The late fifties and early sixties were a time of drastic change for jazz. Progressive players like Miles Davis and Ornette Colmanan continued to push the boundaries of what was known and accepted in music. It was during this time of musical expansion that many players felt they were able to fully spread there wings. This was certainly the case for a very stand out west coast born multi-instrumentalist. Large register jumps, flurries of un-metered notes and impressionistic sounds were all in this player’s immediate arsenal. In addition to his more eccentric playing qualities, he had a strong fluency in the language of Charlie Parker. The essence of Parker’s melodic lines was always a strong presence in his improvisations. While he may have died before his time his influences live on. A wide variety of musicians including Frank Zappa have sited this man as an influential figure and have even dedicated compositions to him.

Who was this multi instrumentalist and what were the instruments he is most known for playing? As a bonus what was dedicated composition to this man written by Frank Zappa?