Introduce Your Kid To Ornette Coleman

One of my daughter's favorite albums is Ornette Coleman's Of Human Feelings. Now, obviously she didn't come to discover this brilliant album on her own, she was introduced to it by dear old Dad. But it wasn't like I had to force her...she took one listen and was interested right away. What kid wouldn't love this incredibly magical, colorful record? I've long thought that children are better judges of music than adults. They are much closer to the creative process than most of us are as we get older. And they know when something is the real deal or when it's full of shit. As adults we've learned to not understand things that come from from spontaneous places, when they're actually pretty basic and essential parts of life.

She could hear it right off the bat...Ornette's creative spirit and the way he broke the rules, or invented his own rules really. And of course, it's got a good beat and you can dance to it. Her favorite track is "Jump Street"-- she'll often run around the house singing the melody and then ask me to put it on. But I've also been playing "Air Ship" for her more recently, and that one is coincidentally a favorite of mine as well.

So for all you adults out there who haven't yet had the pleasure of enjoying this fine bit of music, I highly recommend it. I think it's one of Ornette's best records with Prime Time. An abundance of infectious grooves and imaginative playing here. Ornette soars over, under, and through the dense, funky framework created by guitarists Bern Nix & Charlie Ellerbee, drummers Denardo Coleman & Calvin Weston, and bassman extraordinaire Jamaaladeen Tacuma. For those who say that avant-garde jazz isn't accessible, I would direct them to this album. And by all means, please play it for your kids!