Something Else!!!!
| Something Else!!!! | ||||
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| Studio album by Ornette Coleman | ||||
| Released | September 1958[1] | |||
| Recorded | February 10, 22 & March 24, 1958 | |||
| Genre | Free jazz[2] | |||
| Length | 42:15 | |||
| Label | Contemporary | |||
| Producer | Lester Koenig | |||
| Ornette Coleman chronology | ||||
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Something Else!!!! (subtitled The Music of Ornette Coleman) is the debut album by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman. It was released by Contemporary Records in September 1958.[1] According to AllMusic, the album "shook up the jazz world", revitalizing the union of blues and jazz and restoring "blues to their 'classic' beginnings in African music".[3] It is unusual in Coleman's output in that it features a conventional bebop quintet instrumentation (saxophone, cornet, piano, bass and drums); after this album, Coleman would omit the piano, creating a starker and more fluid sound.
History
[edit | edit source]While working as an elevator operator in a department store in Los Angeles, Ornette assembled a group of musicians—teenaged cornet player Don Cherry, double bass player Charlie Haden, and drummers Ed Blackwell and Billy Higgins—with whom he could explore his unusual jazz compositions.[4][5] Coleman was introduced to music producer Lester Koenig of Contemporary Records by a bebop bassist friend of Cherry's, Red Mitchell, who thought Koenig might be interested in purchasing Coleman's songs.[4] When other musicians found the tunes too challenging, Coleman was invited to perform the compositions himself.[4]
Critical opinion
[edit | edit source]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | StarStarStarStarHalf star[6] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | StarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[7] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | StarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[8] |
Though often controversial at the time,[9] music from Coleman's first album is now generally well received. Rolling Stone commented admiringly on the composer's "genuinely original voice" and "freakishly structured tunes".[10] All About Jazz reviewer John Barrett Jr. cautions that, though dissonant, this album is not the first of the free jazz movement with which Coleman is so associated.[11] Nevertheless, in 2007, All About Jazz credited the album with introducing "a new era in jazz", transforming the genre by demonstrating a style of music "freed from the prevailing conventions of harmony, rhythm and melody".[12]
Pianist Ethan Iverson has written at length about this album and other recordings from Coleman's early period.[13] His argument is that on his early albums Coleman's attempts to break free of chords and chorus-structures are hampered by sidemen who are unwilling to follow his cue.
Release history
[edit | edit source]Originally released under the Contemporary imprint in mono and then later (either in 1959 or 1960) issued with a different cover photo and in stereo. The stereo remix of the album was re-released in 1992 on LP, compact disc and compact cassette in collaboration between Contemporary and OJC.
Track listing
[edit | edit source]All tracks composed by Ornette Coleman.
- "Invisible" – 4:11
- "The Blessing" – 4:45
- "Jayne" – 7:17
- "Chippie" – 5:37
- "The Disguise" – 2:46
- "Angel Voice" – 4:19
- "Alpha" – 4:09
- "When Will the Blues Leave?" – 4:58
- "The Sphinx" – 4:13
Personnel
[edit | edit source]- Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone
- Don Cherry – cornet
- Walter Norris – piano
- Don Payne – double bass
- Billy Higgins – drums
- Lester Koenig – producer
- Roy DuNann – engineer
- Nat Hentoff – liner notes
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Something Else!!!! at AllMusic
- ^ a b c Ornette Coleman 3 Bass Quintet Archived 2007-08-02 at archive.today. Accessed September 28, 2007.
- ^ Then Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Official Ornette Coleman website. Accessed September 28, 2007.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Prize in Music – Biography Ornette Coleman Pulitzer. Accessed September 28, 2007
- ^ Brackett, Nathan, ed. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, 4th edition. Simon & Schuster. 2004. Page 178.
- ^ Barrett, Jr. John. (December 1, 1998). Something Else!!!!—The Music of Ornette Coleman All About Jazz. Accessed September 28, 2007.
- ^ Ornette Coleman, 2007 Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient, Opens the 2007/08 UCLA Live Jazz Series Sept. 26 September 5, 2007. Accessed September 28, 2007.
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