Ornette Coleman – The Shape Of Jazz To Come LP

As someone who worked backwards into jazz from stumbling across free improve gigs in my yoof, something about jazz that pre-dates the Free/Spiritual years has never clicked with me. It feels too smooth, pretentious, or maybe it’s a millennial version of Gen-Z cringe culture infecting me, I don’t know.

While strictly speaking all the players on Coleman’s The Shape Of Jazz to come played on his Free Jazz LP a few years later (and more broadly on a solid chunk of canonical free jazz (the genre) records), this LP predates this music slightly and does just what it says on the package - point to “the shape of jazz to come.”

Nothing better than Don Cherry and Coleman’s dual melody lines throughout this that play at breakneck speed, dipping between harmony and dissonance. One that dips close enough to skronk to keep my ear comfortable, but I imagine wouldn’t be too freaky for the skronk-dismissers in the world. All timer!!!

Secondhand US Pressing  

Includes Atlantic printed inner sleeve. 

CONDITION:

Record: Excellent

Cover: Excellent

Label: Atlantic

Year of press:  Late 1970s

Cat #: SD 1317

Photo is of the actual item for sale. 

We ship worldwide! 

On viewing vinyl in person: The records we list online are kept behind the counter (to protect them being damaged while on the shop floor). If you are local or visiting the area you are welcome to come into the store and inspect records when collecting a "Store Pickup" order (to confirm condition) or before you make a purchase. 

Read about our secondhand grading system here

(JP0397)