"I was 16 years old and I was just flailing around, looking for an interest. I heard, you know, these jazz records. They were modern records, at the time in the '50s, and I realized that I didn't fully get what was going on. But I liked a lot of what I heard. What I felt was, if I listen to this stuff enough, I could train my ear so I could hear what was going on."
It reminded me of the first time I heard an Ornette Coleman record. I had started listening to my dad's jazz CD's in high school, and he had certainly been encouraging. When he gave me a copy of the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, I started randomly flipping through it and heading to the library and record store. Anything that sounded interesting, I would pursue. I found some albums I liked, and some I didn't, but I felt like I could at least follow all of it.
Then I bought a copy of Free Jazz. I really had no idea what to expect. When I heard it, it was really confusing at first. I wasn't familiar with anyone in the band except Dolphy, so I had a lot of trouble separating everyone out in the double quartet. I had never heard any collective improvisation before, and this was definitely not the post-bop I was used to. I found it kind of boggling and set it aside for a while.
I kept going back to the library, listening to new things. I got into some smaller groups playing free. After a few months, I thought I'd try out the Coleman album again. I was amazed at how much more I heard. Not only did it make more sense, but I really liked it. I definitely wanted to have that experience again. It got me hooked on stretching farther out.
