Customer Reviews

Golden Circle 2

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Both volumes of the Ornette Coleman Trio at the "Golden Circle" Stockholm are classic 60s avant-garde jazz albums. After his groundbreaking recordings with Atlantic, Coleman re-emerges with Blue Note in 1965 with these live sessions. On Volume 1, Ornette sticks to his native alto-sax, but on Volume 2 he branches out to violin and trumpet as well. The results of this multi-instrumentation are mixed, but is at the very least an interesting look into how a master composer and improviser tries to expand his methods for musical communication. Overall, any Ornette fan would be remiss to have this CDs absent from his/her collection.

Ornette Coleman possesses a sound and approach that is not easily appreciated by all listeners. This album is extremely experimental, defying convention and sometimes even sounding schizophrenic. Such criticism has always been par for the course in the case of Coleman, who developed his own approach to jazz music which he calls "harmolodics". Boiled down, "harmolodics" are the result of an improvisational relationship between artists, where melody and harmony becomes one cohesive unit.

The Ornette Coleman Trio at the "Golden Circle" Stockholm, Volume II carries on this tradition of Coleman's avant-garde technique. Prior to this recording, Coleman undertook studying the violin and trumpet in addition to the alto saxophone. Recorded on December 3 & 4th of 1965, Coleman showcases his newly acquired trumpeting and violin skills in Stockholm, Sweden on this album. Accompanied by David Izenzon on bass and Charles Moffett on drums, the music on here reminds one of three impressionist painters contributing to one piece of art. The result is agreeable, though I'll readily admit Ornette Coleman is not for everyone.

Please listen to the track previews before buying this album, as they always say more than a review can to you. I recommend this album to Coleman fans and lovers of the early avant-garde, as this work was forward thinking in it's delivery and concept. I hope you enjoy it. The four stars are kind of warning shot for the unsuspecting, though I suspect if you've made it this far you already can dig where Coleman was coming from.