Sound Grammar
Encyclopedia
Sound Grammar is an album
by jazz
saxophonist
and composer
Ornette Coleman
, recorded live in Ludwigshafen, Germany
, on 14 October 2005. The album was produced by Ornette Coleman
and Michaela Deiss, and released on Coleman's new Sound Grammar label. It is his first new album in almost a decade, since the end of his relationship with Verve in the 1990s. It features a mix of new and old originals (some of the latter given new titles).
One unusual feature of the album that critics have frequently noted is Coleman's use of musical quotation
: his solo on the blues "Turnaround" includes snatches of Richard Rodgers
' "If I Loved You" and Stephen Foster
's "Beautiful Dreamer
"; even more unexpectedly, the theme of "Sleep Talking" begins with the same notes as Stravinsky's
The Rite of Spring
.
The reception of the album has been highly positive: it figured at or near the top of virtually every jazz magazine poll at the end of 2006, including Downbeat and Jazz Times.
In 2006, Sound Grammar received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance. The following year, Sound Grammar won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Music
.
All compositions by Ornette Coleman.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
, recorded live in Ludwigshafen, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, on 14 October 2005. The album was produced by Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
and Michaela Deiss, and released on Coleman's new Sound Grammar label. It is his first new album in almost a decade, since the end of his relationship with Verve in the 1990s. It features a mix of new and old originals (some of the latter given new titles).
One unusual feature of the album that critics have frequently noted is Coleman's use of musical quotation
Musical quotation
Musical quotation is the practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition. The quotation may be from the same composer's work , or from a different composer's work ....
: his solo on the blues "Turnaround" includes snatches of Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
' "If I Loved You" and Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
's "Beautiful Dreamer
Beautiful Dreamer
"Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by Stephen Foster . It was published posthumously in March 1864 by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition declares on the title page that "Beautiful Dreamer" is "the last song ever written by Stephen C. Foster. Composed but a few days prior to his...
"; even more unexpectedly, the theme of "Sleep Talking" begins with the same notes as Stravinsky's
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring, original French title Le sacre du printemps , is a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky; choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky; and concept, set design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich...
.
The reception of the album has been highly positive: it figured at or near the top of virtually every jazz magazine poll at the end of 2006, including Downbeat and Jazz Times.
In 2006, Sound Grammar received a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance. The following year, Sound Grammar won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Music
Pulitzer Prize for Music
The Pulitzer Prize for Music was first awarded in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer did not call for such a prize in his will, but had arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year...
.
Track listing
- "Intro" - 1:14 (MC's spoken introduction)
- "Jordan" - 6:32
- "Sleep Talking" - 8:55 (a.k.a. "Sleep Talk" from Of Human FeelingsOf Human Feelings- Side A :# "Sleep Talk" – 3:34# "Jump Street" – 4:24# "Him and Her" – 4:20# "Air Ship" – 6:11- Side B :# "What is the Name of That Song?" – 3:58# "Job Mob" – 4:57# "Love Words" – 2:54# "Times Square" – 6:03-Personnel:*Denardo Coleman – Drums...
) - "Turnaround" - 4:06 (a.k.a. "Turnabout" from Tomorrow Is the Question!Tomorrow Is the Question!__notoc__Tomorrow Is the Question!, subtitled The New Music of Ornette Coleman, is the second album by American jazz musician Ornette Coleman, originally released in 1959 by the Contemporary label...
) - "Matador" - 5:57 (a.k.a. "Picolo Pesos" from Sound Museum)
- "Waiting for You" - 6:50 (a.k.a. "House of Stained Glass" from Colors)
- "Call to Duty" - 5:34 (has been performed live under the title "Crying Without Tears")
- "Once Only" - 9:40 (a.k.a. "If I Only Knew as Much About You" from Tone Dialing)
- "Song X" - 10:22 (from Song XSong XSong X is a free jazz album by Pat Metheny and Ornette Coleman. It was recorded in three days in December 1985 and released in March 1986...
)
All compositions by Ornette Coleman.
Personnel
- Ornette ColemanOrnette ColemanOrnette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Denardo ColemanDenardo ColemanDenardo Ornette Coleman is an American jazz drummer. He is the son of Ornette Coleman and Jayne Cortez.Denardo Coleman began playing drums at age six; his first appearance on record was on his father's 1966 album The Empty Foxhole; Ornette later featured Denardo on many of his releases, and he...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Gregory CohenGreg CohenA native of Los Angeles, bassist Greg Cohen has been playing in various acclaimed music groups since the '60s. He is perhaps best known for his work with John Zorn's Masada quartet; more recently he has been touring with Ornette Coleman, and performed on Coleman's much-praised Sound Grammar...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Tony Falanga - bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...