Jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman (1930 – 2015)

Obituary: Pioneering saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman passed today (June 11) at the age of 85.

Bruce frequently named Mr Coleman as an influence on his career, and indeed worked with him. His Questions and Answers piece was unreleased until Bruce recorded it for the Camp Meeting release with Jack Dejohnette and Christian McBride (live recording below).

Bruce’s Intersections box set also included a collaboration with Ornette on his work “Hop, Skip and Jump”.

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of a celebratory concert of Ornette Coleman’s music in Brooklyn, NY that Bruce participated in.

The Guardian obituary

Ornette Coleman early life

Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman was born on March 9, 1930, in Fort Worth, Texas. Raised in a modest environment, Coleman bought his first saxophone with money earned from shining shoes. He began playing the instrument as if it were a toy, not realising there were rules to follow in music. His approach to music remained unconventional throughout his career, with a belief that “you had to play to play” rather than adhere to traditional styles.

Coleman’s early performances were in R&B and bebop groups, but his desire to break away from conventional jazz styles would soon define his career.

Breaking away from bebop

Coleman’s breakthrough came in 1959 with the release of “The Shape of Jazz to Come”. This avant-garde album signalled a departure from bebop and set the stage for his influence on the free jazz movement. His performances polarized audiences, with some mesmerised and others walking out of shows. His residency at the Five Spot jazz club in New York City was particularly controversial, yet it was attended by prominent figures like Leonard Bernstein and Lionel Hampton.

The album’s impact was profound, marking a key moment in jazz history. The Guardian’s jazz critic, John Fordham, described the work as “hauntingly intense” and noted its fragmented, idiosyncratic nature.

Free jazz and further experimentation

In 1960, Coleman released “Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation”, which featured a double quartet and is often regarded as one of the most groundbreaking albums in jazz history. The album’s experimental nature, with continuous improvisation and stereo-separated quartets, sparked both admiration and controversy.

While Coleman had intended “free jazz” as simply an album title, the term soon came to define a new genre. Although he expressed discomfort with the label, his influence on the avant-garde jazz scene was undeniable.

Later innovations and collaborations

In the 1970s, Coleman explored electric jazz-funk, forming the group Prime Time. Albums like “Dancing in Your Head” reflected his harmolodic philosophy, which emphasised ensemble playing without fixed tonal or rhythmic structures. He collaborated with prominent artists outside jazz, including Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, and performed with the band in 1993.

Ornette Coleman’s influence extended to rock and punk, with Lou Reed and John Zorn among his admirers. Swedish punk band Refused even named their album *The Shape of Punk to Come* as a tribute to Coleman’s 1959 landmark release.

Recognition and legacy

In 2007, Coleman received the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album “Sound Grammar”, cementing his status as one of jazz’s greatest innovators. This album was his first release of new material in over a decade, recorded live in Germany in 2005.

Throughout his career, Ornette Coleman challenged musical norms and created a vocabulary of his own, influencing a wide range of musicians across genres.