Round Trip

 

For a few years in the early to mid-90's, I spent a lot of time reading about and listening to one artist at a time. It wasn't exclusive, as I would break things up to cleanse the palate. But while reading a book by Luis Rey called "Led Zeppelin Live," a show by show document of every live LZ performance from their first as The New Yardbirds to their last in 1980 just months before John Bonham's death, I would track down specific performances which Rey raved about, either through bootleg LPs and CDs, or by trading tapes with other collectors. During this time, I must have listened to 50 concerts, ranging in sound quality from unlistenable to Hall Of Fame. I also found out that one of the greatest live versions of "Stairway To Heaven" was performed at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, on June 2, 1973...according to Luis Rey.

I took the same approach with Duke Ellington, reading his memoir "Music Is My Mistress," as well as David Hadju's book on Billy Strayhorn," Lush Life." I also kept the Penguin Jazz Guide by me at all times, referencing chronologically all the records that were readily available on CD. There were many. It was during this stretch of about 50 recordings that Ellington became my favorite jazz composer and when I decided that Johnny Hodges' solo on "Warm Valley" from the "Blanton-Webster Sessions," is the most breathtakingly beautiful sound to ever come out of a saxophone.

When the year-long Ellington project was over, I decided to tackle Ornette Coleman. This time my only sources were the Penguin Jazz Guide, and the opinions of a few Ornette fans. Like, Ellington and Zeppelin before, I began to obsess just a bit. I wanted to hear everything, though this particular project was a bit more demanding. I wasn't as prepared for "free jazz" as I was for a 30 minute version of "Whole Lotta Love," though I would argue that there are many similarities.

There was something speaking to me in Coleman's music that I couldn't quite get a handle on. Some of it was repetitive, but not in an ambient, relaxing way. It was difficult and often shredded a few nerves, yet I couldn't turn it down. The more I listened, the easier it was for me to recognize the beauty in the grooves of "This Is Our Music" or "Chappaqua Suite." I didn't love it all, but during this stretch, I became a fan to the bone. 

I got to see Ornette play a few times, including once at Town Hall and once in New Orleans. Then one afternoon, as I was walking up 8th Avenue, I saw him, dressed exactly as you'd expect, light blue jacket, mutli-colored shirt and that hat. He was carrying groceries and I almost got hit by a bus turning into the Port Authority as I ran across 40th Street, trying to catch him on the corner before the light turned to "Walk." I did catch him and we crossed the street together, as I mumbled something I am sure did not impress him. But he did smile and he did say "thank you." And I felt great!

I was reminded of all of this while listening to the just released Blue Note boxed set, "Round Trip," the first box in the stellar Tone Poet series, dedicated to Coleman's output for the label. The first record in the set is "The Empty Foxhole" from 1966, featuring Charlie Haden on bass and Coleman's ten year old son, Denardo on drums. I've listened to 20-30 Ornette Coleman records in the last 30 years, but always actively avoided "The Empty Foxhole" simply because I could not imagine a ten year old playing anything that I would find worthy. Up until yesterday, I had managed to not hear a single note of this record.

I can't believe I have spent all this time not listening to what has just become my favorite Ornette Coleman record.

Now here's the thing. I don't play jazz. I have been a rock drummer my whole life. I have played Brubeck's "Take 5," and tried to swing a bit for fun, but the opportunites to get better at this style of music never arose. So, I can't play jazz. But the truth is, I can't even do what a ten year old Denardo Coleman did on "The Empty Foxhole." 

I imagine to those who find even the most basic and melodic jazz takes on standards difficult to listen to, this 1966 record would be the ultimate dealbreaker. Denardo Coleman is banging and swishing, pounding and tinkling, and most of time, it is in time. But there is no doubt, something is amiss. Yet, his playing always manages to sound just as it needs to sound behind the music, and so perfectly in sync with bassist Charlie Haden. It's as if this rhythm section had been together for years.

But here's what came to my mind while almost completely lost in this recording: I've heard Art Blakey & Max Roach, and countless other jazz drummers play exactly the same way in their prime. Could the difference be that Blakey & Roach knew exactly what they were after, while this ten year old inadvertently serviced the music perfectly? I don't know the answer to that. But I do know, the music found on "The Empty Foxhole" moved me in ways I did not expect and I am thrilled that I finally allowed myself to go in. It is also a testament to Ornette Coleman's genius to pair his ten year old with one of the greatest bass players in music history to record the music composed for "The Empty Foxhole." Ornette probably knew this all along.

Your mileage may vary, of course.