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Avant-garde jazz originated in the mid- to late 1950s among a group of improvisors who rejected the conventions of bebop and post bop in an effort to blur the division between the written and the spontaneous. Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor led the way, soon to be joined by John Coltrane.
- Experimental jazz
- Post-rock
- Mid-1950s United States
Jun 7, 2021 · Last updated: Jun 7, 2021 • 3 min read. Due to jazz's emphasis on progressive harmonic ideas, improvisation, and non-traditional structure, the musical avant-garde has often intersected with jazz music.
- Ornette Coleman (1930-2015) Regarded as one of the founders of free jazz, saxophonist Ornette Coleman possessed a unique improvisational voice. His quartet’s arrival in New York, with a much-discussed residency at the Five Spot, was hugely controversial, and the band’s sound was unlike any that had come before it.
- Eric Dolphy (1928-1964) A multi-instrumentalist, Dolphy is best known as an alto saxophonist, and for being one of the first musicians to play the bass clarinet in a jazz setting.
- John Coltrane (1926-1967) A musician who needs little introduction, Coltrane’s distinctive tenor saxophone sound was heard in a range of stylistic settings through the 1950s and ’60s, both as a bandleader and as a sideman.
- Alice Coltrane (1937-2007) Born Alice McLeod in Detroit, Michigan, she worked as a jazz pianist in various straight-ahead and swinging settings, including with Lucky Thompson, Kenny Clarke and the vibraphonist Terry Gibbs’ quartet.
Free jazz or Free Form in the early- to mid-1970s is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes.
- late 1950s, United States
In his late period, Coltrane showed an interest in the avant-garde jazz of Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler, and Sun Ra. He was especially influenced by the dissonance of Ayler's trio with bassist Gary Peacock , [65] who had worked with Paul Bley , and drummer Sunny Murray , whose playing was honed with Cecil Taylor as leader.
Mar 18, 2021 · The avant-garde (or “free jazz”) musicians who came to the forefront of jazz during the late 1950s and early 1960s mounted a revolutionary movement that challenged all the conventions of the idiom, aligning their innovations with the progressive social and political changes of the era.
Apr 30, 2024 · In Europe, free jazz also had a strong foothold – in the UK, saxophonist Evan Parker was a leading light of the domestic avant-garde scene, and in Germany, there were musicians the likes of ...
