Free Jazz & Avant-Garde
Free jazz is an experimental subgenre of jazz that emerged in the late 1950s, employing irregular tempos, atonal chords and fast, abrasive improvisation. The term 'Free Jazz' was coined by Ornette Coleman for his 1961 album of the same name. The style developed from musicians who felt themselves limited by the conventions of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz. As the 1960s progressed free jazz morphed into the more politicised 'Fire Music' of John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler. The term is often used interchangeably with 'avant-garde jazz' and 'free improvisation', the latter being the preferred term by European musicians.
Browse: Free Jazz & Avant-Garde
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Further Reading: Free Jazz & Avant-Garde
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Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings - Mary Halvorson & Ambrose Akinmusire
12th Jun 2026
Two of the most pioneering improvisers of avant-garde jazz unite for the first time, releasing an album that builds on their shared approach to experimental improvisation.
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Judith Berkson - Thee They Thy
10th Apr 2026
Experimental, free and yet refined, the vocalist puts her own spin on the jazz trio and embraces the world of the avant-garde.
Popular Artists & Groups: Free Jazz & Avant-Garde
- Akinmusire, Ambrose
- Ali, Rashied
- Binker and Moses
- Bley, Carla
- Braxton, Anthony
- Carter, Ron
- Cherry, Don
- Cleaver, Gérald
- Cline, Nels
- Coleman, Ornette
- Coltrane, John
- Davis, Richard
- Dolphy, Eric
- Garrison, Jimmy
- Guy, Barry
- Haslam, George
- Hemingway, Gerry
- Ibrahim, Abdullah
- Koglmann, Franz
- Léandre, Joëlle
- Lee, Peggy
- Lytton, Paul
- Maneri, Mat
- Parker, Evan
- Ra, Sun
- Rava, Enrico
- Riley, Howard
- Shepp, Archie
- Shipp, Matthew
- Swallow, Steve
- Takase, Aki
- Waldron, Mal
Recent Best Sellers: Free Jazz & Avant-Garde
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New. Paramount Quartet
Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone, tarogato), Julian Lage (guitar), Asante Santi Debriano (double bass), Will Calhoun (drum)
CD: $19.00Download from $6.75 -
New. Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings
Ambrose Akinmusire & Mary Halvorson
CD: $15.00Download from $10.00 -
Out To Lunch
Eric Dolphy
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Jazzwise, 100 Albums That Shook the World
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Penguin Guide to Jazz, Crowned
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Presto Music, Classic Jazz Recording
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The New Yorker, Top 100 Jazz Albums
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Jazz 100, Top 100 Jazz Albums, Top 100 (Pre-1980)
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1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Jazz Recommendation
CD: $12.00Download from $8.25 -
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ERR Guitar (with Mary Halvorson & Marc Ribot)
Elliott Sharp (guitar)
CD: $18.50Download from $10.00
New Releases: Free Jazz & Avant-Garde
View all new releases-
New. East Two + 7
Sun Ra & His Arkestra
CD: $17.50 -
New. Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings
Ambrose Akinmusire & Mary Halvorson
CD: $15.00Download from $10.00 -
New. Paramount Quartet
Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone, tarogato), Julian Lage (guitar), Asante Santi Debriano (double bass), Will Calhoun (drum)
CD: $19.00Download from $6.75 -
New. Paramount Quartet
Joe Lovano (saxophone), Julian Lage, Asante Santi Debriano, Will Calhoun
Vinyl Record: $31.75
Future Releases: Free Jazz & Avant-Garde
View all future releases-
New. Paramount Quartet
Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone, tarogato), Julian Lage (guitar), Asante Santi Debriano (double bass), Will Calhoun (drum)
CD: $19.00Download from $6.75 -
New. Paramount Quartet
Joe Lovano (saxophone), Julian Lage, Asante Santi Debriano, Will Calhoun
Vinyl Record: $31.75 -
New. Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings
Ambrose Akinmusire & Mary Halvorson
CD: $15.00Download from $10.00 -
New. East Two + 7
Sun Ra & His Arkestra
CD: $17.50
