Jazz artist Ornette Coleman dies at 85

By Nekesa Mumbi Moody The Associated Press

Posted June 11, 2015 12:46 pm

1 min read

If you get Global News from Instagram or Facebook - that will be changing. Find out how you can still connect with us.

This article is more than 11 years old and some information may not be up to date.

Ornette Coleman, pictured in 2006. Robert Atanasovski / AFP/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Jazz legend Ornette Coleman, the visionary saxophonist who pioneered “free jazz” and won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007, has died.

Publicist Ken Weinstein says Coleman died on Thursday at 1 a.m. in Manhattan. He was 85.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The Texas-born Coleman was only the second jazz artist to win the Pulitzer in music when he was honoured for his 2006 album Sound Grammar.

His quartet shook up the jazz establishment when it burst on the scene in 1959 with the album The Shape of Jazz to Come, which liberated musicians to freely improvise off the melody. He became one of the world’s most respected musicians, his contributions to jazz sometimes compared to those of Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker.