i think a lot of times jazz musicians are not really playing for other musicians, it just seems that way because they have reached such an incredible level of technical mastery. some of them become so skilled that they start to really experiment with music theory, and i think maybe that is not as approachable to the average listener.
But some of them
realize that it is not not very approachable and either use the new music theory accordingly, to bring them in regardless, in a way not done before, or..... they do not realize ( or care ) about this.
well i am a huge fan of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. they are pretty different stylisticly. Coleman and Coltrane were only a couple of years difference in age, and actually Coleman's first avant garde experimentation with jazz was a few years before Coltrane was starting to experiment. Coleman is definitely not a parody of Coltrane, in fact a lot of people point to Ornette Coleman as being one of the first innovators in free jazz and avant garde jazz.
Apparently this guy who I was reading on the subject ( assuming I even remember his words correctly ) was wrong. Thank you for correcting me on that.
It doesn't change my opinion about how "catchy" such music is, however. The video you provided of Ornette is indeed more accessible than the one you provided of Coltrane, but I didn't enjoy either one very much. Still, this may be a deficit in me, rather than the music, as I indicated in the post re: Stravinsky.
There was a guy named Don Cherry in Ornette's band IIRC, and it was fun to see him contribute to a loose rock tune by Lou Reed. It's a song more oriented to the vocals/lyrics, admittedly, with just a repetitive music structure, but the horn does seem expressive nevertheless.
YouTube - Lou Reed - All Through the Night
Sometimes musicians will come up with ways to make "advanced music theory" accessible anyway. Unusual time signatures are one basic aspect of innovation in music ( if not "music theory" ) and a song like "Take Five" by Brubeck made one such signature variation catchy, nevertheless.
YouTube - The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five (1961)
I can enjoy "out there" Jazz at times. Cecil Taylor is considered pretty far out even by free jazz standards, and I can enjoy him in varying doses ( sometimes small ones, I admit, depending on my mood ) at times. Why Cecil and not Coltrane's "Ascension" ? I'm not sure. Maybe the horn is a more raucous instrument than a piano ( played via keyboard ) or due to some other factor.
YouTube - Cecil Taylor
I'm not sure how one would categorize the music of Keith Jarrett, but it certainly goes well beyond the level of so-called "smooth jazz". Another great player I must be in the right mood for.
YouTube - Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert (Part 1) January 24, 1975