Died On This Date (June 11, 2015) Ornette Coleman / Jazz Great
themusicsover Randolph Ornette Coleman
March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015
Ornette Coleman was one of the true greats of jazz. As a saxophonist, he pioneered what would become to be called “free jazz.” In fact, he is often credited with actually inventing it, or at least putting a name to it, after naming his 1960 album, Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation. Born in Forth Worth, TX., Coleman spent much of his early career traveling around the United States performing along regional jazz circuits. Along the way he began to incorporate country blues and R&B into his sound. In his slower pieces, his high timbre can come across as crying, which appealed to fans of the blues as well. In 1959, while living in New York, Coleman released The Shape of Things To Come, and a year later, Free Jazz. Both releases broke him through in a big way and laid the foundation for the avant-garde movement of the 1960s and beyond. In later years Coleman dabbled in rock, even performing with the Grateful Dead on occasion. In 2007, he became the first musician to win a Pulitzer Prize – for his album, Sound Grammar. He continued to perform and record up until the time of his death. Ornette Coleman was 85 when he died of cardiac arrest on June 11, 2015.
Thanks to Harold Lepidus of the Bob Dylan Examiner for the assist.
What You Should Own
Nick Marsh is best remembered as the co-founder and lead singer of ’80s goth/alternative rock band, Flesh For Lulu. Formed in London in 1982, the band quickly signed to Polyder who unceremoniously dropped them after lackluster sales of the self-titled debut. After a couple more miss-starts, the band signed with Beggars Banquet who was able to place their new single, “I Go Crazy,” into the popular John Hughes film, Some Kind Of Wonderful film; the result, decent rotation on American college radio and their first tour of the United States. The momentum continued with Capitol Records soon releasing Long Live The New Flesh, which included “I Go Crazy,” as well as their second college (and MTV) hit, “Postcards From Paradise.” In 1989, they scored their biggest hit single with “Time And Space,” after which Capitol dropped them for reasons unknown. The band soon split up. During the mid ’90s, Marsh resurfaced fronting a new band called Gigantic, which failed to repeat the success of Flesh For Lulu, so they disbanded a couple of years later. In 2013, Marsh reformed Flesh For Lulu who toured clubs to the cheers of longtime fans. On June 5, 2015, Nick Marsh, 53, died of an aggressive form of throat cancer.
