An Evening with Ornette Coleman

The concert that appears on the recording was presented as part of the Live New Departures series and was organized by Victor Schonfield, Pete Brown, and Michael Horovitz.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/18/ornette-coleman-obituary-letter |title=Letter: A free-flying evening in Croydon with Ornette Coleman |last=Horovitz |first=Michael |date=June 18, 2015 |website=The Guardian |access-date=March 7, 2022}} Prior to the event, the London Musicians' Union, which placed reciprocal quotas on foreign musicians, informed Coleman that the quota for jazz musicians was full, while the one for classical musicians was not.{{cite book |last=Golia |first=Maria |title=Ornette Coleman: The Territory and the Adventure |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2020 }} In response, Coleman quickly composed "Sounds and Forms for Wind Quintet," becoming the UK's first African American "concert artist." Izenzon and Moffett arrived from New York in order to participate in the remaining pieces.

The concert, which began with a poetry reading by Horovitz, accompanied by local musicians, was marked by a number of unusual occurrences. During the performance of Coleman's ten-movement wind quintet, the audience applauded after each movement rather than waiting until the end of the last movement, to the amusement of the musicians. In addition, during a silent moment in the trio's set, an audience member shouted "Now play Cherokee!", referring to the jazz standard. According to Horovitz, Coleman, in response, "instantly whizzed into an immaculately faithful version, whose lightning variations prompted the first of the evening's extensive series of standing ovations. He said later: 'I just wanted them to know I knew.'"

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/an-evening-with-ornette-coleman-mw0001280507 |title=Ornette Coleman: An Evening with Ornette Coleman |last=Olewnick |first=Brian |website=AllMusic |access-date=March 7, 2022}}

|rev2 = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

|rev2score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book | editor-last=Swenson |editor-first=John |title=The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | publisher=Random House | year=1985 | pages=46 }}

}}

In a review for AllMusic, Brian Olewnick wrote: "this live concert captures Coleman in a transitional period that found him experimenting with contemporary classical forms as well as making more frequent use of the violin and trumpet. In many ways, it can be heard as an extension of the ideas first encountered on the ESP Town Hall Concert recording... there's an extremely refreshing freedom in his approach, one that strongly underlines his contention that innate musical ability trumps technique. An Evening with Ornette Coleman is a wonderful recording and should command a place in the collection of any serious fan of this great musician."

All compositions by Ornette Coleman.

1. "Sounds and Forms for Wind Quintet - Movements 1-10" – 24:48 (also listed as "Forms and Sounds" on some releases)
2. "Sadness" – 3:33
3. "Clergyman's Dream" – 12:15
4. "Falling Stars" – 8:54
5. "Silence" – 9:13
6. "Happy Fool" – 7:11
7. "Ballad" – 5:19
8. "Doughnuts" – 6:10

• Ornette Coleman – saxophone, trumpet, violin (tracks 2–8)
• David Izenzon – bass (tracks 2–8)
• Charles Moffett – drums (tracks 2–8)
• Edward Walker – flute (track 1)
• Sidney Fell – clarinet (track 1)
• Derek Wickers – oboe (track 1)
• John Burden – English horn (track 1)
• Cecil James – bassoon (track 1)

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Category:1967 live albums

Category:Ornette Coleman live albums