The Ziad Jazz Quartet breaks free from convention and gets loose November 2 during Jazz at the Bechtler with Existentialism of Jazz, a set featuring music by pioneers of the free Jazz movement. 

The musical styles of Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy will be featured. Song selections include Invisible from Coleman’s 1958 album Something Else!!!!, Tunji from Coltrane’s 1962 album Coltrane, and Serene from Dolphy’s 1960 album Out There.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, jazz musicians began to abandon song structure and technique to experiment with free-form sounds. Although first dismissed by listeners, the loosely defined free jazz movement has now proven to be very influential on today’s jazz.

Saxophonist and trumpeter Ornette Coleman burst onto the New York jazz scene in the late 1950s and with his debut album Something Else!!!, introduced a new musical concept. Although generally referred to as free jazz, Coleman called his concept “harmolodics.” From 1959 through the rest of the ‘60s, Coleman released more than 15 albums on the Atlantic and Blue Note labels. He wrote string quartets, woodwind quintets and symphonies based on his concept.

Avant-garde musician Eric Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s, playing alto saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. Out There is Dolphy’s second album as a band leader while he was still playing with Charlie Mingus.

TICKETS

Jazz at the Bechtler is performed from 6 to 8 p.m. in the museum lobby. Tickets are free for members and $12 for non-members. Tickets may be purchased online, by phone 704.353.9200 or at the visitor services desk. A cash bar is provided during the concert.

More Info

Visit the Jazz at the Bechtler page for the dates and themes of upcoming concerts.