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
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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.
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