When Italian drummer Aldo Romano recorded this Ornette Coleman tribute for Owl Records (a French label) in 1989, Coleman had been recording for more than 30 years -- and there were still plenty of people who had difficulty comprehending the alto saxman's innovative free jazz. But Romano not only comprehended it -- he had a very deep appreciation of it. In the liner notes that he wrote for To Be Ornette to Be, Romano exalts Coleman as "one of the key voices in Afro-American music" and asserts that if Coleman had been Italian, he would have composed La Traviata. Some bop snobs would be horrified that Romano would compare Coleman's work to La Traviata, but Romano does, in fact, know what he's talking about when he praises Coleman's genius. And thankfully, Romano is smart enough to salute Coleman on his own terms -- To Be Ornette to Be emphasizes Coleman's compositions, but Romano's interpretations are far from carbon copies of the original versions. For one thing, this session doesn't have a saxophonist -- and the alto sax is, of course, Coleman's main instrument. Also, Romano features pianist Franco D'Andrea extensively, whereas Coleman has often gone without a pianist. A variety of influences assert themselves on this album -- not only Coleman, but also, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. And quite often, To Be Ornette to Be (which employs Paolo Fresu on trumpet and flugelhorn and Furio Di Castri on bass) doesn't sound like true free jazz but rather post-bop with an inside/outside format (mostly inside). This consistently interesting CD is among Romano's finest accomplishments.
© Alex Henderson /TiVo