Alto saxophonist Steve Coleman (September 20, 1956, Chicago) listened from an early age to the two most famous Parkers on saxophone: Charlie and Maceo. In his own game he developed a mix of both, combined with more free elements of the surname Ornette. He played in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band for a long time before starting his own band in the early eighties, which was soon given the name Five
… Elements. Together with like-minded young New York musicians such as Greg Osby, Graham Haynes, Geri Allen, Gary Thomas and Cassandra Wilson, he set up the M-Base collective, which stands for Macro Basic Array of Structured Extemporizations. M-Base's music is characterized by an abstract and almost inscrutable kind of fusion, composed of angular funk rhythms, dry harmonies and melodies constructed with mathematical precision. Coleman, in particular, has remained largely faithful to this concept in the many versions of his Five Elements. In addition, his dry yet warm alto saxophone sound can be heard regularly in combination with Dave Holland's double bass.more