On December 21, 1960, eight jazz musicians led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Ornette Coleman gathered at A&R Recording Studios in New York City to capture the first album-length jam session ever. Plus, the album title established the name of the then-nascent free jazz movement, a musical style that demands a whole lot of open-mindedness to digest and appreciate it.
Unlike most albums of that era, this one is meant to be heard in stereo, since the eight musicians were assembled in the studio as two quartets, one of them mixed on the left channel, and the other one on the right channel. The layout is as follows:
Left channel quartet:
Ornette Coleman – Bandleader and alto saxophone.
Don Cherry – Pocket trumpet.
Scott LaFaro – Double bass.
Billy Higgins – Drums.
Right channel quartet:
Eric Dolphy – Bass clarinet.
Freddie Hubbard – Trumpet.
Charlie Haden – Double bass.
Ed Blackwell – Drums.
Both quartets feature two wind instruments, and the rhythmic foundation is supplied just by the double bass and drums. No piano or guitar are present. The performance was recorded in one take, with no overdubbing or editing. Only one outtake of the session was recorded, and it was released in 1971 as part of the Ornette Coleman compilation album “Twins”. The two quartets play simultaneously with the two rhythm sections providing a dense foundation over which the wind players either solo or provide freeform commentaries that often turn into full-scale collective improvisation interspersed with pre-determined composed passages. The composed thematic material can be considered a series of brief, dissonant fanfares for the horns which serve as interludes between solos. The chapters in this video show the structure of the piece.
The LP is a copy of the 2021 reissue of the album by German label Speakers Corner Records, mastered by Kevin Gray. Both sides of the LP have been seamlessly joined for an uninterrupted listening experience.
(00:00) Video intro
(00:21) Polyphonic introduction
(00:29) Ensemble introduction to Eric Dolphy
(00:44) Eric Dolphy – Bass clarinet solo (right channel)
(05:33) Ensemble introduction to Freddie Hubbard
(06:03) Freddie Hubbard – Trumpet solo (right channel)
(10:15) Ensemble introduction to Ornette Coleman
(10:27) Ornette Coleman – Alto saxophone solo (left channel)
(19:57) Ensemble Introduction to Don Cherry
(20:08) Don Cherry – Pocket trumpet solo (left channel)
(25:42) Ensemble Introduction to Charlie Haden
(25:48) Charlie Haden – Double bass solo (right channel)
(30:12) Ensemble introduction to Scott LaFaro
(30:21) Scott LaFaro – Double bass solo (left channel)
(34:08) Polyphonic ensemble introduction to Ed Blackwell
(34:18) Ed Blackwell – Drum solo (right channel)
(35:39) Ensemble pitch introduction to Billy Higgins
(35:47) Billy Higgins – Drum solo (left channel)
(36:53) Polyphonic finale
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