Editing Free jazz (section)

== History ==
Although free jazz is widely considered to begin in the late 1950s, there are compositions that precede this era that have notable connections to the free jazz aesthetic. Some of the works of [[Lennie Tristano]] in the late 1940s, particularly "[[Intuition (free improvisation)|Intuition]]", "Digression", and "Descent into the Maelstrom" exhibit the use of techniques associated with free jazz, such as [[atonal]] collective improvisation and lack of discrete chord changes. Other notable examples of proto-free jazz include ''City of Glass'' written in 1948 by [[Bob Graettinger]] for the [[Stan Kenton]] band and [[Jimmy Giuffre]]'s 1953 "Fugue". It can be argued, however, that these works are more representative of [[third stream]] jazz with its references to [[contemporary classical music]] techniques such as [[serialism]].<ref name="Gioia" />
[[File:Ornette Coleman 3.JPG|thumb|Coleman in 2009]]
Keith Johnson of [[AllMusic]] describes a "Modern Creative" genre, in which "musicians may incorporate free playing into structured modes—or play just about anything."<ref name="Johnson">{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Keith |title=Modern Creative Music Genre Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/modern-creative-ma0000011987 |website=AllMusic |access-date=18 December 2018 }}</ref> He includes [[John Zorn]], [[Henry Kaiser (musician)|Henry Kaiser]], [[Eugene Chadbourne]], [[Tim Berne]], [[Bill Frisell]], [[Steve Lacy (saxophonist)|Steve Lacy]], Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and [[Ray Anderson (musician)|Ray Anderson]] in this genre, which continues "the tradition of the '50s to '60s free-jazz mode".<ref name="Johnson" />

[[Ornette Coleman]] rejected pre-written chord changes, believing that freely improvised melodic lines should serve as the basis for harmonic progression. His first notable recordings for [[Contemporary Records|Contemporary]] included ''[[Tomorrow Is the Question!]]'' and ''[[Something Else!!!!]]'' in 1958.<ref name="Anderson">{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Ian |title=This is Our Music: Free Jazz, the Sixties, and American Culture |date=2007 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |location=Philadelphia |page=62}}</ref>  These albums do not follow typical 32-bar form and often employ abrupt changes in tempo and mood.<ref name="Shipton">{{cite book |last1=Shipton |first1=Alyn |title=A New History of Jazz |url=https://archive.org/details/newhistoryofjazz00ship |url-access=registration |date=2001 |publisher=Continuum |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/newhistoryofjazz00ship/page/780 780]}}</ref>

The free jazz movement received its biggest impetus when Coleman moved from the west coast to New York City and was signed to [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]. Albums such as ''[[The Shape of Jazz to Come]]'' and ''[[Change of the Century]]'' marked a radical step beyond his more conventional early work. On these albums, he strayed from the tonal basis that formed the lines of his earlier albums and began truly examining the possibilities of atonal improvisation. The most important recording to the free jazz movement from Coleman during this era, however, came with ''[[Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation|Free Jazz]]'', recorded in A&R Studios in New York in 1960. It marked an abrupt departure from the highly structured compositions of his past. Recorded with a double quartet separated into left and right channels, ''Free Jazz'' brought a more aggressive, cacophonous texture to Coleman's work, and the record's title would provide the name for the nascent free jazz movement.<ref name="Gioia" />{{rp|314}}

Pianist [[Cecil Taylor]] was also exploring the possibilities of avant-garde free jazz. A classically trained pianist, Taylor's main influences included [[Thelonious Monk]] and [[Horace Silver]], who prove key to Taylor's later unconventional uses of the piano.<ref name="Shipton" />{{rp|792}} ''Jazz Advance'', his album released in 1956 for Transition showed ties to traditional jazz, albeit with an expanded harmonic vocabulary. But the harmonic freedom of these early releases would lead to his transition into free jazz during the early 1960s. Key to this transformation was the introduction of saxophonist [[Jimmy Lyons]] and drummer [[Sunny Murray]] in 1962 because they encouraged more progressive musical language, such as tone clusters and abstracted rhythmic figures. 
On ''Unit Structures'' (Blue Note, 1966)<ref name="Allen">{{cite web |last= Allen |first= Jim |title=Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians |url=http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedia/taylor-cecil |work=Taylor, Cecil |publisher=Jazz.com |access-date=2014-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701141201/http://www.jazz.com/encyclopedia/taylor-cecil |archive-date=2014-07-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Taylor marked his transition to free jazz, as his compositions were composed almost without notated scores, devoid of conventional jazz meter, and harmonic progression. This direction influenced by drummer Andrew Cyrille, who provided rhythmic dynamism outside the conventions of bebop and swing<ref name="Gioia" />{{rp|319–320}} Taylor also began exploring classical avant-garde, as in his use of prepared pianos developed by composer John Cage.<ref name="Shipton" />{{rp|794}}

[[Albert Ayler]] was one of the essential composers and performers during the beginning period of free jazz. He began his career as a bebop tenor saxophonist in Scandinavia, and had already begun pushing the boundaries of tonal jazz and blues to their harmonic limits. He soon began collaborating with notable free jazz musicians, including Cecil Taylor in 1962. He pushed the jazz idiom to its absolute limits, and many of his compositions bear little resemblance to jazz of the past. Ayler's musical language focused on the possibilities of [[microtonal]] improvisation and extended saxophone technique, creating squawks and honks with his instrument to achieve [[multiphonic]] effects. Yet amidst Ayler's progressive techniques, he shows an attachment for simple, rounded melodies reminiscent of [[folk music]], which he explores via his more avant-garde style.<ref name="Shipton" />{{rp|795–796}}

One of Ayler's key free jazz recordings is ''[[Spiritual Unity]]'', including his often recorded and most famous composition, ''Ghosts'', in which a simple spiritual-like melody is gradually shifted and distorted through Ayler's unique improvisatory interpretation. Ultimately, Ayler serves as an important example of many ways which free jazz could be interpreted, as he often strays into more tonal areas and melodies while exploring the timbral and textural possibilities within his melodies. In this way, his free jazz is built upon both a progressive attitude towards melody and timbre as well as a desire to examine and recontextualize the music of the past.<ref name="Kernfeld">{{cite book |last1=Kernfeld |first1=Barry |editor1-last=Kernfeld |editor1-first=Barry |title=The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz |date=2002 |publisher=Grove's Dictionaries |location=New York |isbn=1-56159-284-6 |pages=96–97 |volume=1 |edition=2nd }}</ref>
[[File:Archie shepp Warszawa 2.jpg|thumb|Archie Shepp]]
In a 1963 interview with ''Jazz'' Magazine, Coltrane said he felt indebted to Coleman.<ref name="Quersin">{{cite book |last1=Quersin |first1=Benoit |editor1-last=Woideck |editor1-first=Carl |title=The John Coltrane companion : five decades of commentary |date=1998 |publisher=Schirmer Books |isbn=978-0028647906 |page=[https://archive.org/details/johncoltranecomp0000unse/page/123 123] |chapter=La Passe Dangereuse (1963) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/johncoltranecomp0000unse/page/123 }}</ref> While Coltrane's desire to explore the limits of solo improvisation and the possibilities of innovative form and structure was evident in records like ''[[A Love Supreme]]'', his work owed more to the tradition of [[modal jazz]] and [[post-bop]]. But with the recording of ''[[Ascension (John Coltrane album)|Ascension]]'' in 1965, Coltrane demonstrated his appreciation for the new wave of free jazz innovators.<ref name="Anderson" />{{rp|114}} On ''Ascension'' Coltrane augmented his quartet with six horn players, including Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders.<ref name="Gioia" />{{rp|322}} The composition includes free-form solo improvisation interspersed with sections of collective improvisation reminiscent of Coleman's ''Free Jazz''. The piece sees Coltrane exploring the timbral possibilities of his instrument, using over-blowing to achieve [[multiphonic]] tones. Coltrane continued to explore the avant-garde in his following compositions, including such albums as [[Om (John Coltrane album)|''Om'']], ''[[Kulu Se Mama]]'', and [[Meditations (John Coltrane album)|''Meditations'']], as well as collaborating with [[John Tchicai]].<ref name="Gioia" />{{rp|322}} <ref name="Shipton" />{{rp|797}}

Much of [[Sun Ra]]'s music could be classified as free jazz, especially his work from the 1960s, although Sun Ra said repeatedly that his music was written and boasted that what he wrote sounded more free than what "the freedom boys" played.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to the 21st Century |last1=Berendt |first1=Joachim-Ernst |last2=Huesmann |first2=Günther |publisher=Lawrence Hill Books, Chicago Review Press |year=2009 |page=28 }}</ref> ''The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra'' (1965) was steeped in what could be referred to as a new black mysticism.<ref name="Southern" /> But Sun Ra's penchant for nonconformity aside, he was along with Coleman and Taylor an integral voice to the formation of new jazz styles during the 1960s. As evidenced by his compositions on the 1956 record ''[[Sounds of Joy]]'', Sun Ra's early work employed a typical bop style. But he soon foreshadowed the free jazz movements with compositions like "A Call for All Demons" off of the 1955–57 record ''[[Angels and Demons at Play]]'', which combines atonal improvisation with Latin-inspired mambo percussion. His period of fully realized free jazz experimentation began in 1965, with the release of ''[[The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra]]'' and ''[[The Magic City (Sun Ra album)|The Magic City]].'' These records placed a musical emphasis on [[timbre]] and texture over meter and harmony, employing a wide variety of [[electronic instrument]]s and innovative [[percussion instrument]]s, including the electric [[Celesta|celeste]], [[Hammond B-3]], bass [[marimba]], harp, and [[timpani]]. As result, Sun Ra proved to be one of the first jazz musicians to explore electronic instrumentation, as well as displaying an interest in timbral possibilities through his use of progressive and unconventional instrumentation in his compositions.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kernfield |first=Barry |title=Sun Ra |url=http://0-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.dewey2.library.denison.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/J434800 |work=Grove Music Online |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=21 April 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Sun Ra (1973 publicity photo - Impulse ABC Dunhill).jpg|thumb|Sun Ra in 1973]]
The title track of Charles Mingus' ''[[Pithecanthropus Erectus (album)|Pithecanthropus Erectus]]'' contained one improvised section in a style unrelated to the piece's melody or chord structure. His contributions were primarily in his efforts to bring back collective improvisation in a music scene that had become dominated by solo improvisation as a result of big bands.<ref name="Southern" />

Outside of New York, a number of significant free jazz scenes appeared in the 1960s. They often gave birth to collectives. In Chicago, numerous artists were affiliated with the [[Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians]], founded in 1965.<ref name="LewisPower">{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=George E. |title=A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music |date=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226476964}}</ref> In St. Louis, the multidisciplinary [[Black Artists Group]] was active between 1968 and 1972.<ref name="Looker">{{cite book |last1=Looker |first1=Benjamin |title=Point from which creation begins: The Black Artists' Group of St. Louis |date=2004 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9781883982515}}</ref> Pianist [[Horace Tapscott]] founded the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and [[Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="Isoardi">{{cite book |last1=Isoardi |first1=Steve |title=The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles |date=2006 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520932241}}</ref> Although they did not organize as formally, a notable number of free jazz musicians were also active in Albert Ayler's hometown of Cleveland. They included [[Charles Tyler (musician)|Charles Tyler]], [[Norman Howard]], and the [[Black Unity Trio]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/interviews/the-black-unity-trio-cleveland-ohio-1968-1969-interviews-hasan-shahid-pierre-crepon |title=The Blistering Cosmic Music of The Black Unity Trio |last=Crépon |first=Pierre |date=March 2020 |website=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]] |language=English}}</ref>

By the 1970s, the setting for avant-garde jazz was shifting to New York City. Arrivals included [[Arthur Blythe]], [[James Newton]], and [[Mark Dresser]], beginning the period of New York [[loft jazz]]. As the name may imply, musicians during this time would perform in private homes and other unconventional spaces. The status of free jazz became more complex, as many musicians sought to bring in  different genres into their works. Free jazz no longer necessarily indicated the rejection of tonal melody, overarching harmonic structure, or metrical divide, as laid out by Coleman, Coltrane, and Taylor. Instead, the free jazz that developed in the 1960s became one of many influences, including pop music and world music.<ref name="DeVeaux">{{cite book |last1=DeVeaux |first1=Scott |title=Jazz |url=https://archive.org/details/jazz00deve |url-access=limited |date=2009 |publisher=W.W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-97880-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/jazz00deve/page/n452 431]–432}}</ref>

[[Paul Tanner]], Maurice Gerow, and David Megill have suggested,
<blockquote>the freer aspects of jazz, at least, have reduced the freedom acquired in the sixties. Most successful recording artists today construct their works in this way: beginning with a strain with which listeners can relate, following with an entirely free portion, and then returning to the recognizable strain. The pattern may occur several times in a long selection, giving listeners pivotal points to cling to. At this time, listeners accept this – they can recognize the selection while also appreciating the freedom of the player in other portions. Players, meanwhile, are tending toward retaining a key center for the seemingly free parts. It is as if the musician has learned that entire freedom is not an answer to expression, that the player needs boundaries, bases, from which to explore.<ref name=tanner>{{cite book|last=Tanner|first=Paul O. W.|author2=Maurice Gerow|author3=David W. Megill|title=Jazz|orig-year=1964|edition=6th|year=1988|publisher=William C. Brown, College Division|location=Dubuque, IA|isbn=0-697-03663-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/jazz00tann/page/129 129]|chapter=Free Form — Avant Garde|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/jazz00tann/page/129}}</ref></blockquote>
Tanner, Gerow and Megill name [[Miles Davis]], Cecil Taylor, [[John Klemmer]], [[Keith Jarrett]], [[Chick Corea]], Pharoah Sanders, [[McCoy Tyner]], [[Alice Coltrane]], [[Wayne Shorter]], [[Anthony Braxton]], Don Cherry, and Sun Ra as musicians who have employed this approach.<ref name=tanner />