It was my adoration for extreme and technical genres -like mathcore- that lead me to explore Jazz. Improvisation, creativity and freedom from any form and norm are elements which I could commonly appreciate and adore in these genres. In other words had I not listened to bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan first, I do not think that I would have easily moved to the electric period of Miles Davis...
It was through an article in The Wire magazine (thankfully, in the era of Internet there is still printed press that is not redundant) that I "discovered" Eric Dolphy, being shocked about his tragic life story which ended a career that despite the fact that it lasted so shortly is over-productive!
Out to Lunch! is one of his many posthumous albums (albeit officially authorised) and I think it is the best one to start with. Considered as one of the finest releases in the history of the Blue Note label, it contains free jazz that flows so harmonically and smoothly that can be considered almost mainstream. If you are looking for examples about what distinguishes avant-garde from cacophony, you can find plenty in the five compositions of this album...
