Philadelphia native Robert "Rashied Ali" Patterson (1935), who in 1966 replaced Elvin Jones in John Coltrane's group, was one of the drummers who liberated the percussive instrument from its time-keeping cliches and made true "free jazz" possible. Faithful to Coltrane's legacy, Ali recorded bold and colossal improvisations on New Directions in Modern Music (1971), for a quartet with alto saxophone, bass violin and piano, and Duo Exchange (1972), a duet with tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe, before forming a Quintet (1973) with the young guitarist James "Blood" Ulmer that indulged in Ali's 17-minute Address and Ulmer's 18-minute Theme for Captain Black. His feverish, polytonal drumming turning each jam into a cosmic journey.

Sidewalks In Motion (summer 2001) documents Rashied Ali's last Quintet with Frank Lowe (tenor sax), Jumaane Smith (trumpet), Andrew Bemkey (piano) and Joris Teepe (bass).

Rashied Ali died in 2009 at 76.