You don't have to dip a toe too far into the world of jazz for the name of Ornette Coleman to arise. Venerated by those who 'get him' (and I'm not sure I'm among them), darling of the beatnik movement and radicals of the 1960s, it was inevitable that I'd part with some hard currency to find out what the fuss was.
Picked up during a foray into the jazz section at HMV, this isn't something that reaches the CD tray too regularly, as it isn't an easy listen. We open with Lonely Woman in which Coleman works his sax around a repeated phrase with the cornet of Don Cherry, to create a lovely piece. Eventually follows, a very free piece, which wouldn't have been out of place on The Fast Show's Jazz Club. Nice. Peace is very much slower and an easier listen, both cornet and sax creating a mood. Focus On Sanity features an extended bass solo from Charlie Haden, before the wind picks up the melody ending with a wholly unnecessary drum solo (as all drum solos are).
Congeniality has a lovely feel to it, rolling along nicely, and the album ends with Chronology, an upbeat, lively number.
I'm not convinced by this album. I will return to it, but some of the improvisation feels only there for its own sake, not developing the piece. Perhaps it's my lack of understanding of how music works, but I feel like I'm enjoying it, without really getting it, and that one day it will click and the genius will reveal itself. or perhaps it won't.
3* - it's an enjoyable listen, but doesn't feel to me like the revelation others suggest.
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