You could mistake what Dolphy does as free but he is very disciplined.
He never really goes 'out' but drives a riff to it's 45 logical conclusions. Easy to burn out listening to that but once you catch on you can follow him anywhere.
Pot probably helps a lot.
Only my opinion but I take 'free' to mean that you've left the melody, rhythm, everything behind and have gone off on your own with no attachment. Why 'free' is interesting to anyone but the person playing it is way beyond me. They aren't even 'talking' to me ...
What I like is sounds. ~ Dizzy Gillespie
