Two Tone

The 12" promo version of this.

Ornette Coleman's first album in several years and first recording for a major label in quite some time features his 1995 version of Prime Time with two guitars, two bassists, son Denardo Coleman on drums and Badal Roy on tables and percussion. In addition the band includes Dave Bryant, Coleman's first keyboardist in decades (although his part is actually fairly minor). The ensembles are funky and quite dense, Coleman really wails on alto (also playing a bit of violin and trumpet) and, despite the inclusion of one obnoxious rap, this free funk set is well worth picking up by open-minded listeners.

Paul Hindemith described Reger as ‘the last giant of music’. When Schoenberg founded his Society for Private Musical Performances in 1918, Max Reger, along with Debussy and Bartók, was one of the most frequently performed composers. Admiring Reger as an important innovator, Schoenberg promoted his music because ‘he still remains unfamiliar’ and ‘I consider him a genius’. Even a century after his death, much of Reger’s music appears on concert programmes only very occasionally. This new album by the Gävle Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jaime Martín includes two of Reger’s finest orchestral works written towards the end of his life.