Blues Connotation is the opening track on Ornette Coleman’s 1961 Atlantic Records album This Is Our Music. Composed by Coleman, the 5:16 piece was recorded on July 19, 1960 in New York City with the quartet of Ornette Coleman (alto sax), Don Cherry (pocket trumpet), Charlie Haden (bass), and Ed Blackwell (drums). The track showcases the album’s core idea of spontaneous group improvisation within an avant-garde, free jazz framework. This Is Our Music, released in March 1961, was Coleman’s first Atlantic session with Blackwell and the only Atlantic album to include a standard, Embraceable You. Blues Connotation reflects Coleman's blues-inflected language and a collective approach that pushed the boundaries of jazz improvisation.
