To Ornette Coleman

Inmemory of Ornette Coleman, who passed away on June 11th, we are presenting reflections on selections from his influential discography. The recordings presented here not in release order but rather grouped by our contributors. We look forward to your thoughts as well.

Something Else!!!! (Atlantic, 1958)

The very first Ornette Coleman album f…

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Andrew Bishop – De Profundis (Self, 2015) ****

Saxophonist and clarinetist player Andrew Bishop’s De
Profundisis a neatly conceived recording that seamlessly blends the
composed and the improvised. For this album, Bishop looks towards composer Josquin Des Prez’s
(c. 1440 – 1521) motet ‘De Profundis Clamavi’ for inspiration.

The Renaissance composer was apparently quite
popular du…

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Pulverize the Sound – Pulverize the Sound (Relative Pitch, 2015) *****

It’s a rare and wonderful thing where you are so challenged as a listener that you are not sure of what’s happening, but you know you need more. This happened to me during the 2011 Vision Festival when on one of the nights when the power trio of Peter Evans (trumpet), Mike Pride (drums) and Tim Dahl (extremely electric bass) shredded the atmosp…

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Will Guthrie – Sacrée Obsession (iDEAL, 2015) ****

Will Guthrie is a percussionist from France who, in addition to his growing discography of solo recordings, also plays in the group Ames Room. Guthrie is a subtle player who is quite comfortable with space and texture, which is highlighted on a new solo recording Sacrée Obsessioncoming out on LP and tape in the fall.

Sacrée Obsession start…

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James Falzone: The Renga Ensemble – The Room Is (Allos Documents,2015) ****½

Working with an impressive cross-section of (mainly) Chicago based woodwind players, clarinetist and composer James Falzone’sThe Room Isis a complex and lovely work. The group, The Renga Ensemble, is comprised of Ken Vandermark on Bb clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, Keefe Jackson on tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, contra Bb bass cl…

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Jack DeJohnette – Made in Chicago (ECM, 2015) *****

Following a week of retrospective reviews of exemplary AACM recordings, it seemed a fitting coda to talk about this great new album from drummer Jack DeJohnette and otherwise Chicago related musicians, saxophonists Henry Threadgill and Roscoe Mitchell, pianist Muhal Richard Abrams and cellist Larry Gray.

For the most part, the members of this …

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50 Years of AACM: 2005-2015

This is the last installment of the AACM retrospective- a highly subjective, entirely personal, and completely non-representative list of albums plucked from our own collections to represent what the recordings of the AACM and it’s musicians have meant to us as enthusiasts of the music. Today, the years between 2005 to 2015.

Note: a big thank y…

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50 Years of AACM: 1995-2004

TheAACM retrospective weekcontinues today with our highly subjective, entirely personal, and completely non-representative list of albums plucked from our own collections to represent what the recordings of the AACM and it’s musicians have meant to us as enthusiasts of the music. Today, we present the years between 1995 and 2004.
ByColin Green,Mart…

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50 Years of AACM: 1985-1994

The AACM retrospective week continues with our highly subjective, entirely personal, and completely non-representative list of albums plucked from our own collections to represent what the recordings of the AACM and it’s musicians have meant to us as enthusiasts of the music. Today, the years between 1985 and 1994.

By Colin Green, Martin Schray, M…

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50 Years of AACM: 1975-1984

The AACMretrospective week continues today with our highly subjective, entirely personal, and completely non-representative list of albums plucked from our own collections to represent what the recordings of the AACM and it’s musicians have meant to us as enthusiasts of the music. Today, the years between 1975 and 1984.

By Colin Green, Martin Schr…

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50 Years of AACM: 1965-1974

The AACM retrospective week begins with our highly subjective, entirely personal, and completely non-representative list of albums plucked from our own collections to represent what the recordings of the AACM and it’s musicians have meant to us as enthusiasts of the music. Today, the years between 1965 – 1974.

By Colin Green, Martin Schray, Matthe…

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Han-Earl Park – Anomic Aphasia (SLAM, 2015) ****

GuitaristHan-Earl Park’s Anomic Aphasia features two different trios, revolving around the duo of the himself and saxophonist Catherine Sikora. One configuration features the work of guitarist Nick Didkovsky, a distinctly different guitarist than Park, and the other the deep register woodwinds of Josh Sinton.

The album clocks in at a generous …

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