Ornette Coleman was born in Fort Worth, Texas on March 9, 1930. His father died when he was seven and his mother worked as a seamstress. When he was 14 he got his first saxophone and taught himself how to play. Before long he was playing in local R & B shows. When he was 19 he got a gig with a traveling minstrel show. After that, he toured with Pee Wee Crauton’s band cross country to Los Angeles. It’s rumored that by the time they reached Los Angeles, Crauton was paying him not to play solos.

Coleman liked to explore every aspect of self-expression through music. He was constantly trying to push boundaries. That’s what drew him to bebop in the 1950’s. Like many jazz musicians of the time, he liked to attend jam sessions. The problem was that whenever he showed up to play at jam sessions, musicians walked off stage.

Coleman kept pressing forward though and found his home in the free jazz moment, playing with people like Don Cherry.

Here is a 1987 performance.