Jazz Underground: The Music of Ornette Coleman

The Greenville Jazz Collective Jazz Underground series presents The Music of Ornette Coleman, featuring a band specializing in his music, “Crisis”.  The SC Governor’s School Jazz Combo will play a brief opening set.

Bandleader Ron Brendle was introduced to this music by studies with Ornette’s longtime bassist Charlie Haden, and for a few years his band Crisis has been interpreting this music. In addition to Ron on bass, the band includes Troy Conn (guitar), Ariel Mejia (trumpet), and Al Sergel (drums).

Ornette extended traditional jazz elements (the blues, collective improvisation) with significant innovations especially with his focus on building improvisations upon the melody rather than harmonic elements.  It’s no wonder his best known album was titled “The Shape of Jazz to Come”.

His innovations influenced many musicians..  You can hear bits and pieces of his impact in jazz musicians (like Pat Metheney, Keith Jarrett, Ethan Iverson), rock musicians (like Lou Reed, Captain Beefhart), and in hip-hop, post-punk and other musical genres.  Even his contemporaries like John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins were listening and taking note!

Our venue, the Coffee Underground Theater, is an intimate listening room which also serves homemade desserts, delicious coffee from beans roasted on premises, and an assortment of teas, wine, and cocktails.