Search - Ornette Coleman, Joachim Kuhn :: Colors

Great latterday Coleman

N. Dorward | Toronto, ON Canada | 08/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ornette Coleman has always had a perverse genius for publicity & marketing. His erratic career, full of retirements, comebacks, aesthetic swerves & label-changes, has always rested on the bedrock of the amazing series of discs he recorded for Atlantic near the start of his career. He can grab attention for silly things (e.g. for including live bodypiercing as part of his act), yet I can't think of any other artist who could make news by the simple act of adding a piano to his group. That occurred with the two-CD set he did with Geri Allen; on this CD we have the even more unexpected situation of a saxophone-piano duet with the European pianist Joachim Kuhn. But there's no gainsaying it: this is one of Coleman's finest discs.As usual the album is all (brand-new) originals. Coleman's alto shows remarkable similarities to other veterans of the age of Charlie Parker--sometimes his fragile tone & phrasing remind me of Konitz, for instance. He's happy to play the odd bit of bebop even: there's a spot here where he & Kuhn bat a bop lick around all 12 keys, for instance. Yet the music is unmistakably Coleman, & the duo sounds entirely sympathetic: I'd not encountered Kuhn before but he's obviously a very fine pianist, & isn't once thrown for a loop. Hard to fault this disc, which is one of Coleman's best latterday performances; there is the obligatory (& dispensable) trumpet-and-fiddle solo, but the rest is just fine."

Angular, dissonant, yet lyrical

S. Hawkins | New York, NY | 12/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just love this CD. I bought it in 1997, and it has held up strong after 5 years of listening.I'm not certain what the earlier reviewer had against the combination of Ornette and Joachim. I would not describe Mr Kuhn's playing as cold; rather, I think he serves as a wonderful partner to Ornette's frantic, fiery playing - holding back whenever needed, and letting loose with a barrage of notes or just a plain intense attack when possible.The loose, jamming sound of Ornette works beautifully in this duo setting. Pieces like Passion Cultures come across as powerfully poignant ballads, and the faster tunes, like Three Ways to One allow for amazing amounts of freedom for both of the musicians without it becoming overwhelming or too dense in sound.All in all, a wonderful recording - I only wish I could have actually BEEN at the concert"

Buy It Now if you like Ornette's whole concept and you're a

C cachopes | the East coast, USA | 07/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who's interested in jazz in general, Ornette, "free" playing, or music that's got a constant directional flow would like this album. These two really work well together, kind of like Metheny and Ornette on Song X. It was just totally meant to happen. There's a great chemistry here. I can't see why anyone who actually bought the album would not like it; if you're into this type of thing there's no question that you'll like it, but if you don't like this type of thing, why would you even bother to check it out? Great compositions, great piano playing with a wide range of articulation and feeling, and Ornette sounds exactly as he should; it's been over 30 years since The Shape of Jazz to Come, and one can hear that over those 30 years he's gotten better and better with every day; his sound is very focused and pristine, kind of like how Joe Henderson sounded better in the 90's than he did in the 60's. Anyway, this is a must have for any Ornette fan, or any fan of 20 Century/Contemporary Music in general."