My misspent youth

Spent all day yesterday pulling out some of the needles. Most, it seems, I put there myself!
Fast post about music. My memories of the 70s are probably not most people's. I remember taking a music appreciation course as a high school sophomore, and hearing the teacher's description of her 60s trip to New York with a group of other high school music teachers. On their itenerary was a concert by the Ornette Coleman Quintet (he'd added a violin by then, I think). Naturally, I waited for the monthly trip to the nearest Big City (I'm a very small town kid) to check out the only real record store in 100 miles. In the bin (vinyl records go in bins, CDs in racks -- how I know this is another post altogether) was the store's only Ornette Coleman record -- a double album called "Free Jazz". With some trepidation, I marched to the register and laid down my cash (about two week's worth) for it. The first spin was a challenge, the second spin (many weeks later) even more so. I took it to the music appreciation class (the "play your record" Friday) and the kids' jaws just dropped. We couldn't play the whole thing (I listened to the whole thing at one sitting only twice in my life -- and I owned the record!), but what they heard just was unbelievable. Naturally they hated it and hated me for playing it. I loved them hating me. It's stamped my life forever. So, even though I gave away the record to a college girlfriend (don't ask) some years later, I never forgot the experience of listening to it.
As a sidebar: The tiny little newsstand-cum-record-store in my hometown would only stock two or three copies of the then-highly controversial Rolling Stone magazine. The 70's era underground folded tab was a far cry from the mainstream hipster pub it is now. What the shop did to appease complaining kids like me was to also stock Creem and the others, but also another folded tab called "Changes" -- published by Charles Mingus's wife. A perfect compliment to my Ornette experience, I saw in an article about the Jazz Composers Orchestra Association, got its catalog, and ordered avant garde jazz to my parents' absolute bewilderment. Don Cherry's solo effort (forget the name -- recall excellent tracks "King of Tung Ting Lake" and "Desireless" -- or something like that), Robin Kenyatta's Girl From Martinique, and something by the Manhattan Quartet (didn't like except for the bass solo). Everybody thought I was crazy. I was. I am. And that's why Free Jazz is in my fave list.


LJ orig. 11/02/06