''Live in Paris 1971'' is a live album by

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...

. It was recorded in November 1971 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and was released by Jazz Row in 2007. On the album, which was recorded one day before '' The Belgrade Concert'', Coleman is joined by saxophonist

Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played ...

, bassist

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

, and drummer

Ed Blackwell Edward Joseph Blackwell (October 10, 1929 – October 7, 1992) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for his extensive, influential work with Ornette Coleman. Biography Blackwell's early career began in New Orleans ...

. According to Eric Miller of

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

, the track titled "Silhouette" is actually a version of "Airborne" from the album '' Love Call''.

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Don Snowden wrote: "There's nothing remotely bootleg about the sound quality, the jacket photos by Val Wilmer are great, the liner notes informative enough, and the music simply exceptional... there are plenty of open spaces for the quartet to listen and play off one another... ''Live in Paris 1971'' is hands down the best CD to emerge from that particular tour to date and certainly ranks as a prime showcase for this quartet. Glorious music, simply glorious." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

John Fordham John Fordham (died 1425) was Bishop of Durham and Bishop of Ely. Fordham was keeper of the privy seal of Prince Richard from 1376 to 1377 and Dean of Wells before being named Lord Privy Seal in June 1377. He held that office until December 1381. ...

stated: "Ornette Coleman's conviction that jazz improvising could be unlocked from song chords without losing its lyricism changed the world for musicians and audiences alike, and this 1971 Paris gig shows how... It's mostly intense and in free-jazz hyperdrive, but there's hardly a slack moment. Being Coleman, of course, the improv and the vivacious themes are as eloquent as each other." Ken Cheetham, writing for ''Jazz Views'', commented: "this fabulous performance is a major showcase for the quartet and a virtual revelation of how to unravel extemporisation from the chords of the music... The quartet's music is effervescent, vibrant and the improvisation imaginative and articulate. This is very fine jazz indeed and the quartet ranks amongst the very top bands ever in the jazz milieu." A reviewer for ''The Free Jazz Collective'' remarked: "This record is a fine one... despite the lack of coherence, it is still worthwhile... Not an essential recording, but still nice to hear."

Track listing

All compositions by Ornette Coleman. # "Street Woman" – 15:01 # "Summer-Thang" – 11:10 # "Silhouette" – 13:04 # "Rock the Clock" – 14:36

Personnel

– alto saxophone, trumpet, violin *

– tenor saxophone, musette *

– bass *

– drums

References

{{Reflist 2007 live albums Ornette Coleman live albums