‘59 session well-remembered in ‘Shape of Jazz to Come’

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Sept. 2, 2005 | 8:14 a.m.

An album titled "The Shape of Jazz to Come" has an awful lot to live up to.

Great isn't nearly good enough, nor is innovative.

"The Shape of Jazz to Come" has to be monumental and enduring, lest it become a joke for future generations of listeners.

Apparently, alto saxman Ornette Coleman knew what he was doing when he affixed the name to his 1959 Atlantic Records debut. Not only did the groundbreaking LP create an uproar in the jazz community at the time, it has earned a place alongside such works as Miles Davis' "Kind of Blues" and John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" as one of the genre's indisputable pillars.

During the landmark May 22, 1959, Los Angeles recording session, the then-29-year-old Coleman opted against bringing in a pianist, or even a guitarist, to execute predetermined chord changes in his compositions.

Instead, the Texas native and his band -- cornet player Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins -- created melodies and improvised solos based on the mood of each piece, as they were playing it.

Martin Williams explains Coleman's approach in an excellent set of liner notes: "If you put a conventional chord under my note, you limit the number of choices I have for my next note; if you do not, my melody may move freely in a far greater choice of directions."

The technique, unconventional and even controversial at the time, became more prominent as jazz's "free" or experimental movement grew over time, a tribute to Coleman's far-seeing vision.

Though "The Shape of Jazz to Come" is associated with that avant-garde side of the genre, though, it is far from the noisy, turbulent listening experience many assume it to be.

All six tracks on the disc should be pleasing to the ears of any but the smoothest of jazz fans, offering most of the elements of traditional jazz despite their reach.

Two of the cuts are considered so historically significant as to have been included on the Smithsonian's five-CD "Classic Jazz" set, a teaching tool used in many collegiate survey courses on the genre.

One of them, "Lonely Woman," opens the album in brilliant fashion. Coleman and Cherry weave wailing notes around one-another, while the unconstrained rhythm duo create an equally riveting backdrop.

The other Smithsonian choice, "Congeniality," -- along with two other tunes, "Eventually" and "Chronology" -- are more akin to the hard bop of the day, though with a distinctly looser feel.

And centerpiece "Peace" comes off simultanesously relaxed and exploratory, as Haden lays down a hypnotic bassline over which Coleman and Cherry take turns soloing.

Nearly 50 years after its release, "The Shape of Jazz to Come" still makes a powerful statement. Pick up or download a copy to hear the genre take shape right before your ears.

Artist: Ornette Coleman.

Title: "The Shape of Jazz to Come."

Year of release: 1959 (reissued 1990, Atlantic).

Tracklisting: "Lonely Woman," "Eventually," "Peace," "Focus on Sanity," "Congeniality," "Chronology."