Washington - US jazz drummer Rashied Ali, who performed with John Coltrane and helped develop free-form, avant-garde jazz drumming, died Wednesday in New York at age 74.

Ali, born Robert Patterson in Philadelphia, began drumming in the US army and became famous drumming for Coltrane in the 1960s, music magazine NME reported on their website.

Ali ran a jazz club in New York called Ali's Alley in the 1970s, and continued recording until his death, most recently with the Rashied Ali Quintet.

Ali died of a blocked artery, the New York Times reported.(dpa)