About
The term "M-Base" is a term coined in the 1980s by American musician Steve Coleman to describe a new theory about creative expression. "M-Base-concept" is short for "macro-basic array of structured extemporization", and critics have used this term to categorize this scene's music as a style of jazz. But Coleman stressed "M-Base" doesn't denote a musical style but a way of thinking about creating music. However, Coleman has expressed discomfort with the term “jazz” to describe his music and also says M-Base was intended to be more expansive than describing music alone.
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M-Base was associated with a loose collective of young African American musicians and other performers active in and around Brooklyn, New York.
The M-Base collective included Coleman, Graham Haynes, Cassandra Wilson, Geri Allen, Robin Eubanks, and Greg Osby.
However, the musicians of the M-Base movement, which also included dancers and poets, strived for common creative musical languages, so their early recordings show many similarities reflecting their common ideas, the experiences of working together, and their similar cultural background. To label this kind of music, jazz critics have established the word "M-Base" as a jazz style for lack of a better term, distorting its original meaning.
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- MusicBrainz
- a28bea3d-dff4-4392-9ade-3bac6c906fd3
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 6 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.