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Music : Skies of America
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Skies of America by: Ornette Coleman |
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Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0074646356821 Format: Original recording remastered Label: Sony Manufacturer: Sony Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Sony Release Date: May 02, 2000 Studio: Sony Sales Rank: 132181 MPN: 63568 Disc 1:
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Editorial Review: Amazon.com: Where others have seen musical boundaries, Ornette Coleman has always found possibilities--from his original conception of free jazz and the classic Atlantic recordings of 1959-61 to the use of electric guitars and funk rhythms in the later Prime Time. While the pure cry of the blues is an integral part of his music, he has also immersed himself in formal composition, writing for wind and string ensembles as well as large orchestra. Skies of America is his most ambitious work, a full-length symphony in one movement. This CD reissues the 1972 version performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with conductor David Meaghan, the work's only commercial recording. It was a performance fraught with problems. While the work was planned to include Coleman's quartet, British musicians' union regulations prevented their appearance. The time limits of the LP format required that the piece be slightly abridged, and for the original issue, Columbia decided to break up the immense single movement into 21 parts. Listening to it 28 years after the original release, however, you'll find that none of that matters. Instead, it's the breadth of Coleman's vision that emerges, as he shifts and combines the playful, the somber, and the chaotic, blurring any convenient notions of the simple and the complex. Some moments will suggest Charles Ives, and others hint at inspirations in Anton Bruckner and Béla Bártok, but the cumulative impact and the evolving musical language are Coleman's own. His use of two drummers playing contrary rhythms is a brilliant stroke, one that demonstrates the rewards of the improvisation laboratory. And Coleman's own alto saxophone soars on some key movements, such as "The Artist in America" and "The Men Who Live in the White House." This CD issue has removed the brief spaces that once separated the 21 parts, restoring the single-movement work that Coleman intended. Stuart Broomer Customer Reviews
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 Rating:  - american treasurethis is a symphonic work composed by a jazz artist in the american symphonic tradition of charles ives and aaron copeland. where most symphonic composers include folk songs within their compositions, coleman in his skies includes references from his own previous work, most recognizibly is the theme from dancing in your head. he makes evident he's a jazz artist by playing his alto, the first time in the composition, in the aptly entitled, the artist in america. place in space is the quintessential theme for all space travel, actual and cinematic. the men who live in the white house is a piece for solo alto sax, a tribute to the holders of america's highest office, metaphorically: a position high as the sky, ... Read More: Rating: - Sorry but they don't know what they are missingSome reviewer said that people fled the store where they played this great record while complaining about the racket...of course they did. This is not music to play while you are shopping (even if it's shopping at a record store). This is music to be appreciated in an ambience of tranquility and peace so you can really focus and inmerse your self deep within it's complex harmonic and melodic twists and turns. Excellent and highly recommended to those who stayed in the store. Rating:  - the casual listener's perspectiveThis music is very dense. Some coworkers put this on in a record store during the last week we were open; people fled the store complaining about the racket! I am not a fan of jazz; I do not understand this music. But while listening to it, one begins to feel a huge picture taking shape. I would recommend this as a challenge to the ears, but not for any musical quality. I commented to the guy who put this on; "I don't think I understand what is happening in this music." He replied,"The musicians aren't sure what's happening. That's part of the point." 3 stars because the music is awesome; but i still don't get it.... Rating: - Now is the timeIt fits, too. Unease. Dissonance. Not very light. Dangerous. Occasionally grating. Hints of beauty that you have to work for. Pay attention to what's going on; see the grandeur and the gorgeousness under the surface. Ultimately, it's all worth it. It's a commentary ahead of its time. Reason enough to listen. Please do. Rating: - More of a recommendation than a reviewBack in the days immediately after the attacks of 9/11, National Public Radio began asking well known musical types what music they thought Americans should be listening to. They never got around to asking me, but this was my choice. It still is. Skies of America is a very moving, very poignant, powerful work for symphony orchestra with solo interludes on this recording from Ornette. The hustle and bustle of daily life in America, as portrayed by the winds and percussion, contrasted by the ethereal, eternal nature of the skies above, as portrayed by the strings, brings tears to my eyes every time I listen to this album. The work as a whole is broken down into titled sections. Those with titles like "The Military" or "The Silver ... Read More: |
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