Happy Birthday Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman was born on this day in 1930.
Charlie told the story of how he met Ornette in 1957 Los Angeles (see below).
With Ornette, Charlie found someone who understood the music he’d been hearing in his head but couldn’t play with others. Relatively few people saw where jazz was going. The symbiotic joining of the original quartet, Ornette, Charlie, Don Cherry, and Billy Higgins, was something that only happens once in a lifetime.
Ornette invited me to jam with him at his NYC loft many times over the years. I never took him up on his offer. I was busy either as a rebellious teenager unwilling to follow in my father’s footsteps, or an adult overwhelmed with the responsibilities of life. It’s one of my biggest regrets!