New York Is Now! The New Wave of Free Jazz

Publisher: Telegraph Company (September 2001)
New York Is Now!: The New Wave of Free Jazz
Susan O'Connor (Photographer)

For nearly 20 years, a group of musicians has been making music in the tradition of pioneers such as Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, and John Coltrane, but which is uniquely their own. This introduction to and analysis of the current state of free jazz music in New York City profiles these performers and the larger community around them that has been all but frozen out by the critical, “safe” jazz establishment. Included are discussions of the major musicians in the scene, including Matthew Shipp, David S. Ware, and William Parker; the independent record labels that release free jazz music; the rock magazines that have covered them when jazz magazines have not; and the atmosphere of familiarity and collective effort that permeates the free jazz scene.