Enchanting Improvisation: Landmark Works and Popular Albums of Free Jazz

Lonely WomanOrnette Coleman

Ornette Coleman – Lonely Woman

Also known in Japan by the title “Jazz: The Shape That Is to Come,” The Shape of Jazz to Come is a landmark work often credited with forming the blueprint for free jazz.

Released in 1959 by jazz saxophonist and free-jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, the album contains no covers of standards; every track is an original composition by Coleman.

With cornetist Don Cherry, drummer Billy Higgins, and bassist Charlie Haden, the quartet—fronted by two horns—created a sound completely different from the piano-centered jazz that came before.

By deliberately departing from fixed chord progressions and conventional song forms, it forged a sound in which the uncanny friction of dissonance coexists with beautiful melody—an origin point of truly free, avant-garde jazz that defines the album’s lasting greatness.

That said, to modern ears it isn’t especially impenetrable; it can be enjoyed as a classic jazz album that also showcases Coleman’s gifts as a composer.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem

StepsCecil Taylor

Cecil Taylor – Steps

Hailing from Queens, New York, Cecil Taylor is a pianist who carved his name in jazz as an avant‑garde trailblazer.

Known as a pioneer of free jazz, Taylor had been playing piano since childhood and studied classical music at a music college—an academic musical grounding that’s important to keep in mind.

At the same time, he was engaged with contemporary music, and his 1966 release Unit Structures is considered a key work in the free jazz movement of the ’60s.

Put out by the prestigious Blue Note label, the album stitches together several themes using techniques reminiscent of contemporary music, like a collage; each performer’s individuality sparks against the others, and the thrilling developments make for a sound that’s compelling even apart from the concept of free jazz.

Listening to Taylor’s storm-like, percussive piano style makes it clear that the piano is both a stringed instrument and a percussion instrument.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem

Ascension 1/4John Coltrane

John Coltrane – Ascension 1/4

In the history of modern jazz, the saxophonist who can truly be called a giant is John Coltrane.

Although he began working as a professional at a young age, Coltrane struggled to gain recognition for some time.

After earning high acclaim with his 1957 leader album Blue Train, however, he went on to leave many monumental achievements as a great jazz musician.

Within his relatively brief, roughly decade-long period at the forefront, his engagement with free jazz came in his later years, from 1965 onward.

The album I’m introducing today, Ascension, is a pivotal work regarded as Coltrane’s first full-fledged step into free jazz.

Released in 1965, it features large-ensemble improvisation: in addition to the usual quartet, two trumpeters, four saxophonists, and a bassist join forces to create a unified onslaught—an experience that feels less like “listening to sound” and more like being “immersed in sound.” Even amid the chaos, the unwavering, clearly defined core of the music is something only top-tier players—unmoved by mere atmosphere—could achieve.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem

O.C.Charlie Haden

O.C.

Born in Iowa, USA, in 1937, Charlie Haden was a musician who transcended the boundaries of free jazz to etch his name in music history as a great bassist.

From avant-garde styles to fusion, Haden remained at the forefront of the jazz scene for many years across a wide range of fields.

In his early twenties, he joined Ornette Coleman’s quartet, and he is renowned as one of the pioneers in the history of free jazz.

The album introduced here, Closeness, is a leader album by Haden released in 1976.

All four tracks are Haden’s original compositions, and each features a duo performance with a jazz giant—Keith Jarrett, Ornette Coleman, Alice Coltrane, and Paul Motian—making for a lavish lineup.

The viscous bass tone and richly varied phrases, which seem to converse with each partner’s individuality, are truly thrilling and incredibly cool.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem

KureiYamashita Yosuke Torio

Clay

Free jazz in Japan was by no means a mere imitation of the West; rather, it was born from musicians whose astonishing individuality and prowess are a source of national pride.

Rather than being an import, Japan already had jazz musicians in the 1960s who were creating their own distinctive sounds, with simultaneous movements erupting in parallel with what was happening elsewhere.

One work that shows us just how remarkable Japanese free jazz was at the time is the Yosuke Yamashita Trio’s masterpiece live album Clay.

Recorded at a jazz festival in Germany in 1974, this album vacuum-seals the historical moment when a new form of jazz—crafted by three Japanese musicians, pianist Yosuke Yamashita, saxophonist Akira Sakata, and drummer Takeo Moriyama—made its mark on Europe’s jazz aficionados.

Despite its avant-garde nature, the raw, almost violent power that steamrolls over any pedantic theorizing remains nothing short of shocking even today.

It’s no wonder that, when the performance ended, it was met with thunderous applause and rapturous cheers from the discerning audience.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem

Machine GunPeter Brötzmann

Machine Gun

Machine Gun, released in 1968 by Peter Brötzmann, the German free-jazz saxophonist who is also renowned as a clarinetist, is truly a landmark masterpiece that has etched its name in history as an early representative work of the European free jazz scene.

Originally, Brötzmann studied painting and graphic design at an art school, but after meeting fellow musicians, he largely taught himself to play clarinet and saxophone and began pursuing a path as a musician.

While Brötzmann has since become a towering figure in the free jazz world, he has also been highly active in the visual arts, with a career substantial enough to warrant art exhibitions.

As mentioned at the outset, Machine Gun—left to us by the young Brötzmann, brimming with overflowing passion for the arts—is a celebrated free jazz classic in Europe and a powerful octet recording.

In particular, the exhilarating back-and-forth on the title track, which evokes the image of machine-gun fire, is sure to blow you away from the very first moments.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem

Ghosts: First VariationAlbert Ayler

Ghosts, First Variation (Live)

The year 2020 also marked the 50th anniversary since the untimely death in 1970 of Albert Ayler, the legendary free-jazz saxophonist, who passed away at the young age of 34.

In January 2021, a book titled “AA: Albert Ayler Fifty Years Later” was published, and even more than half a century on, this genius—who continues to exert a profound influence across various fields—was born in 1936 in Ohio, USA.

Although Ayler, who had been active as a musician from an early age, was not readily accepted for his style, the album Spiritual Unity, released in 1964 and discussed here, earned him recognition, and he began to be known as a successor to free jazz pioneered by figures like Ornette Coleman.

A true turning point in Ayler’s career, this work, performed by an unconventional trio of tenor saxophone, bass, and drums, became a masterpiece etched in history as a sacred text of free jazz.

The overwhelming musical experience—where emotion, grounded not in logic but in spirituality, manifests directly as tone and shakes the listener’s soul—is something I would urge even those not particularly interested in free jazz to experience at least once.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

KOH-1

Report a problem