Coleman, Ornette

Town Hall, 1962

Label: ESP Country: USA

"On Christmas evening 1962, Coleman produced and recorded his own concert at Town Hall in New York City, with David Izenzon (bass), Charles Moffett (drums) and a string ensemble. An important release documenting a point of change in Coleman's work, "Dedication To Poets and Writers'" for string quartet, is now widely recognized as Ornette's first harmolodic chamber music based on his ideas he would later call Harmolodics. This classical string quartet curiously fits together with the three trio pieces, due to the input of bassist David Izenzon. His classical approach and his broad understanding of rhythmical complexity are the perfect match to Ornette's free and lyrical alto lines. Izenzon's ability to improvise out of context with anything that is going around him, also makes him the perfect partner for drummer Charles Moffett. Moffett is merely providing an atmospherical background, sometimes with a hard swing indeed, sometimes experimenting with free noise."-from the liner notes