At a ceremony at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park S. last month, Ornette Coleman, 76, right, was awarded the club’s Gold Medal of Honor for Jazz. Coleman came to prominence in the late 1950s with his forays into “free jazz” at the legendary Five Spot at 5 Cooper Square at E. Fourth St. Robert Tierney, Landmarks Preservation Commission chairperson, left, presented Coleman with a congratulatory letter from the mayor. Tierney later said, “I love jazz and go to the [Village] Vanguard at least once every two weeks.” Coleman and his quartet played a one-hour concert of new music composed for the event.
