Ornette Coleman, Who's Crazy? 2 (side A)

This confusing record shows a copyright year of 1979, but it was apparently recorded in 1966. Who's Crazy 2 is a bit more tossed-off than some of Ornette's more overtly compositional work, but still contains some excellent trio playing. The group here is with Moffett and Izenzon, and they're a lot more introspective and cerebral than some of Ornette's other groups. Moffett especially leaves a lot more space than Higgins, Blackwell, or Denardo—he provides a lot of subtle texture on the toms in place of the driving cymbal rhythms often associated with Ornette. The pieces are not neat compositions, but more workouts on concepts. The front cover photo is nice enough, but I'm particularly fond of the parrot image on the center sticker.