So why Coleman? Lots of reasons. Coleman is one of the founders of the “free jazz” genre (he prefers the term “Harmolodics”). He is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for music. Jazz at Lincoln Center has given Coleman his due props, and he’s got a Lifetime Achievement Grammy. Compared to more mainstream, conservative...
I’ve seen jazz pianist Michael Garrick referred to as the “British Ellington,” but the fluid, graceful, and exploratory way he played those keys at a recent London gig reminded me more of Bill Evans, mixed with the playfulness of Thelonious Monk. At one point he reached inside the opened piano and played by plucking...