Free Jazz

Free jazz, sometimes described as Avant-garde Jazz, is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 60s as musicians attempted to alter, extend, or break down jazz convention, often by discarding fixed chord changes or tempos. Free jazz is strongly associated with the 1950s innovations of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor and the later works of John Coltrane. Other important pioneers include Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Joe Maneri and Sun Ra.