Jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman passed away last week at age 85, and the intervening days have yielded some truly beautiful pieces on the Pulitzer Prize-winning musician. The New Yorker published a comprehensive article on Coleman’s career and revolutionary approach to improvisation, following his influence on jazz as it bled into literature, citing a reference to Coleman in Thomas Pynchon’s V; MOJO traced the artist’s innovation through some thoroughly memorable quotes given by Coleman’s peers (Thelonious Monk’s “that cat is nuts” being one); okayplayer. compiled tributes given by contemporary musicians, including Questlove and Vernon Reid; and Vulture put out an impassioned piece about his artistry followed by the trailer for Shirley Clarke’s 1985 film, Ornette: Made in America.
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