Lonely Woman Track Review

  

   The Shape of Jazz to Come is, as it's name suggests, an important album in the world of jazz, but it serves also as an inspiration for all musicians.  The post-hardcore band Refused paid tribute to Ornette Coleman by naming their best album The Shape of Punk to Come.  The album serves as a massive structural influence on the jazz to come and a spiritual influence on musicians everywhere.

    "Lonely Woman" is a fascinating tune off of this record.  The key idea that emerged as I was listening was contrast.  Dissonance and harmony interplay with the natural ebb and flow of the tune.  Billy Higgins drives the song with a frantic and driving ride cymbal part as Charlie Haden ditches the classic walking bass line for a one-powerful-note-at-a-time pulse.  This creates a chasm within the rhythm section that is filled by Don Cherry and Ornette.  Cherry busts out a cornet to create some truly interesting chords with Ornette, who plays alto saxophone.  With only two high-register horns, the two players are forced to embellish texture to make the tune stand out.  They create grace notes with each other and trail off at seemingly random times.  The so-called B section sees a stronger presence from the kick drum and tom-toms.  This bipolar interplay between these four musicians creates a dichotomy between the somber and the manic that slowly increases in intensity until the only feeling left is moment-to-moment expression of emotions that never truly resolve.

    Such is the goal of free jazz, not to play as wildly or as dissonantly as possible, but to use one's instrument as a portal directly into the heart of the musician.  It is the peak of music as art, rather than as entertainment.