By the late ‘fifties, jazz had broken its bounds. Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Mingus and rewritten an art form. Ornette Coleman wrote it again. bIn essence, he threw out convention, and played. The last century gave us three new art forms: jazz, cinema and pop. Ornette Coleman was one of the jazz greats.
All were popular in their origins. But all produced great art. Cinema gave us everything from Fred and Ginger to Citizen Kane and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. Pop gave us Cole Porter, Gershwin, Elvis thorough to Dylan and beyond. By the 1950s jazz had become high art.
One of its greatest monuments was The Shape of Jazz to Come. Even now, it is still radical, sophisticated, emotional and earthy.
RGS History 