The Shape of Jazz to Come

The Shape of Jazz to Come arrived in 1959 as a sharp blow to the jazz of the time. Ornette Coleman, with his alto saxophone, formed a quartet without a piano and recorded something that sounded like pure freedom: no fixed chord changes, no structures that constrained improvisation. The album did not follow rules, but neither was it chaos. Charlie Haden on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, along with Don Cherry on trumpet, played just enough to allow Coleman to take his melodies wherever he wanted, without restraints. The result was a sound that many did not understand at first, but which is now heard naturally.

Year

1959

Songs

6

Duration

38 min 13 seg