''Science Fiction'' is an album by the American

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz, experimental jazz, or "new thing") is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through the late 1 ...

saxophonist and composer

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 ...

, recorded in September and October 1971 and released on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in February 1972.Ornette Coleman discography
accessed November 30, 2010 In 2000, the album was re-released along with '' Broken Shadows'' (recorded during the same sessions but not released until 1982) and several unreleased tracks as ''

The Complete Science Fiction Sessions ''The Complete Science Fiction Sessions'' is a two-CD compilation album by Ornette Coleman. Released by Columbia Records in 2000, it brings together tracks recorded during September and October 1971 and September 1972 sessions at Columbia Studios ...

''.

Recording

''Science Fiction'' features Coleman's early 1970s quartet, consisting of Coleman (alto saxophone, trumpet, violin),

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playin ...

(double bass),

Ed Blackwell Edward Joseph Blackwell (October 10, 1929 – October 7, 1992) was an American jazz drummer, best known known for his work with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Biography Blackwell was born in New Orleans on October 10, 1929. His career began ther ...

(drums), and

Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played alto s ...

(tenor saxophone). It also features performances by former Coleman sidemen

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

(drums),

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. He played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins. After concluding a playing career in the A ...

(

pocket trumpet 250px, Pocket trumpet in B-flat, with a standard size bell and medium-large bore The pocket trumpet is a B♭ or C trumpet that is constructed with the tubing wound into a much smaller coil than a standard trumpet, generally with a smaller diam ...

), and

Bobby Bradford Bobby Lee Bradford (born July 19, 1934) is an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist, bandleader, and composer. In addition to his solo work, Bradford is noted for his work with John Carter, Vinny Golia and Ornette Coleman. In October 2009, Brad ...

(trumpet), and vocals by Indian-American singer

Asha Puthli Asha Puthli (born February 4, 1945) is an Indian-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress, born and raised in Mumbai. She has recorded solo albums for EMI, CBS/Sony, and RCA. Her recordings cover blues, pop, rock, soul, funk, disco, a ...

on two tracks and American poet David Henderson on the title track.

Reception

The

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 ...

review by Steve Huey awarded the album 5 stars and stated: "''Science Fiction'' was oleman'screative rebirth, a stunningly inventive and appropriately alien-sounding blast of manic energy... ''Science Fiction'' is a meeting ground between Coleman's past and future; it combines the fire and edge of his

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

years with strong hints of the electrified, globally conscious experiments that were soon to come. And, it's overflowing with brilliance".Huey, S
Allmusic Review
accessed November 30, 2010 ''

The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' called it "fascinating" and "multifaceted" in another five-star review. Reviewing the album for ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', Daniel Felsenthal called it "a one-of-a-kind dispatch from the vibrant, polygenic, and contested lofts of downtown New York" and "a welcome return to the singable, quintessentially Southern melodicism that counterbalanced oleman'sdauntless early oeuvre".

Track listing

All compositions by Ornette Coleman. # "What Reason Could I Give?" – 3:06 # "Civilization Day" – 6:04 # "Street Woman" – 4:50 # "Science Fiction" – 5:03 # "Rock the Clock" – 3:16 # "All My Life" – 3:56 # "Law Years" – 5:22 # "The Jungle Is a Skyscraper" – 5:26 *Recorded at Columbia Studio E, NYC on September 9 (tracks 2, 3, 7 and 8), September 10 (track 4) and October 13 (tracks 1, 5 and 6), 1971

Personnel

–

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

, trumpet, violin *

–

(tracks 2–4) *

– trumpet (tracks 4, 7–8) *Carmine Fornarotto,

Gerard Schwarz Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orc ...

– trumpet (tracks 1 and 6) *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

, musette (tracks 1, 4–8) *

– double bass, electric double bass with

wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of effects pedal designed for electric guitar that alters the timbre of the input signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The peda ...

– drums (tracks 1–4, 6) *

– drums (tracks 1, 4–8) * David Henderson – recitation (track 4) *

– vocals (tracks 1, 6)

References

{{Authority control 1972 albums Ornette Coleman albums Columbia Records albums Free jazz albums