Born on March 9, 1930, in Fort Worth, Texas, Ornette Coleman exists as one of America’s greatest jazzmen. With musical influence steeped in R&B, Coleman began playing saxophone at an early age. His first recording appeared in 1958. Coleman died in 2015.
Coleman experimented with various musical styles over the decades–he even collaborated with Jerry Garcia, Pat Metheny, Roland Jackson, Don Cherry, Jimmy Garrison and the Grateful Dead.
In 2007, Coleman won a Pulitzer Prize for Sound Grammar. Recorded in one night in Italy during October of 2005, Sound Grammar emerges as Coleman’s first album in a decade. Coleman plays alto sax, violin, and trumpet. Denardo Coleman plays drums, while Greg Cohen and Tony Falanga handle double-bass duties. These musical components never stray far from a rhythmic blues foundation.
Sound Grammar peaked at #13 on Billboard’s Top Jazz albums. This CD contains five new Coleman compositions as well as a few older tunes that prove Coleman’s musical vitality over the last 50 years.
“Jordan” stands as a frenetic tune with a driving rhythm. “Sleep Talking” finds Coleman playing violin on slow, blue jazz tune that resembles rain falling in the streets. “Turnaround” conjures traces of John Coltrane. “Matador” is an upbeat tune serving as a musical backdrop to any deadly bullfight. “Waiting For You” evokes a deep rumbling on the bottom end…like some underwater Super 8 film music. “Call To Duty” remains an unrestrained song that fits the tenacious title.
Ornette Coleman’s Sound Grammar proves why he’s an American music legend.