''Tomorrow Is the Question!'', subtitled ''The New Music of Ornette Coleman!'', is the second album by American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician

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

, originally released in 1959 by

Contemporary Records Contemporary Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Lester Koenig in Los Angeles in 1951. Contemporary produced music from a variety of jazz styles and players. West Coast players Contemporary became identified with a style of ja ...

. It was Coleman's last album for the label before he began a highly successful multi-album series for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1959. As well as regular sideman Don Cherry on trumpet, the album features bassists

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet througho ...

and Red Mitchell, and drummer Shelly Manne. Unlike Coleman's debut '' Something Else!!!!'', on which he was contractually obliged to feature a pianist, there is no piano on the album.

Reception

The album generally received better press than did ''Something Else!!!!''.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Thom Jurek notes the interplay of Coleman and Cherry on tunes he described as "knottier and tighter in their arrangement style" than those of the previous album. Ekkehard Jost, in his book ''Free Jazz'', noted that "as early as the 1958/59 recordings for Contemporary, the most pronounced features of Coleman's saxophone playing were set. His bent for improvisations that were largely unrestrained harmonically is evident, even in pieces whose outward make-up is anything but revolutionary." Others have hailed the removal of the piano as a positive move: for Mike Andrews, "a marked conceptual improvement can be immediately recognized" as the lack of harmonic instrument allowed greater freedom for the soloists.

Release history

Released as an LP by Contemporary Records in 1959. Reissued in 1991 on the Original Jazz Classics label.

Track listing

''All pieces written by

.'' #"Tomorrow Is the Question!" – 3:09 #"Tears Inside" – 5:00 #"Mind and Time" – 3:08 #"Compassion" – 4:37 #"Giggin'" – 3:19 #"Rejoicing" – 4:01 #"Lorraine" – 5:55 #"Turnaround" – 7:58 #"Endless" – 5:18 ''Track 7 recorded on January 16, 1959; tracks 8 and 9 on February 23; tracks 1-6 recorded on March 9 and 10, 1959.''

Personnel

Performance

– alto saxophone * Don Cherry – trumpet *

– bass (tracks 1–6) * Shelly Manne – drums * Red Mitchell – bass (tracks 7–9)

Production

* Roy DuNann – engineer *

Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. F ...

–

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

* Lester Koenig – producer

References

External links

Ornette Coleman official site
{{Authority control 1959 albums Contemporary Records albums Ornette Coleman albums