 At the age of thirteen, Coleman started studying piano with Jaki Byard.At the New England Conservatory of Music he studied with George Russell, Donald Martino and Malcolm Peyton.Coleman's collaborators over the years have included guitarist Elliott Sharp, trumpeter Dave Douglas, accordion player Guy Klucevsek, composer David Shea, former Captain Beefheart bandmember Gary Lucas, classical and klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, guitarist Marc Ribot, bassist Greg Cohen, drummer Joey Baron and saxophonist Roy Nathanson.