Ornette Coleman, RIP



One of the titans of jazz is gone. Ornette's music was not for everyone, but he redefined what is possible in jazz just as surely as Charlie Parker did before him, and he is and will remain a towering influence. What a tremendous loss.
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I was a young teenager when Mr. Coleman made his "controversial" New York City debut playing his plastic alto sax. Lenny Bernstein raved about him, which helped quell some of the uproar.

I wasn't old enough to hit the Village club, but his music changed my life much for the better. I still have the vinyl "Change of the Century" recording I bought at that time and the riffs from "Ramblin'" and "Un Muy Bonita" resonate in my head to this day.

There are some fabulous videos of him on You Tube.

Another giant has passed on.