Chappaqua Suite
Encyclopedia
Chappaqua Suite is a free jazz
album
, recorded and released in 1965, by alto saxophonist
Ornette Coleman
. It was originally commissioned by actor/director Conrad Rooks
as the soundtrack to his film Chappaqua
; however, the music was not used in the released version of the film. According to the album's liner notes, Rooks decided upon hearing Coleman's music that he found it was so beautiful that he feared it would overpower the imagery and action of the film. Instead, Columbia Records released it as a double album
, but gave it very little promotion and the album sold poorly. It was taken out of print the following year and has since come back into print intermittently and in very small editions.
Chappaqua Suite was Coleman's first studio recording with his trio featuring David Izenzon
on bass and Charles Moffett
on drums. It was also his first recording with a full orchestra, in this case a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Joseph Tekula. Coleman's suite is four parts, each occupying a full record side. Tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders
appears on the fourth part of the suite.
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, recorded and released in 1965, by alto saxophonist
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
. It was originally commissioned by actor/director Conrad Rooks
Conrad Rooks
Conrad Rooks , is an American writer, director and producer most renown for his 1972 filmed adaptation of Herman Hess's novel Siddhartha.Rooks is an heir to the Avon Products cosmetics fortune....
as the soundtrack to his film Chappaqua
Chappaqua (film)
Chappaqua is a 1966 cult film written, directed by and starring Conrad Rooks. The films is based on Rooks' experiences with drug addiction and includes cameo appearances by a host of famous figures of the 1960s: author William S. Burroughs, guru Swami Satchidananda, beat poets Allen Ginsberg and...
; however, the music was not used in the released version of the film. According to the album's liner notes, Rooks decided upon hearing Coleman's music that he found it was so beautiful that he feared it would overpower the imagery and action of the film. Instead, Columbia Records released it as a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
, but gave it very little promotion and the album sold poorly. It was taken out of print the following year and has since come back into print intermittently and in very small editions.
Chappaqua Suite was Coleman's first studio recording with his trio featuring David Izenzon
David Izenzon
David Izenzon was an American jazz double bassist.Izenzon began playing double bass at age twenty-four. He played locally in his hometown of Pittsburgh before moving to New York City in 1961...
on bass and Charles Moffett
Charles Moffett
Charles Moffett was a free jazz drummer.Moffett began his musical career as a trumpeter before switching to drums. He is probably best known for his part in Ornette Coleman's trio with David Izenzon in the 1960s. He also appeared on other important albums of that period, such as Archie Shepp's...
on drums. It was also his first recording with a full orchestra, in this case a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Joseph Tekula. Coleman's suite is four parts, each occupying a full record side. Tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
appears on the fourth part of the suite.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 3½ stars and stated "While not considered a masterwork of Coleman's, perhaps because of its unavailability in the United States in its entirety, Chappaqua Suite is a testament to Coleman's vision as a composer and the power of his orchestral direction. Very worthwhile indeed".Track listing
- "Chappaqua Suite, Part 1" – 21:06
- "Chappaqua Suite, Part 2" – 18:41
- "Chappaqua Suite, Part 3" – 17:36
- "Chappaqua Suite, Part 4" – 21:48
- All compositions by Ornette Coleman
Personnel
- Ornette ColemanOrnette ColemanOrnette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....
– alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions... - David IzenzonDavid IzenzonDavid Izenzon was an American jazz double bassist.Izenzon began playing double bass at age twenty-four. He played locally in his hometown of Pittsburgh before moving to New York City in 1961...
– bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Charles MoffettCharles MoffettCharles Moffett was a free jazz drummer.Moffett began his musical career as a trumpeter before switching to drums. He is probably best known for his part in Ornette Coleman's trio with David Izenzon in the 1960s. He also appeared on other important albums of that period, such as Archie Shepp's...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Pharoah SandersPharoah SandersPharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Orchestra arrangedArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by Joseph Tekula