Body Meta

Body Meta

ASIN: B00000473V

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Culled from the same 1975 session which produced Ornette Coleman's lone A&M release, Dancing in Your Head, the music on Body Meta bears a striking resemblance to Captain Beefheart's Magic Band on Trout Mask Replica, whose clashing guitars and ritualistic rhythms were an obvious corollary for Coleman's new band Prime Time. And while Coleman, like Beefheart, also maintained a tacit relationship to traditional rural blues (as on the Bo Diddley-styled changes of "Voice Poetry"), in truth, the raucous, parallel streams of rhythm, melodic counterpoint, and clashing chordal figures, as featured on "Home Grown" and "Macho Woman," more nearly resemble the collective fury of the Master Musicians of Joujouka than any rock or funk band you care to name. Still, electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson manage to imply traditional backbeats and melodic vamps without necessarily falling into any discernible grooves for too long, even as guitarists Bern Nix and Charles Ellerbee function as a mini-string section, feeding Coleman a continual stream of melodic echoes and harmonic juxtapositions. But for all the ensemble density, it is the clarion call of Coleman's alto saxophone that provides most of the interest on Body Meta. --Chip Stern

Body Meta,Ornette Coleman,Polygram Records,Avant-Garde Jazz,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop

Average customer rating:

FREELY FLOWING GENIUS

Harmolodic Electricity

check out the Atlantic stuff first

Body Meta
Ornette Coleman
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music
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Dancing in Your Head

ASIN: B00000473V
Release Date: 1996-09-24

Tracks:

Voice Poetry
Home Grown
Macho Woman
Fou Amour
European Echoes

Amazon.com

Culled from the same 1975 session which produced Ornette Coleman's lone A&M release, Dancing in Your Head, the music on Body Meta bears a striking resemblance to Captain Beefheart's Magic Band on Trout Mask Replica, whose clashing guitars and ritualistic rhythms were an obvious corollary for Coleman's new band Prime Time. And while Coleman, like Beefheart, also maintained a tacit relationship to traditional rural blues (as on the Bo Diddley-styled changes of "Voice Poetry"), in truth, the raucous, parallel streams of rhythm, melodic counterpoint, and clashing chordal figures, as featured on "Home Grown" and "Macho Woman," more nearly resemble the collective fury of the Master Musicians of Joujouka than any rock or funk band you care to name. Still, electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson manage to imply traditional backbeats and melodic vamps without necessarily falling into any discernible grooves for too long, even as guitarists Bern Nix and Charles Ellerbee function as a mini-string section, feeding Coleman a continual stream of melodic echoes and harmonic juxtapositions. But for all the ensemble density, it is the clarion call of Coleman's alto saxophone that provides most of the interest on Body Meta. --Chip Stern

Customer Reviews:

FREELY FLOWING GENIUS.......2001-04-18

This album was the 1st ever to be released on the Artist's House label back in 1978, & that translates literally to the cover of Body Meta, a gatefold featuring 4 works by different artists, that one on the front is by a tribal leader, probably from when Ornette went to Morrocco to see the Jajouka musicians which inspired Dancing In Yr Head & this [others like Brian Jones, William Burroughs & Lee Ranaldo have taken this enlightening pilgrimage], & the credits are saved for an insert which also features a great poem 'Conversation For A Song' & a then complete discography + the sheet music for the song Fou Amour from this excellent disc. Staccato drums then guitars open the album on Voice Poetry, & it flows along brilliantly to feature this new band of guitarists Bern Nix & Charlie Ellerbee, bassist [electric that is] Jamalaadeen Tacuma & drummer Shannon Jackson for a couple of minutes before the arrival of the man himself. The he is the star & his playing is as pure & soulful as it was back on the Shape of Jazz to Come, & in a way it's unfortunate that everything else gets buried underneath it after this but it works well. The comparisons to the Trout Mask Magic Band do make sense although this is not as cacaphonous & seemingly chaotic [Beefheart although being highly influenced by Coleman, like to only have himself allowed to improvise while his groups must stick strictly to what he composed & his personality is a bit more obsessive too], Body Meta is one of the rare things worthy of being played directly after that in-a-world-of-its-own masterpiece. Each track here is around 8 minutes which is enough time to explore without losing the listening audience. The next 2 tracks move along nicely in a similar vein whilst Fou Amour [i.e. Mad Love] is a ballad & the guitars are playing parts normally designed for a piano. European Echoes if I'm not mistaken was an older tune from the Golden Circle & is rather graceful but thankfully lets loose a bit on the outro, by which time I want to spin the whole platter again which I could do for hours on end. This is music of pure soul expression & deserves a lot of repeated listening, it's highly danceable/funky too. I would highly recommend it to anyone & everyone. For the body & the mind. Long live Ornette & all of his players.

Harmolodic Electricity.......2000-02-24

From the Bo Diddley-influenced "Voice Poetry" to "European Echoes," this is some brain-frizzling stuff. Even though Ornette uses electric guitar and electric bass here, this can't really be compared to the other "jazz fusion" that came out in the 70s. This is more personal and very individualistic. Where most fusion bands were trying to sound like John Coltrane gone electric, Prime Time and Ornette drew on basic rock/r&b forms here, and then bend them beyond recognition. If you're a big fan of acoustic jazz, chances are you won't like much here. However, if you have an open ear and are familiar with bands like Captain Beefheart and Pere Ubu, you will immediately click with this. Ornette sounds great here and it's fascinating to hear him playing over, under and around the electric guitars, bass and drums. On the liner notes Ornette says the music is "...not jazz, classical, rock, or blues...it is pure Harmolodic where all forms can exist in the now..." This is exactly true. The music on here is unclassifiable and if you pay attention to it, it unfolds before you in strange beauty. One of Ornette's best, I think.

check out the Atlantic stuff first.......1999-06-06

Have to admit, I like the acoustic stuff better, maybe because Ornette doesn't use electronic instruments to their fullest potential, like Miles and Jimi did. But nevertheless this one rocks like The Dead or Beefheart, but Ornette's frenetic alto drives the sound into crazier territory than either of those did (but CB came close...), but I can't give it a higher rating. If you're a rock fan and want to find out more about Ornette (welcome!!!), go for _^The Shape of Jazz to Come_ , _Tone Dialing_,or _At the Golden Circle_ (2 cd's). This cd may disappoint you.

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