In 1984, in advance of his appearance with Prime Time at the Chicago Jazz Festival, I spoke with Ornette Coleman over lunch at China Peace restaurant in New York. The topics included his disappointment in his acolytes’ failure/inability to carry his harmolodic concept forward; John and Yoko; his indignation over being a mere “showcase for labels,” King Sunny Ade and the role of jazz tradition.
Listening to the chat – the first such interview with great artists I’ll be posting (unedited) on SoundCloud – I’m struck again by what a decent, unassuming and reasonably outspoken spirit he was. (Thanks to Jim Macnie for suggesting I post these talks on SoundCloud. Apologies for the background chatter.)
https://soundcloud.com/sachs-on-jazz/lunch-with-ornette-1984
LLOYD SACHS 