Ornette Coleman
's brief tenure at
Blue Note
was neither as seminal as his
Atlantic
output nor as brazenly ambitious as his early-'70s work for
Columbia
and later with
Prime Time
. Still, the period did produce some quality music, and
The Empty Foxhole
is one of his most intriguing efforts.
Coleman
hadn't entered a recording studio in over four years when he returned -- with his ten-year-old son
Denardo
on drums.
says in the liner notes that
was ready to make a record the previous year, and he's not overestimating;
's percussive coloring and shading never sounds lost or confused, and his stream-of-consciousness flow of ideas keeps up surprisingly well with his father and bassist
Charlie Haden
. The communal energy keeps flowing throughout the session, and the trio members play off of each other with an easygoing enthusiasm, even on the less memorable themes. Most evocative are the funereal
military
march
of the title track, where
Ornette
's mournful trumpet plays off of
's deliberate cadence, and
"Sound Gravitation,"
a feature for
's scratchy, percussive violin. Of the alto-driven pieces,
"Good Old Days"
has the fieriest flow of ideas, but he seems energized by his son's presence, and his playing is fairly exciting throughout. On balance, the music may not be among
's most exceptional efforts, but there's something inspiring about the fact that
is as good as it is. ~ Steve Huey