Contrary to an uncommon yet amusing misconception, the term ‘free jazz’ is not to be taken literally. Perhaps someone should have told the massive crowd who turned up to an Ornette Coleman concert in 1969 with empty pockets. Something makes me think that they might regret their frugality, as Coleman was to become regarded as one of the most highly influential innovators and involuntary revolutionaries in the history of jazz music, and may have been worth a few spare pennies and a handful of lint.
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