Jazz legend and pioneer Ornette Coleman passed away early this morning, as reported by a family representative and the New York Times. Coleman was 85 years old, and the cause of his unfortunate passing was cardiac arrest.
Coleman was something of an explorer in the jazz scene, with an improvisational style that Coleman himself dubbed as “free jazz.” Anyone familiar with Coleman’s records will instantly recognize his distinctive saxophone style, as he veered from the constraints of rhythm and meter, hitting measures and notes that were at simultaneously impossible and real.
Coleman’s career began in the early 1950’s, but he didn’t make his first recording until 1958. Throughout the late 50’s and early 60’s, Coleman would take liberties with the rigid meters imposed by bebop musicians, to the point where he was ultimately creating his own style of music. Coleman’s “free jazz” would later influence countless musicians in the “jam” scene, everyone from the Grateful Dead to Phish and beyond. His innovative, exploratory nature, compounded by his roots in blues and Americana, created a music that was both different and familiar.
The name “free jazz” actually comes from Coleman’s 1960 double album, Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation. With a track that lasted nearly 40-minutes, Free Jazz contained one of the longest “jams” of the time, a point that no doubt resonated with the Dead when they went to record Anthem of the Sun a few years later. Coleman actually sat in with the Dead twice, in 1993.
Coleman was an avant-garde musician, but his reach was far and wide. His influence is still felt to this very day, and we’re sorry to hear of his passing. Coleman will always be remembered for pushing the boundaries of what music could and should be, especially in an era that valued conformity above all else. He was an innovator, a compositional mastermind, and he will be missed.