Comprised originally of Henry Threadgill on reeds, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer Steve McCall, Air emphasized equality of roles by the instruments (without any clear-cut leader) and a smooth mixture of advanced arrangements and free improvisations. In 1971, Threadgill was asked to arrange some of Scott Joplin's songs for a production at... [+] Read More

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One of the giants of free jazz, Albert Ayler was also one of the most controversial. His huge tone and wide vibrato were difficult to ignore, and his 1966 group sounded like a runaway New Orleans brass band from 1910.

Unlike John Coltrane or Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler was not a virtuoso who had come up through the bebop ranks. His... [+] Read More

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Don Pullen developed a surprisingly accessible way of performing avant-garde jazz. Although he could be quite free harmonically, with dense, dissonant chords, Pullen also utilized catchy rhythms, so even his freest flights generally had a handle for listeners to hang on to. The combination of freedom and rhythm gave him his own unique musical... [+] Read More

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Dutch pianist Leo Cuypers played drums as a child before switching over to piano, and while he attended a conservatory in his hometown of Maastracht for a few years, he was largely self-taught. During the 1970s, he played in the bands of such fellow Dutchmen as pianist Misha Mengelberg and saxophonist Theo Loevendie, but his best-known... [+] Read More

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One of the finest modern jazz pianists, Marilyn Crispell first emerged as an exciting, adventurous soloist and composer on the free scene in the early '80s. She was a member of the Anthony Braxton Quartet during the '80s and '90s, and also led a number of her own dates (mostly for Leo and Music & Arts) during this period. Although not as widely... [+] Read More

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Michael Gayle, jazz pianist and composer, recently returning to the scene after a three year hiatus. Gayle sounds better than ever.

Carrying on the jazz tradition, Gayle's music is technically demanding and forward moving. His sound encompasses the harmonic exploration of Thelonius Monk, the fluidity of Bud Powell, and the energy of... [+] Read More

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Paul Bley has long offered avant-garde pianists an alternative approach to improvising than that of Cecil Taylor. Bley has been able to use melody and space in inventive ways while performing fairly free improvisations. He started on piano at age eight, studied at Juilliard during 1950-1952, and in 1953 played with Charlie Parker on a Canadian... [+] Read More

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Third stream pianist and music educator Ran Blake has recorded a number of unique, often solo, jazz albums since the early '60s that showcase his dramatic contrasts of silence and "outbursts" and fresh reinventions of older standards. He has also made his mark on music by influencing music students for many decades at Boston's New England... [+] Read More

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Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. In addition, Ra documented his music in very erratic fashion on his... [+] Read More

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Yamashita studied piano as a child and has played professionally since the age of 17. He attended Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo from 1962-1967 and played for a time with saxophonist Sadao Watanabe. Yamashita formed a bassless trio in 1969; his Bill Evans-influenced style expanded to include free jazz, a rather radical step given the... [+] Read More

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