Jazz » Fusion » Free Funk

Free Funk is a mixture of avant-garde jazz with funky rhythms. When Ornette Coleman formed Prime Time in the early '70s, he had a "double quartet" (comprised of two guitars, two electric bassists, and two drummers, plus his alto) performing with freedom tonally but over eccentric funk rhythms. Three of Coleman's sidemen (guitarist James "Blood" Ulmer, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson) have since led free funk groups of their own, and free funk has been a major influence on the music of the M-Base players, including altoists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby.