Ornette Coleman: 1930-2015, Jazz Pioneer Passes at 85

Alto Saxophonist, composer and overall innovator in the world of jazz, Ornette Coleman, passed away Thursday at the age of 85. According to a family representative, the cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Coleman altered the parameters of jazz through the course of his career. With much of his early development going largely undocumented, Coleman seemed to burst onto the scene in 1959 equipped with a musical identity and loyal following. He attended the Lenox School of Jazz in 1959 and had an extended stay at the Five Spot in New York. Although originally inspired by Charlie Parker, it was evident to listeners and musicians that Colemans sound, which included a tone that purposefully wavered in pitch and emotional solos, was radical and variant of jazzs previous traditions.

Inspiring controversy and gaining renown, Coleman became one of the major trailblazers of the free jazz movement of the 1960s. During 1959-1961, beginning with The Shape of Jazz to Come, Coleman recorded a series of classic and startling quartet albums for Atlantic, including jazzs first extended, continuous free improvisation LP, Free Jazz. Having added the trumpet and violin to his instrumental repertory, Coleman then formed the free funk double quartet Prime Time, which featured dense, witty ensembles. He would later refer to his music as harmolodics, implying the equal significance of harmony, melody, and rhythm.

The jazz giant continued to record and widen the musical options for a jazz musician. With interests expanding beyond the boundaries of the genre, Coleman became known as a sort of music-philosopher and general avant-gardist. Although not easily understood, he could be heard offering perplexing insights regarding harmony or ontology or seen at a party in the heart of New York City in a satin suit. Early songs, such as Una Muy Bonita and Lonely Woman, as well as his records The Shape of Jazz to Come, Change of the Century and This Is Our Music have come to be recognized as some of the greatest contributions to jazz and its history.

Source: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/06/ornette-coleman-1930-2015-jazz-pioneer-passes-at-8.html