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Ornette Coleman

New Music Friday: The top 5 albums out on March 25

Humble Quest, from Nashville singer Maren Morris, tops our shortlist this week of the best albums out on March 25. Harper Smith/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Harper Smith/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

New Music Friday: The top 5 albums out on March 25

Our picks for the best albums out this week include new ones from Nashville singer Maren Morris, the Jamaican rapper and singer Koffee, London's Afro-funk group Ibibio Sound Machine, Barrie and more.

New Music Friday: The top 5 albums out on March 25

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Fresh Air Remembers Jazz Innovator Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman performs at the Skopje Jazz Festival in 2006. Robert Atanasovski/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Robert Atanasovski/AFP/Getty Images

Music Interviews

Fresh Air Remembers Jazz Innovator Ornette Coleman

Fresh Air

Coleman died Thursday, at the age of 85. Listen back to a 1987 conversation with the saxophonist and composer, as well as interviews with members of his quartet, Don Cherry and Charlie Haden.

Fresh Air Remembers Jazz Innovator Ornette Coleman

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Ornette Coleman, Jazz Iconoclast, Dies At 85

Ornette Coleman performs during the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2010. Peter Van Breukelen/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Van Breukelen/Redferns/Getty Images

A Blog Supreme

Ornette Coleman, Jazz Iconoclast, Dies At 85

The American jazz saxophonist and composer who liberated jazz from conventional harmony, tonality, structure and expectation, died Thursday of cardiac arrest in Manhattan at age 85.

Ornette Coleman, Jazz Iconoclast, Dies At 85

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Evolution Of A Song: 'I Got Rhythm'

Judy Garland (right) sang "I Got Rhythm" in the 1943 movie version of the 1930s musical Girl Crazy. Courtesy of MGM hide caption

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Courtesy of MGM

A Blog Supreme

Evolution Of A Song: 'I Got Rhythm'

WBGO

When George Gershwin wrote "I Got Rhythm" for the 1930s musical Girl Crazy, he created one of the most catchy melodies in American history. But little did he know that his lovable song — apart from becoming a hugely popular jazz standard — would evolve into something far greater.

Charlie Haden: From 'Ramblin" To 'Ramblin' Boy'

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Rafa Rivas/Getty Images

Take Five: A Jazz Sampler

Charlie Haden: From 'Ramblin" To 'Ramblin' Boy'

Jazz24

Some people are said to "follow a path" in their creative life, but a path is not enough for bassist Charlie Haden. For more than 50 years, he's been building his own musical freeway. To follow him down that freeway is one of the richest experiences in American music. It's Haden's birthday this week, so here's a chance to celebrate with five of his best songs.

Music Interviews

Ornette Coleman on Sound Innovations

As the master of free jazz, Ornette Coleman's career spans more than five decades. Over that time, he has created a musical world of his own. He talks to Farai Chideya about his unique perspective on the beauty of sound.

Ornette Coleman on Sound Innovations

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New Music

Ornette Coleman's Challenging Sound

This week's staff song pick comes from News & Notes producer Roy Hurst. His choice is Ornette Coleman's "Only Once," a piece Hurst describes as an emotional and challenging composition.

Ornette Coleman's Challenging Sound

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Review

Music Reviews

Ornette Coleman: The Samuel Beckett of Jazz

Musician David Was says the Texas tenor sax player Ornette Coleman is sort of the Samuel Beckett of jazz — misunderstood, maligned and, after almost five decades since his debut, still making news. A new Coleman CD collection has been released called To Whom Who Keeps a Record.

Ornette Coleman: The Samuel Beckett of Jazz

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Music Interviews

Ornette Coleman: Decades of Jazz on the Edge

It's not easy living on the avant-garde edge of any art, let alone the always-changing world of jazz. But for nearly 50 years, the sound of Ornette Coleman has proven to be one of the most unorthodox — and most influential — in modern jazz.

Ornette Coleman: Decades of Jazz on the Edge

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Review

Music Reviews

Metheny and Coleman: 20 Years of 'Song X'

Fresh Air

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews Song X: Twentieth Anniversary, a reissue and remix of a 1985 collaboration between guitarist Pat Metheny and saxophonist Ornette Coleman.

Metheny and Coleman: 20 Years of 'Song X'

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Music Interviews

S.F. Jazz Collective to Feature Ornette Coleman's Work

NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with composer and saxophonist Joshua Redman, artistic director of the San Francisco Jazz Collective. Redman has chosen to highlight the work of "free jazz" pioneer Ornette Coleman for the Collective's inaugural season. He's recruited highly respected musicians for the venture: Bobby Hutcherson, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenon, Josh Roseman, Renee Rosnes, Robert Hurst and Brian Blade are all tapped to participate.

S.F. Jazz Collective to Feature Ornette Coleman's Work

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Ornette Coleman: 'Change of the Century'

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Review

Basic Jazz Record Library

Ornette Coleman: 'Change of the Century'

Saxophonist Ornette Coleman burst on the jazz scene in the 1950s with a new kind of music called "free jazz," which he called "harmodolics." He and his band broke away from traditional melodic conventions, creating controversy and revolutionizing the jazz art form. This album catches him and his group at its peak.

Ornette Coleman: 'Change of the Century'

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