50 Years and Counting

My sister Susan is concerned that I have not been blogging lately, so she forwarded this from Martin Johnson in the Wall Street Journal. And I admit it — I’ve been working hard to get next month’s new release finished. You subscribers already know what I’m talking about….

Thanks for forwarding, Sis!

interesting article about the impact coleman’s album and date at five spot.

—–

“The Shape of Jazz to Come” was released in October 1959 and immediately created a firestorm in the jazz community. Miles Davis told Joe Goldberg, in his 1983 book “Jazz Masters of the ’50s” (Da Capo), “Just listen to what he writes and how he plays. The man is all screwed up inside.” Bassist Charles Mingus told Downbeat in 1960: “It’s like organized disorganization or playing wrong right. It gets to you emotionally like a drummer.”

Mr. Coleman and his bandmates moved to New York, and in November 1959 they made their debut at the Five Spot, one of Gotham’s most renowned jazz clubs. The intensity of the response in the New York jazz world made the gig one of the most famous in jazz history.

——

does this kind of thing happen today?  does anyone create such intense response?  like the Rite of Spring thing?

Also, does Coleman’s continued brilliance shock any less than it did in 1959?