Ornette Coleman

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ornette-coleman

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Ornette Coleman born?March 9, 1930
2. Where was Ornette Coleman born?Fort Worth, Texas
3. What is the primary instrument?Alto saxophone
4. What is the genre pioneered?Free jazz
5. Who was Ornette Coleman?Ornette Coleman was a jazz saxophonist and composer from Texas who invented a new style of music called free jazz.
6. What is free jazz?Free jazz is a type of music where musicians play without fixed chords or rhythms, letting each person improvise freely.

Avant-garde: New and experimental ideas and methods in art, music, or literature.
Tonality: The organization of musical elements around a central key or tonic note.
Chord Changes: A sequence of chords in a piece of music, often forming the harmonic structure.
Ensemble Playing: The act of musicians playing together as a group, listening and responding to each other.