Ornette Coleman

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About Ornette Coleman

In the late 1950s, saxophonist Ornette Coleman threw out the rule book (and the piano) and blew apart all received notions of jazz, most notably with his quartet featuring Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins. Coleman's seemingly alien brand of "free" music was revolting to some and a revelation to others; either way, it established him as a founding father of the avant garde that ignited much of the 1960s jazz scene. Since the '70s, Coleman has concentrated largely on his band Prime Time, a fertile laboratory for his ongoing project of musical evolution.