Soapsuds, Soapsuds

Soapsuds, Soapsuds
Studio album by Ornette Coleman and Charlie Haden
Released	1977
Recorded	January 30, 1977
Studio	The Hit Factory, New York City
Genre	Free jazz
Length	38:11
Label	Artists House
Producer	John Snyder
Ornette Coleman chronology
Dancing in Your Head (1977) Soapsuds, Soapsuds (1977) Body Meta (1978)
Charlie Haden chronology
The Golden Number (1977) Soapsuds, Soapsuds (1977) As Long as There's Music (1978)

Soapsuds, Soapsuds is an album of duets by saxophonist/trumpeter Ornette Coleman and bassist Charlie Haden, recorded in 1977 and released on the Artists House label. ^{[1] [2]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[5]

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "This unusual album found Coleman taking time off from his electric free funk group, Prime Time, to record acoustic duets with his longtime associate, bassist Charlie Haden. Coleman switches to tenor and trumpet for the challenging music which includes three of his originals". ^[3]

In JazzTimes , Duck Baker wrote: "The most significant dividing line in Ornette’s chronology might be Charlie Haden's leaving the group in the mid-'70s. This set of duos from a few years later highlights the telepathy that was crucial to the success of so many classic earlier recordings ... a fine, relaxed set whose very effortlessness might make it seem less than it is, which is of course top-notch". ^[6]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings described Coleman's tenor sax sound on the album as "a light, alto-range tone which irresistably recalls Lester Young, and which sits perfectly alongside Haden's bass." They commented: "This is a unexpectedly lyrical record, the one in the OC canon which will always catch out (figuratively) blindfolded testees... Not considered to be an A-list record, but we're carrying a torch for it." ^[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Ornette Coleman except where noted

Side A

1. "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (Sanger D. Shafer) – 7:44
2. "Human Being" (Charlie Haden) − 7:46
3. "Soap Suds" – 5:12

Side B

1. "Sex Spy" – 9:55
2. "Some Day" – 7:34

Personnel

• Ornette Coleman - tenor saxophone, trumpet
• Charlie Haden - acoustic bass

References

1. Ornette Coleman catalog, accessed March 20, 2018
2. Jazzlists: Artists House discography, accessed March 20, 2018
3. Yanow, Scott. Ornette Coleman: Soapsuds, Soapsuds – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved August 10, 2017.
4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (1998). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin Books. p. 309.
5. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp.  46. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
6. Baker, D. JazzTimes Review, accessed March 20, 2018