Taking ownership of a series of obscure Ornette Coleman songs, drummer Todd Bishop shines them through a facet of his own view of the music, while leaving the beating heart of the originals intact, not a scratch upon them.
Most strikingly, the album is an easy listen. Not in the sense that it’s straight-forward, but instead, Bishop doesn’t needlessly complicate matters. Due to his inventiveness, Coleman’s music already comes with its dangers and pitfalls, wrapped with a bow on top. Bishop doesn’t try to out-free Coleman, instead, just takes the music as it is, and then plays it his way. That’s a big reason why this album works. It’s an impressive music statement to sound both personal and referential, to create music that feels In The Now and simultaneously nostalgic.
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Amazingly, Bishop has negated the requirement of actually needing to like Coleman’s music to enjoy Little Played Little Bird, without extinguishing the heart of the source music, and thus, making this an album accessible to Coleman enthusiasts, too.
Go pay Dave a visit and read the complete piece.
UPDATE: Here Sumner has put us on his Best of 2012 So Far list...
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