The Avant Garde

The Avant-Garde was recorded in 1960, but it shockingly, wasn't in the record stores until six years later - after the assassination of JFK and the British Rock Invasion. Maybe this is why The Avant-Garde never quite hit its stride, even though it was - and still is - way ahead of its time. The avant garde movement in jazz is arguably the pinnacle of the art form, and this record belongs at or near the summit. It features several of Ornette Coleman's sidemen: trumpeter Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell on the skins, and bass players Charlie Haden and Percy Heath. So, although OC doesn't perform, he casts a long shadow over it.