Ornette Coleman Double Quartet – Free Jazz A Collective Improvisation By The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet VG+/VG+

“Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation by the Ornette Coleman Double Quartet” is a groundbreaking album in the world of avant-garde jazz, released in 1961. This album, known for its significant role in the free jazz movement, represents a daring departure from the traditional structures and constraints of jazz music up to that point.

The album features two quartets playing simultaneously, each occupying one channel of the stereo space. Ornette Coleman’s innovative approach to composition and improvisation breaks down conventional barriers, allowing the musicians to explore new sonic territories. The ensemble includes notable jazz figures such as Ornette Coleman himself on alto saxophone, Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Scott LaFaro and Charlie Haden on bass, Billy Higgins and Ed Blackwell on drums, Eric Dolphy on bass clarinet, and Freddie Hubbard on trumpet.

“Free Jazz” is essentially a single, long, collective improvisation split into two parts for the vinyl release. The musicians engage in an intricate dialogue, exploring dissonance, atonality, and the extremes of their instruments’ capabilities. This album is not just a collection of songs but an immersive experience, inviting the listener into an uncharted world of jazz experimentation.