John Coltrane (September 23, 1926 — July 17, 1967) was an American post-bop/jazz saxophonist and composer who released more than fifty studio and live albums between 1957 and his death in 1967 at age 40. Coltrane first recorded under his own name in 1957 after apprenticeships with Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Hodges, and Miles Davis. That […]
Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 — June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer. He was a chief proponent of avant-garde free jazz, as heralded on his popular 1959 Atlantic release The Shape of Jazz to Come. On this and the 1960/61 albums Change of the Century and This Is Our […]
Sadao Watanabe — 渡辺貞夫 (born Feb. 1, 1933) — is a Japanese saxophonist and flutist who emerged as a bandleader in the early 1960s, releasing his first album in 1961 on King Records. During the 1970s, he released more than 25 albums in solo and collaborative form on CBS, East Wind, and other labels. Background […]
Ronald Shannon Jackson (Jan. 12, 1940 — Oct. 19, 2013) was an American jazz-funk drummer on the New York avant-garde scene. He emerged as a free-jazz sideman for Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and James Blood Ulmer. As a bandleader, Jackson led the No Wave-inspired Decoding Society on the 1980–83 albums Eye on You, […]
Sonny Sharrock (Aug. 27, 1940 — May 25, 1994) was an American avant-jazz guitarist, active for twenty-five years on the New York free-jazz scene. He started in the late-1960s beside saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, flutist Herbie Mann, and reedist Byard Lancaster. He cut Black Woman in 1969 with his wife Linda Sharrock, followed with Monkey-Pockie-Boo and […]
Don Cherry (November 18, 1936 — October 19, 1995) was an American avant-garde jazz trumpeter. He emerged in 1958 as a sideman for Ornette Coleman on the trumpeter’s early Contemporary/Atlantic run. During the 1960s, Cherry moved through frontline roles with Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, George Russell, and the New York Contemporary Five, often […]
Centipede was an English avant-garde jazz big-band led by pianist Keith Tippett for the 1971 RCA/Neon double-album Septober Energy, comprised of a title-sake improvisation split across four sides. It was produced by Robert Fripp shortly after Tippet’s involvement with the 1970 King Crimson albums In the Wake of Poseidon and Lizard. The 50+ ensemble featured […]
Steve Reid (Jan. 29, 1944 — April 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader who made the 1976 albums Rhythmatism and Nova. Background Steve Reid was born on Jan. 29, 1944, in the South Bronx, New York City. His father played piano and organ and had performed with Chick Webb before marriage. Reid’s […]
Quincicasm was an English avant-garde jazz combo that made a self-titled album in 1973 on Saydisc. Keyboardist Julian Marshall later surfaced in the jazz-pop duos Marshall Hain and Eye to Eye. Members: Dick Pearce (flugelhorn), Malcolm Bennett (bass, flute), Julian Marshall (keyboards, vibraphone), Ken Eley (saxophone), Michael Ormerod (drums, percussion), Nigel Smith (drums, percussion) Background […]
David Friesen (born May 6, 1942) is an American jazz bassist from Washington State who made nine albums between 1976 and 1981 in solo and collaborative form. In the late 1980s, he cut two collaborative discs with electronic musician Steven Halpern. Background David Douglas Friesen was born May 6, 1942, in Tacoma, Washington, and grew […]
Frank Lowe (June 24, 1943 — Sept. 19, 2003) was an American free-jazz saxophonist and composer from Memphis who cut the 1973 album Black Beings on ESP Disk, followed by titles on assorted labels through 1985 in solo and collaborative form. Background Frank Lowe was born June 24, 1943, in Memphis, Tennessee. As a child, […]
Amalgam was an English free-jazz ensemble that released ten albums between 1969 and 1979 on seven labels. Alto saxophonist Trevor Watts formed the group in 1967 after leaving the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, with drummer John Stevens and bassists Barry Guy and Jeff Clyne among the principal early associates. After the acoustic Prayer for Peace and […]
