Peace

Ornette Coleman (alto sax), Don Cherry (cornet), Charlie Haden (bass) and Billy Higgins (drums). From the album The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959).

Ornette Coleman’s ideals of freedom in jazz made him a feared extremist in some circles, but if those critics had known how far things would go in just a few years, they would have realized that it was an accessible record. It’s true that the penetrating Coleman’s howls and his vocalized effects are not conventional, his themes are unpredictable and the group’s improvisations are free and collective. But at the time, Coleman’s desire for freedom was directly related to his sense of melody.

The advances made in The Shape of Jazz to Come, whether the lack of harmonic instruments or Coleman’s unusual style (which was mostly self-taught), are impressive even in their most basic state. Ornette’s high-pitched tone and creative improvisation, Cherry’s warm sounds, Haden’s ability with walking bass lines and emphasized note and chord options and Higgins’s great consistency and dexterity with tempo on drums makes this album innovative and influential. To understand jazz’s avant-garde you have to start here.

This theme is a relaxed ballad that begins to expose Coleman with Haden and Higgins, and then Cherry joins in performing in unisone. In the bridge Haden plays alone the double bass with the bow. Next comes Coleman with a peaceful and serene solo composed of gentle melodies. All of a sudden he throws out several impetuous phrases, but then returns to normal. The rhythm section is smooth with Haden accompanying warmly. Afterwads Cherry arrives making a calm discourse measuring well his sentences and finally the group reexposes the theme.