Ornette Coleman, influential jazz musician, dies at 85

Ornette Coleman was born and raised in Texas but made his name in New York

Ornette Coleman, one of the most innovative musicians in modern jazz, has died at the age of 85 in New York.

A saxophonist born in Texas, Coleman began his career in the 1950s and later pioneered an unconventional style described as "free jazz".

His 1959 album The Shape of Jazz to Come is regarded by many as one of the most influential jazz records.

His publicist, Ken Weinstein, said the musician died on Thursday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Coleman, along with fellow saxophonist John Coltrane, was credited with breaking down the traditional structures of jazz and creating a more free-flowing form of expression.

Critics branded his idea of improvising without chord changes as chaotic but it eventually became mainstream in both jazz and rock.

His influence was recognised later in his life and he received both a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2007.