free jazz artists
17 published free jazz artists, led by John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and Captain Beefheart.
At a glance
17 published free jazz artists; 307 studio albums have verified cover art.
- Published artists0 tier 1 · 10 tier 2 · 7 tier 3
- 17
- Release groups
- 964
- Studio albums
- 327
- Albums with cover artverified Cover Art Archive
- 307
- Timeline events
- 383
- Average career spanfirst to last dated release
- 52.1 years
- Full biographies
- 10
- Biography words
- 44,828
When they started
Debut decade from each artist's earliest dated release. Most debuts fell in the 1970s (4 artists).
| Decade | Artists |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 1 |
| 1950s | 3 |
| 1960s | 2 |
| 1970s | 4 |
| 1980s | 3 |
| 1990s | 1 |
Where they come from
Countries with the most free jazz artists. United States leads with 11.
Often paired with
Genres that share artists with free jazz. The most shared is jazz, with 14 artists in both.
Covers from free jazz
307 studio albums have verified cover art. The 12 shown come from the most famous artists.
Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album
John Coltrane · 2018
Bach / Coltrane
John Coltrane · 2007
Bassoon XX
John Coltrane · 2002
Stellar Regions
John Coltrane · 1995
First Meditations (For Quartet)
John Coltrane · 1977
Interstellar Space
John Coltrane · 1974
Infinity
John Coltrane · 1972
Sun Ship
John Coltrane · 1971
Transition
John Coltrane · 1970
Cosmic Music
John Coltrane · 1968
Selflessness, Featuring My Favorite Things
John Coltrane · 1968
Expression
John Coltrane · 1967
Leaders
John Coltrane has the most release groups (289); Charles Mingus the longest career (80 years); John Coltrane the most awards (12).
Most prolific
| Artist | release groups |
|---|---|
| John Coltrane | 289 |
| Charles Mingus | 194 |
| Sun Ra | 116 |
| Eric Dolphy | 74 |
| Charlie Haden | 65 |
Longest careers
first to last dated release
| Artist | years |
|---|---|
| Charles Mingus | 80 |
| Sun Ra | 71 |
| Gil Evans | 64 |
| Eric Dolphy | 63 |
| John Coltrane | 61 |
Most decorated
| Artist | awards |
|---|---|
| John Coltrane | 12 |
| Charles Mingus | 12 |
| Gil Evans | 9 |
| Charlie Haden | 8 |
| Tomasz Stańko | 8 |
Most famous free jazz artists
John Coltrane
United States · Person · born 1926
jazz, post-bop, modal jazz, hard bop, free jazz
73 wikis
Charles Mingus
United States · Person · born 1922
gospel music, jazz, avant-garde jazz, post-bop, bebop, hard bop, free jazz, orchestral jazz
49 wikis
Captain Beefheart
United States · Person · born 1941
blues rock, psychedelic rock, experimental rock, progressive rock, art rock, alternative rock, proto-punk, spoken word, outsider music, free jazz
44 wikis
Sun Ra
United States · Person · born 1914
jazz, jazz fusion, swing, avant-garde jazz, experimental music, bebop, hard bop, free jazz, space music
42 wikis
Charlie Haden
United States · Person · born 1937
jazz, avant-garde jazz, free jazz
32 wikis
Neneh Cherry
Sweden · Person · born 1964
pop music, jazz, hip-hop, alternative hip-hop, trip hop, free jazz
36 wikis
Eric Dolphy
United States · Person · born 1928
jazz, avant-garde jazz, hard bop, free jazz
30 wikis
Gil Evans
Canada · Person · born 1912
jazz, jazz fusion, modal jazz, cool jazz, free jazz, third stream, modern creative
30 wikis
Wayne Kramer
United States · Person · born 1948
hard rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, Q3071, free jazz
16 wikis
Tomasz Stańko
Poland · Person · born 1942
jazz, free jazz
20 wikis
Timna Brauer
Austria · Person · born 1961
jazz, free jazz
17 wikis
Norman Connors
United States · Person · born 1947
jazz, free jazz
9 wikis
More free jazz artists
Showing 1–5 of 5 artists
Harry Tavitian
Romania · Person · born 1952
blues, jazz, avant-garde jazz, free jazz, ethno jazz
9 wikis · Tier 3
Makanda Ken McIntyre
United States · Person · born 1931
jazz, free jazz
8 wikis · Tier 2
Sharon Freeman
United States · Person
jazz, free jazz
7 wikis · Tier 2
Hotep Idris Galeta
South Africa · Person · born 1941
jazz, free jazz
5 wikis · Tier 3
Sonya Kitchell
United States · Person · born 1989
traditional folk music, free jazz
4 wikis · Tier 3