Jazz legend Ornette Coleman dies at 85
Ornette Coleman, the jazz saxophonist, violinist, composer and icon known for his unorthodox style, died Thursday of cardiac arrest. He was 85. An integral part of the experimental free jazz movement of the 1960s, Coleman coined the term when he titled one of his albums Free Jazz.
Coleman was known for breaking the conventions of traditional harmony and melody, a process he called "sound grammar" or "harmelodics."
"It's the scientific form of sound based upon the human emotion of expression," Coleman said. "That's basically what it is and what it does." Watch Coleman demonstrate his chaotic and iconic style below. Samantha Rollins
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
Hilarious comedians to see on tour this winterThe Week Recommends Get some laughs from Nate Bargatze, Josh Johnson and more
-
A January deadline could bring the pain all over againToday’s Big Question A January deadline could bring the pain all over again
-
Political cartoons for December 23Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include an eye on CBS, cracking the middle class, and Donald Trump's name on everything
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
