ORNETTE COLEMAN at Massey Hall (178 Victoria), tonight (Thursday, September 24), 8 pm. $69.50-$89.50. 416-?872-?4255. See listing.
One of the originators of free jazz, Ornette Coleman makes music that’s an abstract, oblique form of expression.[rssbreak]
As it turns out, Coleman himself is as irreverent as his sound. The legendary composer is barely interested in discussing the Pulitzer Prize for music he won in 2007 for his album Sound Grammar, for example.
“I haven’t been in a community with people celebrating that specific title,” he says when asked about the award ceremony.
So they just mailed it to him?
“I guess so,” he says distractedly, over the phone from New York’s East Village.
Coleman is equally aloof about his involvement in the Meltdown music festival in London, England, this past June. Reminded that he was the fest’s 2009 curator, the musician says, “Oh, is that right?”
Apparently, he had little interest in the festival before or after having his name attached to it.
“I didn’t think about wanting to be involved until someone called me and asked me to do it,” he says. “I mean, I still don’t know the origin of the Meltdown festival.”
Perhaps his mind has been on his new album, the follow-up to Sound Grammar, which he’s currently composing.
Coleman explains that he hears melodies in his head before committing them to paper, so it’s quite possible that a conversation with him might be an interruption.
The 79-?year-?old musician attributes his creative process and unorthodox style to teaching himself how to play musical instruments at a very young age.
“I started playing between nine and 10,” says Coleman, who started off on the saxophone in R&B groups.
“While I was able to get the instrument, I had to figure everything out myself. But I also hung around with a lot of elder musicians who I liked the way they played. “
Coleman still listens avidly to all forms of new music, including contemporary R&B and hip-?hop on the radio.
“I listen to everything I can,” he says vaguely.
While the artists and styles change, “it’s still the same emotional sounds coming from whoever’s doing it. It’s still the same alphabet, even if it’s a new order.”
Maybe it’s time someone proposed a 27th letter.
“That would be nice.”
music@nowtoronto.com
