Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) may be the most controversial album in jazz history, and one of the most important.In 1959, a broke musician from Fort Worth, Texas arrived in New York City with a plastic saxophone and a band that didn't play by the rules. And EVERYONE had an opinion about it.Jazz legends hated it. Miles Davis said Ornette was "all screwed up inside." Max Roach punched him in the mouth. Dizzy Gillespie said Ornette's music wasn't even jazz. Meanwhile, Leonard Berstein and John Coltrane celebrated him.So what exactly is The Shape of Jazz to Come, and why was it so radical? Jazz pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness break down every track, from "Lonely Woman" to "Chronology". They dig into harmolodics, free jazz, and how Ornette shaped everyone from Miles Davis (who eventually came around) to the '80s burnout crew, including Wynton Marsalis, who personally recommended this record to Peter.Dig into The Shape of Jazz to Come with us, and learn why this soft spoken saxophonist inspired both criticism and awe.-------------------------------Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs:https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi-------------------------------Related You'll Hear It episodes:Mingus Ah Um: https://youtu.be/XYeRZ0Awui4Giant Steps: https://youtu.be/8umC2yZlPHcKind of Blue: https://youtu.be/ShzSnjP8bSgTime Out: https://youtu.be/-_qPhFSJeQUNina Simone at Town Hall: https://youtu.be/2PDjN5_2y5Q-------------------------------About You'll Hear It:In this popular music series Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo: Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.-------------------------------Sign up for the You'll Read It newsletter for little known stories about the artists you love:https://youllhearit.com/newsletter-------------------------------0:00:00 - Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come0:01:42 - 1959: A Pivotal Year0:03:06 - Ornette Coleman: The Backstory0:04:44 - Ornette's Earlier Sound0:06:18 - Lore of the Five Spot0:07:00 - "Lonely Woman"0:12:27 - Harmolodics Explained (Charlie Haden + Don Cherry)0:13:27 - "Eventually"0:14:42 - The '80s Jazz Connection (Wynton, Branford, Kirkland)0:17:21 - "Peace"0:23:50 - Ad: Open Studio0:24:57 - Mingus Said THIS About Coleman0:27:47 - "Focus on Sanity"0:29:40 - When Peter Played with Charlie Haden0:32:43 - Don Cherry's Kids: Neneh Cherry + Eagle-Eye Cherry0:34:22 - "Congeniality"0:36:28 - "Chronology"0:37:23 - Technical Technique vs. Artistic Vision0:42:13 - Categories: Desert Island Tracks, Apex Moments0:48:55 - You'll Read It Newsletter + Ambies

What happens when you let a musical genius make the album of his dreams? You get Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind (1972), the start of the greatest run in music history. Music of My Mind would be the first of a five-album run that formed Stevie Wonder's Classic Period, including Talking Book (1972), Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976).In this episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin dive into every track on Music of My Mind, listening to isolated stems and breaking down the theory behind the songs. Plus - we talk about TONTO, the one-ton synthesizer Stevie used to create this record. And we dig into the innovative ways Stevie and collaborators Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff mixed the album.-------------------------------Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://openstudiojazz.com/yhi-------------------------------Related You'll Hear It episodes:Talking Book: https://youtu.be/ymcy3ot116w  Innervisions: https://youtu.be/mUYwIijL7s0Songs in the Key of Life: https://youtu.be/uk5x4-uTzj8 -------------------------------About You'll Hear It:In this popular music series, You'll Hear It, Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo: Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.-------------------------------Like the jam at the end of the show? Head to youtube.com/@OpenStudioMusic for more.00:00 - Stevie Wonder's Music of My Mind03:40 - Breaking Free: The Motown Contract Story05:35 - Finding TONTO: Malcolm Cecil & Robert Margouleff08:45 - What Was TONTO? The Technology Explained09:20 - How Stevie Wonder Met Cecil & Margouleff12:00 - "If You Really Love Me" - Stevie's Motown Sound16:40 - What Albums Belong in the Run?19:10 - "Love Having You Around"22:20 - Isolated Breakdown: Vocals, Talk Box, Rhythm Section27:35 - Stevie Made Albums Different32:10 - "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)"36:25 - The Greatest Transition EVER41:45 - Innovation Behind the Mix44:10 - Ad Break: Learn to play like Stevie Wonder45:18 - "I Love Every Little Thing About You"52:55 - "Sweet Little Girl"56:14 - "Happier Than the Morning Sun"1:00:53 - Find more performances from Adam and Peter at Open Studio Music1:01:58 - "Girl Blue"1:09:28 - "Seems So Long"1:11:49 - "Keep on Running"1:15:52 - "Evil" - The biggest moment on the album1:21:10 - This One is for the Math Nerds About Music 1:23:05 - Categories1:29:05 - Better Than Innervisions? / Up Next1:32:05 - More from You'll Hear It: You'll Read It1:32:40 - Open Studio plays "Superwoman"

We're looking at the best jazz releases of February 2026! Listen with pianist Adam Maness as he breaks down and reacts to these great tracks.Start your free Open Studio trial for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs: https://osjazz.link/yhi00:00 - Intro00:26 - In On It - Pat Metheny02:20 - Circlesz - GENA04:13 - Will You Walk A Little Faster - Holland, Stone, London Vocal Project06:31 - La Sentencia - Melissa Aldana08:55 - La Fiesta - Geoffrey Keezer & Tim Garland10:58 - Oo Long! - The Tomeka Reid Quartet13:18 - The Edge - Noah Stoneman15:40 - Shivaranjani - Ragini Trio

Charlie Parker was punk rock before there was punk rock. His bebop was underground music: subversive, intellectual, and a major departure from popular music of the day (think: Nat King Cole, The Andrews Sisters, Perry Como). He was an intellectual heavyweight, nearly untouchable in his technical ability and pushing music to places no one else was daring to go. So where did Charlie Parker with Strings, his most accessible album, come from?It's not Bird going commercial, like some have claimed. Charlie Parker with Strings is an album he fought to make. He loved Bach and Stravinsky (even quoting the opening of Stravinsky's 'Firebird Suite' mid-solo in one legendary performance), and had longed to make a record where his jazz saxophone was accompanied by strings.The resulting record is music's greatest improviser at his best. Jazz pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness listen to select tracks (like "Just Friends" and "Summertime"), breaking down the theory behind the music to understand what makes this album great. Jazz is the foundation of the most GENIUS music in recent history: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, D'Angelo. In this popular music series, You'll Hear It, Adam and Peter break down the greatest albums of all time. These seasoned jazz pianists bring their deep musical knowledge to every joyful episode to help you hear the hidden qualities that make music AMAZING. You'll never hear music the same way again.Like the jam at the end of the show? Head to @openstudiomusic on YouTube for more.Visit openstudiojazz.com for ALLLLL your jazz lesson needs.00:00 - Intro: Charlie Parker with Strings01:10 - "Just Friends"04:40 - Want to Be a Great Musician? Study This Track10:20 - Early Recording: "Swingmatism" (1941)12:45 - The Secret to Charlie Parker's Genius: Practice15:20 - The Savoy Sessions: "Now's the Time" & Young Miles Davis18:20 - The Contrafact Built in Real Time21:45 - "Koko": Miles Davis Couldn't Play It?!24:30 - Musicians NEED to Listen to This27:15 - Think Parker Sold Out? Think AGAIN28:55 - "April in Paris": Parker's Chosen Tune33:55 - About Mitch Miller's Oboe ... 38:25 - "Summertime"44:10 - "Out of Nowhere"46:35 - We Have An Album! 47:20 - "East of the Sun"53:00 - "I'll Remember April"55:50 - Categories: Desert Island Tracks56:35 - The BEST Moments on Strings1:11:10 - Open Studio Plays "Just Friends"

Is Steely Dan's Gaucho more perfect than Aja? Maybe even ... too perfect? Two years in the studio. The greatest session musicians alive asked to play take after take after take until it was exactly right. And sometimes that STILL wasn't enough for Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.On today's episode of You'll Hear It, jazz pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness are breaking down the 1980 album track by track: the jazz harmony hiding inside those smooth grooves, the abstract poetry of the lyrics, and the insane stories behind how this thing got made. Including the $150,000 drum machine invented specifically for this record, the interview quote that cost them a third of a song, and the drum track that took 85 takes and 35 tape edits to piece together.And after all that, we didn't get another Steely Dan record for 20 years.Was it worth it?Read about the simple mistake that would haunt Steely Dan for 44 years in this week's edition of the You'll Read It newsletter: https://youllhearit.com/newsletterWatch our FULL breakdown of Steely Dan's Aja: https://youtu.be/G10mYohR6T400:00 - Steely Dan's Gaucho: A Monument to Perfect01:15 - "Babylon Sisters"11:00 - What Makes Steely Dan Genius13:35 - The Precision of Purdie's Drums on Babylon Sisters16:10 - Abstract Lyrics19:35 - "Hey Nineteen"22:25 - Pristine Rhodes25:25 - Isolated Vocal Stems on "Hey Nineteen"33:00 - "Glamour Profession"38:55 - The Mingus Influence40:10 - "Gaucho"43:20 - The Keith Jarrett Lawsuit48:50 - Gaucho Chorus Deep Dive54:10 - "Time Out Of Mind"57:50 - Monument to Perfectionism (Lead Boots)1:01:35 - Perfectionism and Jazz1:05:05 - Is Gaucho More Perfect Than Aja?1:06:25 - "My Rival"1:10:40 - Bowie / Steely Dan Side-By-Side1:14:00 - Too Fussy?1:19:05 - Open Studio Plays "Glamour Profession"