Ornette Coleman Quartet – The 1987 Hamburg Concert ★★★★

Rec. 29 October, 1987

Their attire may have radically changed since their late-1950s debut – Coleman’s effortlessly natty African print suit is matched in elegance by Cherry’s Nepalese shirt and silk scarf – but the leader’s band of merry men had lost nothing in creative verve. If anything they sound even more energised, more wired, more inspired. They had of course, just come back together to cut the beautiful In All Languages so it’s hardly surprising that the chemistry was this strong, and it’s fascinating to hear classics such as ‘Lonely Woman’ alongside new material like ‘Africa Is The Mirror Of All Colours’, ‘Word For Bird’ and ‘Peace Warriors.’

By the time Coleman had written those pieces he’d substantially expanded his compositional vision by way of albums such as Skies Of America and Dancing In Your Head, and to a certain extent the beauty of this performances lies in the fact that the harmonic freedom that he claimed in his formative years was now supplemented by richer twists in the overall evolution of a song. If he was supposedly avant-garde before then he was simply avant-storyteller now, and the ultra precision of the mazy interludes and rapid fire unison themes, where group members home in on and execute a statement with split second timing, was nothing less than electrifying.

Lastly the quality of the soloing is exemplary, none more so than the late Billy Higgins whose improvisation on ‘Word For Bird’, where he takes a march style beat and mercilessly cuts it up, is a moment that should be missed by nobody who believes that a drum kit is an orchestra in the right hands.

Kevin Le Gendre