Hearing The Pulitzers

Author: hearingthepulitzers

Hearing the Pulitzers: A piece-by-piece, episode-by-episode exploration of the winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Music with hosts Andrew Granade and David Thurmaier.
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Language: en

Genres: Music, Music Commentary, Music History

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Episode 65 - 2007: Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar
Episode 80
Friday, 13 February, 2026

In this episode, Dave and Andrew listen to the first work without a written score to ever win a Pulitzer, Ornette Coleman's album Sound Grammar. What will they think about this new direction for the prize? And it wouldn't be Hearing the Pulitzers without discussing some drama from the judges! We also discuss a special certificate granted to a deserving late jazz musician. If you'd like more information about Ornette Coleman, we recommend: Stephen Rush's book Free Jazz, Harmolodics, and Ornette Coleman (Routledge, 2016) Michael Stephan's book Experiencing Ornette Coleman: A Listener's Companion (Rowman and Littlefield, 2017) Nathan Frink's dissertation "Dancing in His Head: The Evolution of Ornette Coleman's Music and Compositional Philosophy" (University of Pittsburgh, 2016)