** Rare original copies, unplayed. Unofficial release and very rare to find. Minor wear due to ageing on covers ** In Concert captures Ornette Coleman at a thrilling crossroads, performing live in Padua with a quartet that brilliantly embodies his restless creative spirit. Alongside Coleman-who alternates between alto sax, trumpet, and violin-are James “Blood” Ulmer on guitar, Sirone (Norris Jones) on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. This lineup, recorded in 1974, marks a period where Coleman was expanding his harmolodic vision, pushing his music into new harmonic and rhythmic territory.

The set list is a journey through both familiar and exploratory terrain: from the collective invocation of “Tutti” to the haunting lyricism of “Love Call” and the extended, searching improvisations of “What Reason Could I Give.” The interplay is electrifying-Ulmer’s guitar, a rare addition to Coleman’s small groups, opens up fresh harmonic vistas, offering dense chords and unexpected textures that both challenge and complement Coleman’s melodic lines. Higgins’s drumming is restless and inventive, constantly shifting the rhythmic ground, while Sirone’s bass provides both anchor and propulsion.

Coleman’s own playing is as adventurous as ever. On alto sax, he delivers piercing, blues-infused melodies; on trumpet and violin, he conjures raw, almost otherworldly timbres, sometimes evoking the folkish, amplified edge of contemporaries like Leroy Jenkins. The music is at once free and deeply rooted, with themes emerging and dissolving in a fluid, multi-layered environment. There’s a palpable sense of risk and discovery-moments where the group seems to teeter on the edge of chaos, only to find new forms and directions.

The recording’s atmosphere is intimate yet intense, capturing the quartet’s dynamic range-from meditative passages to explosive collective improvisations. The packaging, with its minimalist grey jackets and hand-applied labels, adds to the sense of this LP as a rare artifact from a pivotal era in avant-garde jazz.

In Concert is not just a document of a single night, but a testament to Coleman’s enduring quest for new expression. For listeners, it offers a window into one of jazz’s most innovative minds at a moment of profound transformation-an essential listen for anyone drawn to the outer edges of jazz improvisation.