"In the early 1960s, when rock was swallowing popular culture and jazz clubs were taking few chances on the “new thing” — as the developing avant-garde was then known — Mr. Dixon, who was known for the deep and almost liquid texture of his sound, fought to raise the profile of free improvisation and put more control into musicians’ hands. In 1964 he organized “The October Revolution in Jazz,” four days of music and discussions at the Cellar Cafe on West 91st Street in Manhattan, with a cast including the pianist-composers Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor, among others. It was the first free-jazz festival and the model for present-day musician-run events including the Vision Festival."
This is about the time I lose interest in jazz, though I have been trying to interest myself in contemporary artists. Still, I like this kind of principled avant-gardism even if I hate the music it produces. The best quote: “When I play,” he told the journalist Graham Lock in 2001, “whether you like it or not, I mean it.” For that alone, he'll make it into my series on jazz musicians.
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