Most histories will tell you that Free Jazz began in the late 1950s at New York City's Five Spot club. Ornette Coleman's ripping up of the rule book divided people into two bipolar opposite camps. Lenny Bernstein thought he was a genius but some jazz critics saw him as a fraud. However, there is also the occasional historical mention of pianist Lennie Tristano's forays into chord progression-less collective improvisation in the late 1940s. Harvey Pekar was a comic book writer who, with Robert Crumb, drove the growth of the underground comic book scene in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also a notorious US talk show guest. Before the notoriety he was a jazz writer, publishing in US and UK jazz journals. In 1963 he wrote an article in the Jazz Journal (November issue) describing Tristano's short forays in 'free jazz', then discussed more contemporary musicians including Coleman and Dolphy. Experimental Collective Improvisation / Harvey Pekar In the late 1940’s Lenni...
Jamo Spingal