In All Languages

''In All Languages'' is a 1987 double album by Ornette Coleman. Coleman and the other members of his 1950s quartet, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Billy Higgins, performed on one of the two records, while his electrified ensemble, Prime Time, performed on the other. Many of the songs on ''In All Languages'' had two renditions, one by each group.

The double album was originally released by Caravan of Dreams, which also issued the title as a single cassette or compact disc. Coleman's record label, Harmolodic, re-issued ''In All Languages'' in 1997 through a marketing and distribution deal with Verve Records.

Recording and music

For the album, Coleman recorded both his original quartet and his newer Prime Time band in the same studio within the same period. '' Option'' magazine remarked that ''In All Languages'' showcases the differences between his original quartet's free jazz and the harmolodic funk of his Prime Time band. Geoffrey Himes of ''JazzTimes'' said the album's approach "may sound very avant-garde, but it's not so different from a Dixieland combo that stands to solo all at once on the final chorus or from a pre-war blues band that shifts from D to D-flat and from 12 bars to 13 in pursuit of a song."

Critical reception

Reviewing the album for ''The Village Voice'' in 1987, Robert Christgau applauded Coleman as a persistently lyrical iconoclast and said the Quartet sounded more intense than ever before because of how they follow Coleman's harmolodic funk approach and "the dense flow of ''Of Human Feelings''". In another piece for ''Playboy'', Christgau cited the album as "an ideal introduction" to Coleman's music and remarked that, despite Coleman's restless playing, Prime Time's chemistry and the brevity of the songs "assure a coherence that coexists with constant surprise as in no other music." ''In All Languages'' was voted the eleventh best album of the year in ''The Village Voice''s annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1987. Christgau, the poll's creator, named it the fourth best album of 1987 in his own list.

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, jazz critic Scott Yanow said that Prime Time "almost makes the acoustic unit sound conservative in comparison. While the quartet displays subtle use of space and interplay between the musicians, Prime Time comes across as overcrowded and loud, but no less stimulating. Highly recommended to fans of Ornette Coleman." Michael G. Nastos, writing for ''All Music Guide to Jazz'', wrote that "the utterly no-nonsense approach and high intensity make this a recording challenged listeners must have," also noting that the quartet's "work is still vital." Lloyd Sachs of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' said that the music is "so compulsively melodic and rhythmically alive, I dare anyone to utter the usual stuff about how 'difficult' Ornette is after a single listening."

Track listing

All compositions by Ornette Coleman, Phrase Text Music, ASCAP. This track listing reflects the original double album configuration.

Personnel

; Sides A and B (the Quartet)
*Ornette Coleman – alto and tenor saxophone
*Don Cherry – trumpet
*Charlie Haden – double bass
*Billy Higgins – drums

; Sides C and D (Prime Time)
*Ornette Coleman – saxophone and trumpet
*Denardo Coleman – drums
*Calvin Weston – drums
*Jamaaladeen Tacuma – bass guitar
* Al MacDowell – bass guitar
* Charlie Ellerbee – electric guitar
* Bernie Nix – electric guitar

References

External links

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1987 albums
Caravan of Dreams albums
Ornette Coleman albums
Free jazz albums