Album of the Day

THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME may have seemed a bold title for Ornette Coleman's Atlantic Records debut, but the music on the 1959 collection absolutely justifies it. With an emphasis on melody and improvisation over chords and harmony (Coleman called his approach “harmolodic”), these six originals introduce the standard “Lonely Woman,” and offer the quartet – which includes future stars Don Cherry on cornet and Charlie Haden on bass - plenty of room to strut their instrumental stuff. A cornerstone of the free jazz movement, the album was initially controversial, but its landmark status is now unquestioned, and it has been named to both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. Ornette Coleman passed away on this day in 2015 and we'll remember the pioneering performer with THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME.