Denardo Coleman


Denardo Ornette Coleman is an American jazz drummer. He is the son of Ornette Coleman and Jayne Cortez.

Biography

Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1956, Denardo Coleman began playing drums at the age of six. At the age of 10 he joined his father's band, making his first appearance on record on the 1966 Ornette Coleman album The Empty Foxhole, with Charlie Haden on bass. Haden said of Denardo's playing on that recording: "He’s going to startle every drummer who hears him." Denardo also featured on his father's later releases, including Ornette at 12 and Crisis, and played as a member of Ornette's Prime Time ensemble in the 1970s. He also worked with his mother in the band The Firespitters, and has played with Geri Allen, Pat Metheny, James Blood Ulmer, and Jamaaladeen Tacuma. In the 1980s he started to manage his father's career, which he continued doing for the next 30 years.
Coleman has also done extensive work as a producer, including on albums by both of his parents. In 2017, on a new label called Song X Records, he produced Celebrate Ornette, a tribute to his father, in a box set with 24 performances captured on two DVDs, three CDs, and four vinyl LPs.

Discography

As sideman

With Ornette Coleman
With Jayne Cortez & the Firespitters
With James Blood Ulmer
With Pat Metheny
  • Song X
With Charnett Moffett'