The 15th Umbria Jazz Festival witnessed the debut of a jazz great, Ornette Coleman, the father of free jazz, together with his Prime Time electric band, his most controversial group, held together by Coleman’s dynamic, sorrowful sax playing, and a rhythm section that often spills over into funk.
The programme featured a number of first-time acts, including the veteran singer Jon Hendricks, Steve Coleman’s M-Base (with Cassandra Wilson), Lester Bowie with his Brass Fantasy, Bill Frisell playing with Joe Lovano and Paul Motian, the extrovert band leader Kip Hanharan (with his band featuring the former rock supergroup Cream’s bassist, Jack Bruce), Don Grolnick with Joe Henderson, and the young Michel Petrucciani playing, as a member of a quintet, a lighter, single-along version of “Summer”.
