Ornette Coleman Double Quartet - Free Jazz (A Collective Improvisation)

By 1961, when Free Jazz was released, alto saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman was infamous in the jazz world. His searing alto sax and full-ensemble take on melody were assailed by critics. Free Jazz only furthered Coleman's infamy, with its seamless, seemingly atonal high energy and wholesale lack of a melodic or harmonic center. For the session, Coleman assembled two complete quartets and had them play the same music opposite each other, with diving power and a kind of strange grace usually associated with acoustic blues. The music is raw and incisive, with sharp tones and biting solos appearing amidst propulsive rhythms that still seem whispery in their swishing shuffle. This recording helped cast the 1960s--and every decade since--in jazz. It drew a line in the sand, and critics, fans, and musicians are still haggling over the line today. --Andrew Bartlett Amazon.com essential recording

The Challenge

While Coleman titled his most famous album The Shape of Jazz to Come, this is really where he threw down the gauntlet, challenging all comers to make something more unique than this. And few had the guts to accept the challenge - this was 1960, after all. I don't think even Eric Dolphy had made the complete jump to avant-garde yet back then. And the critics laughed at Ornette. Fast forward five years, where John Coltrane had taken a cue from Ornette's albm-length masterpiece, putting out his (Ascension). Who's laughing now?
It goes without saying that, even some 47 years onward, it's still tough to find a point of comparison to Free Jazz. Coltrane had done the difficult album-length work with Ascension, but this is a whole different animal than Ascension. Hell, this manages to be even free - the original is usually the best, after all.
Now here's something for you jazz fans to meditate on. This album consists of two different quartets playing two entirely different things on each channel. So if you put the balance entirely on the left speaker, you'll hear one band, and if you choose to balance to the right, you'll hear another. For all practical purpose, you're hearing two songs at the same time. I suppose "song" is a loose definition, since structure's been entirely abandonded. Ditching structure is a risky business, but here it's cool by me. Why? Because the performances, besides being completely revolutionary, are simply stellar. Outstanding. A cut above the rest.
Again, who was doing anything like this in 1960? Trane and countless "progressive rock" bands tried the album-length piece thing, but none of their releases could measure up (though Ascension comes close). And the Velvet Underground - more indebtted to free jazz than one who hasn't heard their first two albums would think - had twice experimented with feeding two completely different things through both speaker channels, but it took them seven years to even consider that. And the truth of the matter is that free jazz would never again be this spontaneous. Out of the handful of Coleman records I've heard, I'll have to give this one the edge. Highly recommended, but only for those looking for something completely different. If Kenny G's your idea of "jazz", you need not apply. May 26, 2007

Amazing, but Ornette has been even more amazing...

This is a great album, but as other reviewers have noted, Ornette has done better. For example, his colloboration with Pat Metheny, Song X, is far more adventurous, intense, and powerful. This was a groundbreaking album in its day, and it's still really good. The liner notes from the original LP said that Ornette and his double quartet went into the studio, jammed for 37 minutes and 3 seconds, recorded it, and left the studio. The fact that there is a track called "First Take" (literally, a first take of Free Jazz) shows that this is false. Ornette's music was composed for the most part before the improvisation started. Ornette is an amazing musician, and this album is great, but there are better albums by him (Song X, The Shape of Jazz To Come, Change of the Century, and Chappaqua Suite). May 15, 2007

Not in their best form.

First total free album in jazz history. But there are better Coleman's albums. This album is not too convincing. Company from this session is not in their best form. For example Coltrane '64-67 period albums are much better in gravity, cleric and value sides. August 17, 2006

14th minute

yeah, i really like what happens in the 14th minute of Free Jazz August 2, 2006

Refreshing, To Say the Least

Do not brush this recording off as noisy and chaotic - I must reiterate what other reviewers have stated, which is that this music does have a fair amount of structure to it, and upon a few serious listens, it is easy to see how this style was built on with later free jazz releases, most notably Coltrane's work in the late 60's. Jazz legends such as Miles Davis would constantly turn away from Ornette's music, but it is evident in his later recordings that he would borrow elements from Ornette even if he was too hot-headed to admit it himself.

In 1961, Ornette assembled this double-quartet. In the left speaker is a quartet featuring Ornette (alto sax), Don Cherry (trumpet), Scott LaFaro (bass), and Billy Higgins (drums). In the right speaker, we have Eric Dolphy (bass clarinet), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Charlie Haden (bass), and Ed Blackwell (drums). Although the music is stretched out and abstract at times, there are brilliant harmonies and an obvious structure to it. We are given a taste of mid-50's Ornette like SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME but the majority of the music is a free improvisation that sounds like a party of horns, with duels between Coleman, Cherry, and Hubbard plus the occasional deep moans from Eric Dolphy. The soloists on this record appear to have no boundaries set for themselves in their improvisation, and it sounds as if other musicians jump in and out in an almost comical manner. It should also be noted that the only original track, 'Free Jazz' is almost 40 minutes long - which was quite an accomplishment considering the era in which it was recorded.

The bonus track 'First Take' is the same song as 'Free Jazz,' evident by the familiar harmonies close to the beginning, however, I agree with the liner notes that it does not fully explore the depths that the title track does.

I would not recommend this recording to someone who is totally new to jazz, but if you're checking out this album, you're probably an experienced listener. I consider this release to be 'difficult' only in the context of those not familiar with free jazz. Coleman was, and still is often misunderstood, but if you can open your mind, this record is an exceptional gateway to some other amazing music of the genre. March 9, 2006

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