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free jazz

American  

noun

  1. spontaneously experimental, free-form jazz, popularized as an avant-garde phenomenon in the 1960s by various soloists and characterized by random expression and disregard for traditional structures, tonalities, and rhythms.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It’s a great piece of noise music, but it’s free jazz, and it’s not even following the structures of what you know to be proper jazz behavior.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2025

But its reliance on stark emotion wasn’t far from the free jazz being made at the time by Archie Shepp or Albert Ayler—or from Lennon’s own primal scream, “Mother,” which certainly shows Ms. Ono’s influence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

Where “I Think You Should Leave” operates like a jukebox, “The Chair Company” is a concept album extrapolating a single sight gag into a swirl of lunacy on par with an extended free jazz performance.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025

Guitarist-songwriter Chris Forsyth spent his 20s immersed in New York’s experimental scene, delving into improvised music, avant rock and free jazz on the Lower East Side and studying guitar with Television co-founder Richard Lloyd.

From Washington Post • Apr. 12, 2023

I like listening to free jazz, experimental music, industrial music.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

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