In the 1990s, he joined the faculty of the New England Music Conservatory.
Beginning in the 1960s, he moved further away from bebop and into the realm of free jazz. He employed electronic sounds, working with the then-new Moog synthesizer.
He played and recorded with Charles Mingus, Art Blakey, Ornette Coleman, Lester Young, Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Charlie Haden, Pat Matheny, Bill Frisell, and others.