Role

:

Composer  

Country

:

United States of America

Birth

:

March 9, 1930 in Fort Worth, TX

Death

:

June 11, 2015 in New York City, NY

Genre

:

Chamber

 

 

Orchestral

 

Ornette Coleman was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential musicians of the 20th century. Born on March 9, 1930, in Fort Worth, Texas, Coleman grew up in a musical family and began playing the saxophone at the age of 14. He was largely self-taught and developed a unique style that was characterized by its free-form improvisation and disregard for traditional harmonic structures. Coleman's early career was marked by a series of struggles and setbacks. He played in various local bands in Texas before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1940s. There, he struggled to find work and was often forced to play in small clubs and bars. In the early 1950s, he formed a group called the "Ornette Coleman Quartet" with drummer Billy Higgins, bassist Don Cherry, and pianist Paul Bley. The group's music was highly experimental and often controversial, and they struggled to find an audience. In 1959, Coleman released his breakthrough album, "The Shape of Jazz to Come," which is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential jazz albums of all time. The album featured Coleman's quartet playing a series of highly improvisational and experimental compositions that broke with traditional jazz conventions. The album was a critical success and helped to establish Coleman as a major figure in the jazz world. Over the next several years, Coleman continued to push the boundaries of jazz with a series of groundbreaking albums, including "Change of the Century" (1960), "This Is Our Music" (1961), and "Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation" (1961). These albums featured Coleman's quartet and other musicians playing highly improvisational and experimental music that was often characterized by its lack of traditional harmonic structures and its use of unconventional instruments. In the mid-1960s, Coleman began to explore other musical genres, including rock and funk. He formed a new group called "Prime Time" that featured a large ensemble of musicians playing highly rhythmic and funky music that was heavily influenced by African and Middle Eastern music. The group's music was highly experimental and often controversial, but it helped to establish Coleman as a major figure in the world of avant-garde music. Throughout his career, Coleman received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to music. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1994 and was inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame in 2006. He continued to perform and record music until his death on June 11, 2015, at the age of 85. Ornette Coleman's music was highly influential and helped to shape the course of jazz and other musical genres. His innovative approach to improvisation and his disregard for traditional harmonic structures paved the way for countless other musicians to explore new and unconventional approaches to music. His legacy continues to inspire and influence musicians around the world.

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