Free Jazz
by Ornette Coleman Double Quartet

Free Jazz by Ornette Coleman Double Quartet
Year: 1961
Release date: 1961-09-00
Overall rank: 2,241st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 197 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1961 (4th)
Award Top albums of the 1960s (186th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,241st)

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Ornette Coleman Double Quartet - Free Jazz Atlantic SD 1364 1st Press Vinyl LP
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The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet – Free Jazz 12" LP Vinyl Record - NEW
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Ornette Coleman Double Quartet - Free Jazz [Colored Vinyl] [Limited Edition]
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Ornette Coleman Double Quartet bestography

Free Jazz is ranked 2nd best out of 35 albums by Ornette Coleman on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Ornette Coleman is The Shape Of Jazz To Come which is ranked number 642 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,578.

Ornette Coleman Double Quartet album bestography « Higher ranked (642nd)
The Shape Of Jazz To Come
This album (2,241st)
Free Jazz
Lower ranked (2,241st) »
Free Jazz

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Free Jazz track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Free Jazz rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,241st | 1960s rank: 186th | 1961 rank: 4th
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 HaydenTop 75 Music Albums of 19619/754
2026 JoaoMoreiraTop 61 Music Albums of the 1960s36/61 -
2026 FischmanTop 100 Music Albums of 196176/1001
2026jdizzle123456Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s44/100 -
2026 DommeDamianFeb 26: 501-53616/36 -
2026Juneof44Top 50 Music Albums of 19614/505
2026stangetzawayTop 39 Music Albums of 196111/394
2026 TamthebamTop 90 Music Albums of 196133/903
2026 DommeDamianTop 62 Music Albums of the 1960s59/62 -
2026 Patman360Top 20 Music Albums of 196119/201
2026jdizzle123456Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time39/50 -
2026pjerskeTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s85/100 -
2026 DommeDamianTop 5 Music Albums of 19612/54
2026 baystateoftheartTop 21 Music Albums of 196111/213
2026PapaShiz86Top 10 Music Albums of 19617/102
2026Exist-en-cielTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s92/100 -
2026 arthurbittencourtTop 65 Music Albums of the 1960s51/65 -
2026Exist-en-cielTop 43 Music Albums of 19618/434
2026 JoaoMoreiraTop 6 Music Albums of 19612/64
2025 sssvnnnTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s17/100 -
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 183
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 464
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Free Jazz collection

Free Jazz ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 197 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 197 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 
12/14/2025 19:23 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,58570/100
 
80/100
 
11/26/2025 16:54 DommeDamian  Ratings distribution  7,33449/100
 
70/100
 
09/23/2025 10:15 Tamthebam  Ratings distribution  23,00169/100
 
70/100
 
06/09/2025 15:19 Invader666  Ratings distribution  2,62265/100
 
60/100
 
06/03/2025 13:53 colabunga  Ratings distribution  62080/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.5/100, a mean average of 75.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.9.

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Free Jazz comments

Showing all 4 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 11/16/2020 14:23 | #260898
Meu Deus, que viagem maravilhosa!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/18/2020 23:49 | #259410
82/100

Part 2 is just a bit better for me, but I abolutely love the entire record, through and through.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/29/2020 01:29 | #258835
This is a beautiful exercise in abstract playing based on jazz.
The drums and the long structure keep it all safe from being just a freak accident.
What makes this a good record, besides the capabilities of its players - is the interaction.
There's nobody here playing to himself. Everybody is reacting to everybody. Most modern free musicians don't realize this :)
There's also some proto-ASMR in here :D
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/27/2017 01:35 | #198793
Has some great parts, but some mediocre parts drag it down a bit. The bass and drum solos are too long and rambling, yet I would say Ornette's soloing stands out (minutes 10-19)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1961
1. My Favorite Things by John Coltrane
2. King Of The Delta Blues Singers by Robert Johnson
3. Sunday At The Village Vanguard by Bill Evans Trio
4. Free Jazz by Ornette Coleman Double Quartet
5. Africa/Brass by John Coltrane Quartet
6. Olé Coltrane by John Coltrane
7. The Blues And The Abstract Truth by Oliver Nelson
8. This Is Our Music by Ornette Coleman
9. The Genius Sings The Blues by Ray Charles
10. Showcase by Patsy Cline
11. Two Steps From The Blues by Bobby Bland
12. Eastern Sounds by Yusef Lateef
13. Djangology by Django Reinhardt
14. Someday My Prince Will Come by The Miles Davis Sextet
15. Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane by Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane
16. Lonely And Blue by Roy Orbison
17. Out Of The Cool by Gil Evans Orchestra
18. Time Further Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
19. Something For Everybody by Elvis Presley
20. At The Five Spot, Vol. 1 by Eric Dolphy