman's trio with bassist
David Izenzon and drummer
Charles Moffett in December of 1965. The first set is among the most exuberant dates in
Coleman's catalog. "European Echoes" and "Dee Dee" offer proof of the saxophonist's bluesy, expansive, refutation of bop, and they swing like mad.
Vol. 2 is a tougher go.
Coleman plays violin and trumpet often here -- instruments he didn't conventionally "play." He employed them as "sound generators" while searching for new colors in pursuit of emotional expression. Recorded in 1966,
The Empty Foxhole remains controversial.
Coleman is accompanied by
Charlie Haden and his then-ten-year-old son
Denardo Coleman on drums. The youngster's frenetic, pulse-style drumming powers the free bop blues in "Good Old Days." Other highlights include the striated balladry of the title cut and the jaunty, melodic "Zig Zag."
Jackie McLean's
New and Old Gospel was recorded in 1967 with
Coleman exclusively playing trumpet. Drummer
Billy Higgins, bassist
Scott Holt, and pianist
LaMont Johnson round out the quintet. Comprised of a side-long suite by
McLean and two long compositions by
Coleman, the famed altoist breaks out of his hard bop M.O. while
Coleman's canny improvising on the brooding "Strange as It Seems" showcases the development of his individual language on the horn.
New York Is Now! and
Love Call are drawn from two New York sessions in the spring of 1968.
Coleman and longtime friend and high school classmate, tenorist
Dewey Redman, are joined by drummer
Elvin Jones and bassist
Reggie Workman. These marked the first of eight recordings
Redman made with
Coleman. Highlights on the former include the exploratory "The Garden of Souls,"
Jones' polyrhythmic big beat leading "Broadway Blues," and the joyful head-to-head exchange between saxophonists on "Round Trip."
Love Call is intense and woolly, comprised of mostly uptempo tunes. The interplay between
Coleman and
Redman on "Airborne" and "Check Out Time" is pushed outward by the stellar time expansion executed by the rhythm section. The title showcases
Coleman's trumpet in an incendiary exchange with
Redman.
Round Trip: Ornette Coleman on Blue Note contains a gorgeously illustrated booklet with many rare photos, discographical info, and an excellent critical essay by jazz journalist
Thomas Conrad. While the set's price tag may dictate this as a "fans-only" purchase, the material's presentation in chronological and aesthetic context makes a solid case for reappraising
Coleman's extremely creative, exploratory tenure at the label. ~ Thom Jurek