A complete issue of a groundbreaking late 50s performance by
Ornette Coleman – some of which has been released on the French album Fabulous
Paul Bley Quintet, and other parts on albums under
Ornette's name! The quality of the performance is amazing – some of the freshest jazz recorded in LA at the time, but still somewhat more inside than
Coleman's work of the decade to come – a key transitional moment from
Ornette, played by a group that features Don Cherry on trumpet, Charlie Haden on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – plus a young
Paul Bley on piano, who makes for a very different rhythmic conception than some of the
Coleman quartet albums of a year or two later! Given
Bley's approach to the piano, even at this point, the sound is still quite different than most of what had come before – almost in the territory of some of Eric Dolphy's early albums for New Jazz. Titles include "Free", "The Blessing", "When Will The Blues Leave", "Ramblin", "Crossroads", "How Deep Is The Ocean", "Klactoveesedstene", and "I Remember Harlem".
(Out of print.)