Science Fiction is an album by the American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman, recorded in September and October of 1971 and released on Columbia Records in February 1972.[2]
| Science Fiction | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 1972[1] | |||
| Recorded | September 9, 10 & October 13, 1971 | |||
| Studio | Columbia Studio E, New York | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:03 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Ornette Coleman chronology | ||||
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In 2000, the album was re-released along with Broken Shadows (recorded during the same sessions but not released until 1982) and several unreleased tracks as The Complete Science Fiction Sessions.[3]
Recording edit
Science Fiction features Coleman's early 1970s quartet, consisting of Coleman (alto saxophone, trumpet, violin), Charlie Haden (double bass), Ed Blackwell (drums), and Dewey Redman (tenor saxophone).[4] It also features performances by former Coleman sidemen Billy Higgins (drums), Don Cherry (pocket trumpet), and Bobby Bradford (trumpet), and vocals by Indian-American singer Asha Puthli on two tracks and American poet David Henderson on the title track.[4]
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [5] |
| Pitchfork | 9.5/10[6] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [4] |
The AllMusic review by Steve Huey awarded the album 5 stars and stated: "Science Fiction was [Coleman's] creative rebirth, a stunningly inventive and appropriately alien-sounding blast of manic energy... Science Fiction is a meeting ground between Coleman's past and future; it combines the fire and edge of his Atlantic years with strong hints of the electrified, globally conscious experiments that were soon to come. And, it's overflowing with brilliance".[5] The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide called it "fascinating" and "multifaceted" in another five-star review.[4] Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Daniel Felsenthal called it "a one-of-a-kind dispatch from the vibrant, polygenic, and contested lofts of downtown New York" and "a welcome return to the singable, quintessentially Southern melodicism that counterbalanced [Coleman's] dauntless early oeuvre".[6]
Track listing edit
All compositions by Ornette Coleman.
- "What Reason Could I Give?" – 3:06
- "Civilization Day" – 6:04
- "Street Woman" – 4:50
- "Science Fiction" – 5:03
- "Rock the Clock" – 3:16
- "All My Life" – 3:56
- "Law Years" – 5:22
- "The Jungle Is a Skyscraper" – 5:26
- Recorded at Columbia Studio E, NYC on September 9 (tracks 2, 3, 7 and 8), September 10 (track 4) and October 13 (tracks 1, 5 and 6), 1971
Personnel edit
- Ornette Coleman – alto saxophone, trumpet, violin
- Don Cherry – pocket trumpet (tracks 2–4)
- Bobby Bradford – trumpet (tracks 4, 7–8)
- Carmine Fornarotto, Gerard Schwarz – trumpet (tracks 1 and 6)
- Dewey Redman – tenor saxophone, musette (tracks 1, 4–8)
- Charlie Haden – double bass, electric double bass with wah-wah pedal
- Billy Higgins – drums (tracks 1–4, 6)
- Ed Blackwell – drums (tracks 1, 4–8)
- David Henderson – recitation (track 4)
- Asha Puthli – vocals (tracks 1, 6)
References edit
- ^ "Billboard". February 26, 1972.
- ^ Ornette Coleman discography accessed November 30, 2010
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Complete Science Fiction Sessions". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 45. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ a b Huey, S. Allmusic Review accessed November 30, 2010
- ^ a b Felsenthal, Daniel (February 25, 2024). "Ornette Coleman: Science Fiction Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 25, 2024.