The fearless free-funk and jazz artist, a student of Ornette Coleman's Harmolodics concept, followed his unorthodox path to a singular five-decade career.

The fearless free-funk and jazz artist, a student of Ornette Coleman's Harmolodics concept, followed his unorthodox path to a singular five-decade career.

Musician who spliced jazz, funk and blues, including in a spell on a major label in the early 1980s, was celebrated as ‘fearless’ by his family