First review: Little Played Little Bird @ Allaboutjazz.com

Hey, here's the first review of Little Played Little Bird [that's my new recording of the music of Ornette Coleman- have you heard?] from our good friend Dan McClenaghan at AllAboutJazz.com. Here's an excerpt, but go read the whole thing:

"Little Played Little Bird sounds unlike any set that Coleman has ever put together, despite the temptation to compare it to his Hidden Man and Sound Museum Three Women—simultaneously-released on his Harmolodic Records label in 1996—mostly because these overlooked gems in Coleman's discography included pianist Geri Allen. In terms of sound, Cole's baritone sax—fierce and growling on "Enfant"—recalls tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman's work during his Blue Note Records years with Coleman. Aside from that, the vision here is purely the Todd Bishop Group's.

For those with passing knowledge of the saxophonist/composer's sound, this wouldn't, on a blind listen, be recognizable as Coleman's music. For his ardent fans, the melodies are there, laid down with a compellingly original harmonic and rhythmic approach, with bassist Bill Athens—who is essential to the music's unqualified success—laying down a viscous and pulsating murk that flows through Bishop's idiosyncratic steam hiss cymbal sizzles and off-kilter but-tight drum work on this immaculate exploration of Ornette Coleman's music."

- Dan McClenaghan