*** ORNETTE COLEMAN AND JOACHIM KUHN, “Colors,” Harmolodic/Verve

Ornette Coleman has worked occasionally with pianists in the past--notably Paul Bley in the 1950s and more recently with Geri Allen. But he has never before recorded in a setting such as this, in which his alto saxophone and violin are framed within Joachim Kuhn’s contemporary classical-sounding piano settings.

The duets were recorded at a concert in Leipzig, Germany, last summer, shortly after Coleman and Kuhn had performed a similar program in Verona, Italy. And while they suffer from Coleman’s occasionally distracting lapses in pitch, they afford a rare opportunity to hear the veteran avant-gardist in a relatively wide-open musical environment, working with a stunningly intuitive pianist. (Kuhn is the younger brother of clarinetist Rolf Kuhn).

Curiously, Coleman’s much-criticized violin playing, which never quite seemed appropriate in the context of his groups, is remarkably effective. The swoops of indeterminate musical color, the odd fragments of rhythm and melody juxtapose nicely against Kuhn’s dissonant, often rhapsodic accompaniment.

In the selections in which Coleman plays alto, his inimitable melodic voice is front and center. In all the years Coleman has been playing, his soloing has been remarkable consistent. Given the opportunity to play out in the open, undistracted by the sounds and rhythms of other players, he lays out long, emotionally expressive lines, rich with the Texas blues phrasing that is essential to his style.

An unusual outing it may be, but “Colors” provides a solid opportunity to sample the still potent, still original voice of one of jazz’s great rebels.

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