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I saw Ornette Coleman play last night and I am on a total O.C. buzz right now. This compilation was originally going to be for my friend Tom -- who treated me to the show but who was not very familiar with Coleman's work -- but I never got my act together to make it in time for him. Decided to do it today, and share it with the world as well.

The 'cast opens with the theme music from David Cronenberg's 1991 film about William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch. This was the first time I encountered Ornette Coleman; I was seventeen and I was hooked.

Song X is often listed/regarded as a Pat Metheny (the "big-haired king of air-brushed jazz-lite") release, but don't be fooled -- it's definitely an Ornette Coleman session.

On his brilliant 1977 album Tales of Captain Black, guitarist extraordinaire James Blood Ulmer is joined by Ornette on alto, his son Denardo Coleman on drums and Jamaaladeen Tacuma on electric bass. Denardo also appears on a number of the other recordings featured here, including Song X, Body Meta, and with Jamaaladeen Tacuma on In All Languages -- though not on this version of Feet Music.

John Zorn and his hand-picked team of downtown NY avant-garde jazz-assassin mercenaries don't seem to get a very good rap for their Spy Vs. Spy tribute album, but I think it's a pretty bloody entertaining listen.

This is only one hour's worth of material out of a literal dozen or more I could compile with my favourite Ornette Coleman tracks. It's not supposed to be the official Greatest Hits, or anything... just a bit of a look-see, a peek inside the door, if you will. There's not, for example, anything here from the 50s or 60s; nor is there anything from his most recent much-lauded Sound Grammar album, or his orchestral suites (Skies of America etc.). This will all come later.

Right-click here and Save As to download  (46.3MB mp3)