Originally Posted by mr dave

Ornette Coleman is not just one of the Free Jazz pioneers. He's the badass mofo who INVENTED it. In 1959 his first album with Atlantic Records was released - 'The Shape of Jazz to Come', modern punks familiar with The Refused are recognizing a familiar album name right now. That album marked one of (if not the) first time a musical artist was able to release a full album of an untested style to the mainstream. It proved that a record that eschewed traditional methods and relied primarily on emotion and passion over technique and control could still be a commercially viable product thereby satisfying both the bean counters at the label and the creativity of the artist.
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