Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman

Maybe it's coincidence that in their 76th year(s) on this planet, both Ornette Coleman and Sonny Rollins have released albums that show the old masters to be lyrical, exploratory, and 100% vital. Ornette has always followed his own path. He's a musically-advanced thinker like Monk (who, unfortunately, has a hard time teaching his ideas to people unless they actually play in his bands) who reexamines all the premises of music and comes up with his own idiosyncratic but very musical language. Sonny is a surviving first-and-a-half-generation bebopper who has used his debut on his own label to show off some styles (including some very chromatic/modal solos more like Coltrane than like "St. Thomas") he hasn't played in awhile. One thing I treasure about the art of jazz is that it has room for really talented old, old guys--and these two are some of the best there are or have ever been.