American saxophonist Ornette Coleman will curate this year’s Meltdown festival.

Taking up a role played recently by the likes of David Bowie, Nick Cave and Massive Attack, Coleman will bring his pioneering bleats to the London event this summer – playing one concert inspired by 1959’s The Shape Of Jazz To Come and another by ‘61’s This Is Our Music.

No other names have been announced for Meltdown ’09 yet, but Coleman's previous work with Lou Reed, Pat Metheny and Yoko Ono, as well as the reverence with which he's treated by Sonic Youth, Mike Patton and Spiritualized, may help predict those set to join him on the bill.

Or it may not, of course.

Meltdown 2009 takes place at the South Bank Centre from June 13th – 21st. Coleman hopes it “will leave us with a lot of love for all mankind. We will use this time to gather together and create things that we love and believe in."

For updates on when tickets might become available visit the South Bank Centre here.