Posts Tagged Ornette Coleman
Archive
February 6, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Jazz Right In Your Face: Ten Important Jazz Albums In My Life
You know the drill by now – here’s the catch-all blurb/explanation I’ve created for these sorts of lists We all know that lists are subjective – that is the point of them. So I’ve decided to do a series of top 10 albums across genres. They’ll appear sporadically. And rather than call them “Top 10” I […]Archive
November 1, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Five Unmissable Shows I Missed: The First Five That Sprang To Mind
No show is unmissable. Yes, I say this as one of the lucky ones that saw Prince during his only New Zealand shows. And yes, I say this having attended thousands of shows – including many I really didn’t want to, and so many that I have been beyond chuffed to see. I’ve written about […]Archive
June 24, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
Stubs: #96 – Sonny Rollins, Wellington, 2011
This gig was pretty special – obviously because it was Sonny Rollins, living jazz legend. But also, on a personal note, I had interviewed him; one of my all-time favourite interviews. I’m in two minds about this too – I have no recording of that interview. We spoke for over an hour, I can remember […]Archive
June 11, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman has died of cardiac arrest. He was 85. Only Charlie Parker and John Coltrane could have meant as much to the saxophone; Coleman set about learning all of the rules first. And then smashing them down, breaking through, tearing them apart. As a composer and improviser he was fearsome and he came to be […]Archive
January 15, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Listening To Ornette
Inside, Ornette’s saxophone wants out. Fighting with Elvin’s drums. Outside, words appear on the page – as smoke blows there and there – I must be writing again. Waiting, passing time, trying to decide what phase of my life I am surely approaching. The cage rattles, Ornette has been let out. Blowing over smoke, across […]Archive
July 24, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
Joshua Redman: Trios Live
Joshua Redman Trios Live Nonesuch There’s never been any argument around Joshua Redman’s abilities – that flawless technique. But what’s very clear is he’s growing into the sound now, filling up the big shoes and stepping up. Maybe it’s his recent visit here, and the clinic – veritable masterclass – that he and his quartet […]Archive
July 11, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Charlie Haden
Man. This was sad news to wake up to. To hear that Charlie Haden has died – he seemed so vital, so urgent – prolific. And all the while he was fighting an illness. You couldn’t hear that in his playing. All I heard was warmth and strength, that which he gave too as the […]Archive
May 1, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 1138
Ornette Coleman, Free Jazz (1961) This wasn’t just my introduction to Ornette Coleman – I’d heard the name but this was the first recording I’d hear – it was my introduction to a whole new world. It blew my mind the first dozen times I played it. And then on from there. I can’t actually […]Archive
July 27, 2013 by Simon Sweetman