ONElist
This Particular List
The Man
What is ONElist?
ONElist is a web based mailing list company that simplifies running and joining lists.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this system, as compared to such traditional
list organizations as Majordomo and Listserve. Request procedures are not arcane, but do
not allow for as many options. There is a shared file area where list members can download
files provided by other members, which is a great idea. There is a two line text ad at the
bottom of every message, which I don't find intrusive.
How can I
subscribe and unsubscribe?
The standard subscription procedure is to go the ONElist
homepage and search for the list you want. For this particular list, you can go
directly to the Ornette sign-up page
. If you haven't yet registered, you will need to fill out a user profile, giving as much
information as you wish to. Then, after you respond to a confirmation email, you are an
Ornette List member. To unsubscribe, log in at the ONElist
homepage , and use the checkbox. An alternate and more traditional method is to send
mail to:
Can I see a
list of list members?
Go to the ONElist homepage , log in, click on
Ornette, and then on Member Profiles. Click on a person's email name to see the details
they have given the list
Who is this list for?
The Ornette Coleman mailing list is for anyone interested in the music and art of Ornette
Coleman. I would hope list members would include musicians, avid fans, and casual
listeners. I would also hope for contributions from those who were at the Five Spot in
1959, and those who have only recently become aware of him. I would be especially pleased
if some Coleman colleagues were to become members.
What
topics are germane to this list?
Anything concerning Ornette's music, life, or philosophy is germane here. It should be
entirely acceptable for threads to include his influences and associates, ranging from Don
Cherry to Geri Allen to Buckminster Fuller. However, it would be nice if subjects
don't dwell too far from the core, e.g. Joujoukan marriage customs or Jerry Garcia's tie
designs.
Is this list moderated?
I plan on keeping a loose rein on the direction of the list, but reserve the right
to step in should the conversations get nasty and childish. This scenario occasionally has
happened on other lists I subscribe to, though I would hope it will not here.
Can I
send attachments with my messages?
To keep message size down, I have decided not to allow attachments in the list
messages. Any sent will be deleted before delivery. However, ONElist does have a
"shared files" service which allows list members to send files to the list's
website, where they can be accessed by any list members. This can be especially nice for
someone who wants to share pictures they have taken of Ornette, or, in a discussion of
harmolodic theory, wishes to post some musical notation or a short sound file of their
performance to use as an example. One adding shared files should make notice of them to
the list members. Obviously, copywrited material that the poster does not have permission
to use would not be allowable. Because there is a 5 mb total limit to shared files, I
would delete older files, unless they seem particularly valuable, to make room for new. To
access the shared files, log in, click Ornette, and then click shared files.
Can I use this list to trade live
Ornette tapes?
I would suppose that Ornette would not approve of people taping his music and distributing
it with out his permission, even if they make no profit from it. So unless he personally
states that it is okay, this list is not a proper venue for bootleg exchange.
Can I use this list to sell Ornette related material?
ONElist policy is to not allow spam, which it describes as unsolicited commercial email. I
would not take this to cover a list member who has put up, for example, the "Man on
the Moon" Impulse! 45 for auction on eBay. I would expect list members to welcome the
chance to be aware of opportunities for the acquisition of Ornette related items.
How can
I get a hold of the list owner?
You can write me at ornette-owner@onelist.com
Who is Ornette Coleman?
Ornette Coleman is one of jazz's great innovators. Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1930, he
is largely self taught, and while through experience with various R&B and jazz bands,
as well as book studies of theory, he gained much knowledge and style, his viewpoint is
his own. Hitting New York in 1959, he revolutionized jazz, showing a freedom that few had
been aware of. He has written symphonies, and after an experience playing with
Algerian musicians in 1972, he formed, Prime Time, an electric unit that exists to this
day. Longer biographical sketches can be found at David Wild's Wild Pages (a version
of which was originally printed in Wild's 1982 Ornette Coleman Discography), The New Jazz Archives, All About Jazz, and The Europe Jazz Network. John Litweiler has
written a biography, "Ornette Coleman:A Harmolodic Life". Though out of print,
it is worth searching out. Recently released in the U.S. is
"Ornette Coleman : His Life and Music", by Peter Niklas Wilson, from Berkeley
Hills Books. Also available on the web are two Coleman articles originally published in
The Atlantic Monthly, one
by Robert Palmer from 12/72, the other by Francis Davis
from 9/85.
Does
Ornette have a website of his own?
Yes he does. It is at http://www.harmolodic.com .I
don't know how much direct input he has into it. I do know it is rarely updated.
What is Harmolodics?
Harmolodics is less a set of musical rules than a description of the way Ornette Coleman
sees life. I don't have a very good understanding, and what I do understand, I have
difficulty describing. It has a lot to do with relativity, and in the music area,
everything is in the moment, and nothing has any more importance than anything else.
Melody, harmony, and rhythm are equal. At any moment, a note can be the root of a chord,
the 3rd of another, the flatted 5th of another, etc. The one beat can be the three beat of
another cadence. If musicians are well enough in tune with each other they can play what
they will, and it will all fit together. For Ornette it is easy. For most others, it is
hard. I hope to replace this definition with a better one from anyone who is able to
articulate one.
Where can I find a list of Ornette's recordings?
Robert Stubenrauch has done a pretty complete, if not deep, online Coleman discography.He
also has done a Blood
Ulmer discography . His friend Johann Haidenburger has put up Don Cherry discography.
George Scalla has made discographies of David Izenzon, Jamaladeen Tacuma, Ed Blackwell, and Charles Moffett.
Why doesn't (record company name here) re-release (Ornette lp title here)
on cd?
Ornette himself has the rights to many of the recordings that were released over the
years. As far as I know, Sony has the rights to the early 70's Columbia albums. I imagine
Paul Bley has the rights to the IAI title. I do not know who has the rights to the Trio
title. Ornette has the rights to the Impulse, Caravan of Dreams, and Artist House titles.
He has (or had) a deal with Verve to release cd's on his Harmolodic label, and has put out
reissues of some of his older records, but has stated that he has more interest in
releasing new material than old. You can find out what is in print and order online from
many vendors. One is Amazon.