Ornette Coleman – New York Is Now! – 180 Gram Tone Poet Vinyl Record

Description

Ornette Coleman – New York Is Now! – 180 Gram Tone Poet Vinyl Record

Recorded in 1968, New York Is Now! places Ornette Coleman in a remarkable quartet with tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman and two musicians closely associated with John Coltrane: bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones. The meeting gives Coleman’s open melodic language a powerful rhythmic foundation without turning the music into conventional hard bop. Producer Francis Wolff recorded the session at A&R Studios in New York across dates in April and May 1968. That studio setting brings unusual clarity to the horns and rhythm section, letting the listener follow independent lines without reducing the music’s spontaneity.

“The Garden of Souls” stretches across much of the first side, allowing Coleman and Redman to circle, answer and challenge one another over the deep motion of Garrison and Jones. “Toy Dance” is more compact but equally alert, with a playful theme that opens into conversation rather than a fixed solo sequence. Redman does not imitate Coleman. His broader tenor sound creates contrast with Coleman’s alto, and their exchanges feel conversational even at their most abstract. Garrison listens closely beneath them, often suggesting direction without imposing a conventional walking pattern.

On the second side, “We Now Interrupt for a Commercial” introduces an eccentric vocal interlude before “Broadway Blues” returns to an earthy, driving pulse. “Round Trip” closes the album with a concise statement of Coleman’s gift for melodies that can sound simple, strange and inevitable at the same time. Jones is a particularly fascinating presence because his explosive approach was so closely identified with Coltrane. Here he adapts that power to Coleman’s themes, creating forward motion while leaving the bar lines flexible enough for the horns to phrase freely.

The album is especially rewarding for listeners curious about the space between free jazz and the Blue Note tradition. Jones and Garrison bring enormous authority, but they do not confine Coleman. Instead, their weight makes the music’s freedom easier to hear, while Redman provides a complementary horn voice with warmth and bite. The music is challenging, but the blues remains close to the surface. That grounding makes the album a useful entry point for listeners who find Coleman’s earlier breakthroughs intimidating, while experienced free-jazz listeners can concentrate on the quartet’s unusually rich personnel chemistry.

This Blue Note Tone Poet edition presents New York Is Now! on 180 gram vinyl in the series’ audiophile format. It is an excellent way to experience one of Coleman’s most approachable late-1960s sessions and a major meeting of players connected to two of modern jazz’s defining innovators. Tone Poet releases are valued for careful mastering and deluxe presentation, making the series a natural setting for this session. The 180 gram pressing treats the album as a major Blue Note statement and gives the acoustic detail a format suited to attentive listening.

Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic

Track Listing

A1 The Garden Of Souls
A2 Toy Dance
B1 We Now Interrupt For A Commercial
B2 Broadway Blues
B3 Round Trip