There was a lot of poetry floating around in tribute to Ornette Coleman last week which is appropriate because Ornette’s music always felt like ART. In fact, if anyone has ever made music that better expressed art than the combination between Ornette’s Free Jazz & Jackson Pollock’s White Light, where the music gave the painting sound and the painting gave the music vision, we don’t know it.

Most of the poems were not so good and less than a master deserves. But one stanza seemed to say something:

“I can’t pretend to understand
Because who could understand
Understanding was never the point
The thing is the Universe is already vibrating
He was just lucky enough to feel it
And know what to do with what he felt”
(Jason Crane)

And it sounds good to read it whilst  listening to the two majestic tone poems from his early period that make his perfect poise ring still, and forever. Plastic alto or not.

Lonely Woman -
 

And, appropriately, Peace -
 

{both these songs come from the incredible (and appropriately named) Atlantic album “The Shape Of Jazz To Come” which is part of a series of blinding Atlantic albums which also includes “Free Jazz”. These are collected in the amazing “Beauty Is A Rare Thing” box set which was briefly re-available recently and is a must purchase.

These however in no way encapsulate all of Ornette, either before or after.
Outstanding other titles include the hard to get “Body Meta” where he is at his most rock influenced, the incredible “Virgin Beauty” -  a late masterpiece – and of course the album that captured all the early shock “Tomorrow Is The Question!”. He had a way with titles too!}


-TH