27th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival presents Ornette Coleman

Fifty years after he exploded on the New York jazz scene, free jazz revolutionary Ornette Coleman has lost none of his power as a transformational figure, though his roots in gutbucket Texas blues and bebop are more apparent than ever. The alto sax iconoclast (who also plays trumpet and violin) couples one of the most searingly beautiful sounds in jazz with a singing melodic sensibility expressed in long, careening lines. Always looking for the freshest form of expression, Coleman often arrives at concert halls with a sheaf of new compositions that exemplify the freedom and discipline required by his famously knotty harmolodic concept. In 2007, the much-lauded Coleman added a Grammy® Award for Lifetime Achievement to a shelf of accolades that includes a Pulitzer Prize (for his astounding 2006 live album Sound Grammar), a MacArthur Genius Award and induction into the NEA Jazz Masters. SFJAZZ continues a deep, enduring tradition of presenting Coleman, who is joined on this date by his remarkable quartet, featuring two bassists and his son Denardo on drums.