[Dixielandjazz] Improvisation redux

[Richard Broadie]

Heard Ornette in LA in 1960 with Don.  Don't remember the rest of the
personnel.  Purchased two bottles of asprin on the way home.  Wasn't enough.

These days I find some of his work inventive and interesting.  Took nearly
half a century for me to admit this and do keep in mind that my hearing
isn't nearly as good these days.   Must have sat too close to the drummer in
all those years!

Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2003 9:50 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Improvisation redux


> Got to thinking about the time I went to see Ornette Coleman, Don
> Cherry, Charlie Hayden et al at the Five Spot In NYC circa 1961 or so.
> Curious because it was avant garde or "free jazz". That is, no defined
> melody, no defined chord changes.
>
> Basically Ornette started the tune on sax and made up the melody and
> chord changes as he went along. The rest of the band had to follow his
> changes by ear. Then in mid tune, Cherry on trumpet took over the lead
> and made up his own changes and melody. Then Hayden soloed on his own
> chord changes and the rest of the group softly followed his lead.
>
> Etc., etc., all night long. Didn't understand or appreciate it then
> except for one facet. That was the most together band I ever heard. They
> LISTENED to each other and managed to be right, as far as the changes
> were concerned, even though they were being totally improvised by the
> lead horn at the time.
>
> Puts to rest the idea that one must know where one is going. Or that one
> must know what note in the chord one is going to play. They made it work
> in a totally unstructured setting, when they didn't know what chord was
> coming next. That's improvisation.
>
> As I said, I did not understand or appreciate it. But sitting at the
> next table was Leonard Bernstein with a faculty group from Julliard.
> They absolutely loved it and kept commenting about how good it was. Made
> me feel like a jerk for about two weeks until I got back to my own
> grooves.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve
>
> PS Still don't understand or appreciate most free jazz, but then, there
> are a lot of things about music I don't understand. Like tonight's 2 set
> concert at a local High School. 500 in the audience absolutely went
> hysterical over what we did plus I sold 68 CDs. Yet "jazz" is dying?
> NAH. Just certain jazz presentations.
>
> And tomorrow night, that private Mardi Gras party for 150 Nuns. What
> next? ;-)
>
>
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