Ornette Coleman, Pulitzer prize-winning saxophonist and leader of the free jazz movement, died this morning of cardiac arrest following an extended illness.

Coleman had already attained legendary status much earlier in his life for his numerous groundbreaking works that typically challenged not only the status quo of jazz, but also the listener’s concept of what constitutes music. Beginning in 1959 with his third album as a bandleader, The Shape of Jazz to Come, Coleman began pushing and breaking the existing boundaries that defined jazz harmony and technique. A year and three albums later, he coined the term “free jazz” with his album of the same name, which featured two complete jazz quartets, recorded in stereo with each group isolated to one of the two channels, playing simultaneously for nearly 40 minutes straight. Coleman continued to explore more avant-garde approaches to jazz throughout his career and release other landmark albums, including Song X, his 1985 collaboration with Pat Metheny, and Sound Grammar, his final album as a bandleader which won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2007, the same year he was received a Grammy for lifetime achievement.

Of particular note to Jambands.com readers is Coleman’s relationship with the Grateful Dead. Coleman featured Jerry Garcia on his 1988 album Virgin Beauty, and has both opened for and sat in with the Dead on a number of occasions.