Changing jazz’s grammar

Alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman has received so many institutional honors in the last two decades -- including a MacArthur “genius” award and a Pulitzer Prize -- that it’s easy to forget that he arrived on the jazz scene as a radical musical revolutionary. His first New York City performances in 1959 posed the out-of-the-box notion that improvisation could be completely free of chords and bar lines. Far from resting on his accolades, Coleman, 77, continues to break new ground as an instrumentalist and a composer. This appearance will feature his quartet performing selections from his latest album, “Sound Grammar,” as well as the world premiere of new music.

Ornette Coleman, Royce Hall, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Ave., Westwood. 8 p.m. Wednesday. $28 to $60; $17 for UCLA students. (310) 825-2101.