Prime Time was an American

free funk Free-funk is a combination of avant-garde jazz with funk music that developed in the 1970s. Leaders of the genre include Ornette Coleman and his Prime Time group, Ronald Shannon Jackson and his group Decoding Society, Jamaaladeen Tacuma and hi ...

band formed by

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

in 1975. The band utilized Coleman's theory of

harmolodics Harmolodics is a musical philosophy and method of musical composition and improvisation developed by American jazz saxophonist-composer Ornette Coleman. His work following this philosophy during the late 1970s and 1980s inspired a style of forward ...

to create their music. Founding members included guitarists Bern Nix and guitarist Charles Ellerbee, bassist

Jamaaladeen Tacuma Jamaaladeen Tacuma (born Rudy McDaniel; June 11, 1956) is an American jazz funk avant-garde bassist, composer and producer born in Hempstead, New York. He was a bandleader on the Gramavision label and worked with Ornette Coleman during the 197 ...

, and drummers

Denardo Coleman Denardo Ornette Coleman (born April 19, 1956) is an American jazz drummer. He is the son of Ornette Coleman and Jayne Cortez. Biography Born to Jayne Cortez and Ornette Coleman in Los Angeles, California, in 1956,

and

Ronald Shannon Jackson Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and ...

. Later members included bassist Albert MacDowell and drummer Sabir Kamal. Ornette's first album with Prime Time was '' Dancing in Your Head'', released in 1977. Their 1988 album ''

Virgin Beauty ''Virgin Beauty'' is an album by Ornette Coleman and his Prime Time ensemble. It was released by Portrait Records in 1988. Three of the album's tracks feature guitarist Jerry Garcia, whose involvement in the recording dates back to September 1987 ...

'', which featured guest appearances by

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

guitarist

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

, was their most successful, peaking at number two on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Jazz Albums chart and selling more in its first year than any previous Coleman record. Prime Time would later open for Grateful Dead at a 1993 concert at the

Oakland Coliseum Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, often shortened to the Oakland Coliseum, is a multi-purpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States. It serves as part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, located next to Oakland Arena. In 2 ...

. In 2017, two years after Ornette's death, Denardo reunited Prime Time for a concert at

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...

in tribute to both Ornette and Bern Nix, who had died earlier that year.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Dancing in Your Head'' (1976) *'' Body Meta'' (1978) *''

Of Human Feelings ''Of Human Feelings'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Ornette Coleman. It was recorded on April 25, 1979, at CBS Studio Building, CBS Studios in New York City with his band Prime Time (band), Prime Time, which ...

'' (1979) *'' In All Languages'' (1987) *''

'' (1988) *''

Tone Dialing Dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling is a telecommunication signaling system using the voice-frequency band over telephone lines between telephone equipment and other communications devices and switching centers. DTMF was first developed ...

'' (1995)

Live albums

*'' Opening the Caravan of Dreams'' (1985) *'' Jazzbühne Berlin '88'' (1988)

References

External links

Prime Time discography
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{Authority control American jazz ensembles Jazz fusion ensembles Jazz musicians from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from New York City