Jose Reyes of the online listening station Jazz Con Class has posted a Q&A with me about “free jazz” and “the avant-garde” — which he proposes as two distinct subgenres of jazz, tied to the 1960s. 
John Coltrane meets Don Cherry in "The Avant-Garde"
New things — innovations — thinking outside the box — breaks from conventions and the continuum of progress (evolution) — these issues are regards jazz, among other art forms, has long fascinated me. It’s the topic of my book Miles Ornette Cecil – Jazz Beyond Jazz and the inspiration of this blog. So I spin out more of my pov about these matters in response to Jose’s questions, and I hope you’ll enjoy them while listening to the playlists he’s set up — but comment on the Q&A discussion below, or on my Facebook post of this blog posting.
Jazz improvisation is a state of mind that can be cultivated. Just what level of sophistication a student reaches is determined by the amount of salient material studied. Miaim is to create a level playing field where anybody who desires so, can reach their full potential as an innovator in improvisation