king ubu Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 I have seen that by now all of Ornette's Universal/Verve stuff is OOP. I don't have any of this, and would like to get some recommendations. Not only for the electric (prime time) stuff, but generally for the post Impulse, Columbia, post-classic or whatever you could dub that period of his work. The only one I do have is one of the two discs with Geri Allen. I have listened an hour ago to some of "Body Meta" - and somehow I find it difficult to get into that music. Recording quality (or generally the sound) bugs me quite a bit, too. However, I would like to explore some of this stuff before it vanishes at all... thanks, ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Soapsuds, Soapsuds (duet with Charlie Haden on Artist's House) In All Languages (half with reunited original quartet, half with Prime Time) Opening the Caravan of Dreams (Prime Time--LP only) Of Human Feelings (Prime Time) I much prefer the edition of Prime Time with Charlie Ellerbie and Bern Nix on guitars, and Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Albert McDowell on bass. They were an awesome group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 (edited) I'm not sure if it's readily available, but In All Languages (originally on Caravan of Dreams, and, I believe, reissued by Verve) contains some very good electric Ornette. It has recordings by both the original quartet - Ornette, Cherry, Haden and Higgins - and Prime Time - Ornette, Denardo, Weston, Tacuma, Ellerbee, and Nix. Seven of the tunes are performed by each group, which makes for an interesting comparison. Sorry to dupicate kh - I was a minute late. Edited October 28, 2003 by paul secor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Another vote for "In All Languages". If you're based in the U.S. or Canada, be sure to check out half.com for some great deals on Ornette, especially his post-1975 CD's. Tone Dialing for only $6 (several copies) This is a very interesting disc, and well worth getting (I think). Virgin Beauty for about $7. Not my very favorite Ornette, but still a pretty solid disc, with Jerry Gracia on three tracks. In All Languages for $8.50 (and ignore that they display the wrong cover of this CD on half.com) Colors for $10 -- is just a duo disc with Ornette and Joachim Kuhn on piano, and is very good (recorded live, but the sound quality is perfect). Also, I want to give a BIG shout-out for James Blood Ulmer's "Tales Of Captain Black" from 1978, with Ornette. Only available as an import from Japan, $18 is a decent price for a brand-new copy, and this album is not to be missed. Frankly, I like this disc as much as any Ornette in an electric context. (And I say that not as a huge Ulmer nut, as this is my only disc with Ulmer as the leader. Ornette came to play on this date, and REALLY delivered the goods.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Rooster, I'm from Switzerland... HELL! Thanks everybody for your recommendations (keep'em coming!). I have seen "In All Languages" here, someplace, but for the usual price (being around 22-25$ for fully priced CDs). Nobody can speak in favor of "Body Meta"? And how about acoustic stuff? (yes, I know the duo with Kühn has been mentioned. I will pick up that one for sure) What do you think of the two discs with Geri Allen? thanks, ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Song X, Geffen B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Song X, Geffen B) Is that one still around? It's been at least five years since I last saw it here! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 I own BODY META. I can definitely understand your reaction. The sound of this album is exhausting, but your interest is piqued. This concept, I think this is the first prime time recording, is brand new and shows promise. You wonder where they take it. Listen again to Body Meta. I'm going to do the same, now that you've brought it up. Its been at least a year. There are some very interesting guitar/electric bass/drums textures if I remember, and a very long winded Ornette! dave9199, where are you on this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 I like "Body Meta", actually quite a bit. (I like it better than "Virgin Beauty" - not that they are an exact comparison.) But I really mean to say that "Body Meta" is NOT at the bottom of my list of Ornette discs, in my book. Frankly, the only Ornette CD (from his post-1975 years) that I would avoid is the "Naked Lunch" soundtrack. Didn't do much for me, and I'm normally a big fan of "third-stream" stuff like it sorta tried to be. Everything else is worth getting, though some are not worth spending lots of money for (meaning they're all good, but not all 'essential'.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 I'm fairly certain that Song X is still in print. Amazon, for one lists new and used copies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Yes, "Song X" is a good one too. Frankly, keep your eyes out for it 'used'. I don't see them 'used' in every store, but they aren't that hard to find either. (It's not like most of your typical Pat Metheny fans really like "Song X" very much. Hell, I LOVE Ornette, and I have to admit that I really have to be in the right mood for "Song X" --- though I totally love it when I am in that mood.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Thanks for the Song X . Just added it to an open order on amazon Germany. Costs me 8.5 Euros, no shipping. Not bad! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 It's all good if you ask me, with DANCING IN YOUR HEAD & TONE DIALING being major milestones in my opinion. One that slipped through my cracks (OUCH!!!) until the last year or so was Geri Allen's now OOP EYES IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEARD on Blue Note. Ornette's just on two cuts, duets both, but they are stunning. I would give the usual "worth the cost of admission alone" rap for this one, except the REST of the album is pretty stunning too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted October 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 It's all good if you ask me ... That's what I was afraid of... I will look for them! Thanks! ubu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 I've always had a soft spot for "Virgin Beauty". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Like Jim said, it's all good. (Well, except maybe for "Naked Lunch".) But seriously, of those that have been released on CD (I haven't heard any of the vinyl-only releases), all of them are pretty darn good. Or rather, not a rotten apple in the whole bunch. When's he gonna record and release some more????????????? The world wants more Ornette. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man with the Golden Arm Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 I think the most recent Ornette on record might be the diddlings he did on Joe Henry's "Scar" album. It also features some Marc Ribot, Brad Meldhau and others and is a very nice disc when paired with Joe's previous "Fuse". Much recommended for those with that urge for an "elvis costello at the cross-roads selling his soul to david byrne" thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Actually, I quite like Naked Lunch. Ornette and Pat Metheny, along with Charlie Haden and Denardo Coleman, were recorded live at the Caravan of Dreams, but it was never released. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 (edited) I would stump for DANCING IN YOUR HEAD, though I personally prefer BODY META. But DIYH has a bit more polish and is a little easier to appraoch than the BODY META performances, which are, after all, rehearsals / work sessions. And a final word for a session that been much too hard to come by on CD, even though it contains some of Coleman's finest soloing on record: James Blood Ulmer, TALES OF CAPTAIN BLACK I think it also worth remembering that Ornette's first "true" harmolodic composition is SKIES OF AMERICA. Not electrified, maybe, but really, really, really fascinating music that should not be overlooked if you're having difficulty "getting" his more recent music. Edited October 28, 2003 by Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Personally, I have a hunch that "harmolodics" is a combination of real, practicable theory, genuinely inspired genius, and a bit of smoke blowin', depending on who's doing the interview. It's a good "tag" to put on an ohterwise "untaggable" (and therefore more difficult to market) music, and it does make for a good theory as far as the relationships of group dynamics, but the actual explanations of the specifcs (like that Harmolodic Clef in the booklet to the Captain Black LP) start getting REALLY vague, to put it mildly. So I give a sly wink of the the "angle" eye to Ornette for the whole Harmolodic thing, while at the same time I give him my unabased awe and unconditional love for the actual music. Having said that, the FIRST demonstrably "harmolodic" passages on record might be the written parts on FREE JAZZ. Go back and read Ornette's commentary on his approach to those, and you see the roots of what he's talking about in Harmolodicism in perhaps its root form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 Anybody got any more love for TALES OF CAPTAIN BLACK??? I had an extra copy of this on CD up until last week, but I just gave it to Free For All ---> so I expect a listening-report from him sometime (you dig FFA!! ) But from anybody else too. Sangry?? It's my favorite "Ornette" from the whole 70's, and I can't get enough of it. And why's that?? I'll give it a spin this week, and try ta lecha know!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 Oh yeah, I love it. But as far as "favorite Ornette from the 70s" goes, I dunno. You got SCIENCE FICTION, DANCING IN YOUR HEAD, AND CAPTAIN BLACK in a menage-a-trois of aural pleasurements, with SOAPSUDS and BODY META ready to do the-tag-team thing. Like I said - it's ALL good to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave9199 Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 Here I am impossible! I like Body Meta and that & Tales Of Captain Black, to me, are similar in terms of chaoticness. I really liked Opening The Caravan Of Dreams. Tone Dialing is my least favorite (I think of all of his stuff). I liked Naked Lunch because Skies Of America, believe it or not, so far is my overall favorite Ornette album. Yes, even more than the Atlantic stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul secor Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 Count me as another who likes the Naked Lunch soundtrack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John L Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 I'm with Jim S. "Dancing in Your Head" and "Tone Dialing" are the electric Ornette that I reach for the most. "Of Human Feelings" is also close. It took me a long time for "Dancing in Your Head" to click. But one day my head just started feeling that Watoosi coming on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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