Spy vs. Spy: The Music of Ornette Coleman

Abrasive in a mostly unfun way, but very interesting checking in on what jazz looks like as the 90s are approaching. Miles Davis had given us prog-infused jazz, but art moves on and now we’re firmly in the world of what punk does to the thing

This was something... not good. The first half was complete saxophone nonsense, but starting with Ecars, it became something somewhat listenable. It still wasn't great, but still beats out some things on this list. A hard 1 for the first half, but the second half is redeeming enough to get this to a low 2/5

Wild. An uncompromising listen but always interesting and when the noise coalesces at times, it's fantastic. Gets far more listenable in the second half if you're struggling (and you can tell from the reviews who only listened to a few seconds then dropped a 1 on it)

This is not an ensemble; it's a bunch of musicians playing random shit on their instruments for 40 minutes. How the fuck this made it on this list, I will never know. There are moments where you can somewhat hear the virtuosity of individual instruments, but the whole is not better than the sum of the parts. This is like listening to a bunch of children playing whatever the fuck they want on their instruments. My beginner youth orchestra sounded better than this. Maybe this is what jazz sounds like to aliens.

Solo lo he encontrado en YouTube subido a las bravas por un usuario. Unos 40 minutos de jazz. Empieza demasiado arriba para mi gusto ¿heavy jazz? Esto es infumable, supongo que habrá quien le guste pero le meto una estrella y listo.

I was curious to listen to this album, as I had heard that John Zorn was a talented and innovative saxophonist and composer. However, I was very disappointed by what I heard. The album is a tribute to Ornette Coleman, a pioneer of free jazz, but it does not do justice to his legacy. Instead, it is a chaotic and noisy mess that tries to combine free jazz with hardcore punk, thrashcore and grindcore.

The album consists of 17 tracks, all composed by Coleman, but performed in a very brief and intense style by Zorn and his band. The tracks range from 1 to 4 minutes in length, but they feel much longer due to the lack of structure, melody and harmony. The saxophones are constantly screeching, squealing and clashing in stereo, while the bass and drums provide a frenetic and erratic rhythm. The music is so loud and abrasive that it gave me a headache after listening to it.

I understand that Zorn wanted to experiment with different genres and challenge the conventions of jazz, but I think he went too far with this album. It is not enjoyable or accessible to listen to, and it does not capture the spirit or the beauty of Coleman's music. Even more frustrating that Coleman himself doesn’t have an album on the list! It is an insult to both jazz and punk fans, and a waste of time and money. I would not recommend this album to anyone, unless they want to torture themselves or their enemies.

I give it 1 star out of 5. (Lost an extra star due to this being picked over an actual Coleman album)

Crazy and infuriating, but occasionally a nice melody or rhythm shines through. I was expecting more spy music.
YT link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCHB5LLPQ3s

This is really wild. Not something I can see myself listening to regularly but I dig it. Super chaotic and punky which is an interesting take on jazz that I haven't really delved into much. I love the drumming in particular.

Well well well...Once you make it past the opening onslaught, there's a lot to like here. It's certainly unusual and definitely intentionally off-putting. It's interesting though, would definitely listen to it again, not very often though. Looking forward to reading some of the other reviews for this one!

Initially I wasn't going to listen to this as it wasn't available on Spotify, and I couldn't be fussed with YouTube ads, but was persuaded to I'd give it a try... and wow!

On the surface it's audacious, annoying, violent, batshit bonkers, some kind of avant-garde post-punk jazz! But within that utter chaos there's something beautiful, a raw talent. The more I thought about it, the more affection I felt towards it. 3.5

Thrashcore jazz? What in god? Holy shit, I guess we are in for a violent, unhinged jazz onslaught. Good Old Days takes a little off the gas pedal for some more synchronized power. The drums are just SO BOOMY! They sound like they are 50 feet away! This is a fun album to just sonically surf through. Ecars is a fun tune with the heaviest end beat imaginable. Mob Job is like a pulling up to the station as the last act of this jazz rollercoaster of bodyblows and razor blades.

What a thunderous cacophony! I'm surprised I've never heard this. I can't say I exactly enjoy a whole album of it but for a track or two this is kind of stunning in it's intensity. Two sets of drums recorded with some significant reverb and dueling saxophones going at it all at once is quite a unique arrangement. Really stopped me in my tracks when I first put it on. My ears took a minute to even be able to process what they were hearing. I like this but I'm giving it a 3 because I know I'd never put this on as an album or tolerate it if someone else did. There's very little variation of mood or relief from the intensity. Again, a track or two is exhilarating and would be mind blowing live but any more than that gets exhausting real quick.

It one of the strangest things that I ever listen to, but still very powerful and I don't know why I liked it, but I liked it. I'm not a jazz fan, but this kind of thing touches me in some way that is strongest than my comprehension