tonality can vary in its presentation from minor to complete dissonance.
Yes -- this is indisputable.
And you are correct -- Eric Dolphy does not engage in "chaos". Nevertheless, I find I do not enjoy his playing, at this point. When Jazz soloing is mostly consonant -- that is to say, when most pitches are targeted straight on-- I can enjoy touches of dissonance. I have plenty of Post-Bop recordings of sax players employing over-blowing and other extended techniques but Dolphy tends to not hit many pitches straight on -- his sound is quite "wobbly" in terms of intonation, overall, and this I do not enjoy.
I don’t know what qualifies as the earliest Free Jazz recording. Coleman’s Free Jazz isn’t a favorite but I do enjoy his "classic" quartet albums.
Are you familiar with Sam Rivers’ "Contours" ? I love Freddie Hubbard’s playing on that but Rivers is just too outside for my tastes. To use the analogy of a coloring book, Hubbard’s playing goes back and forth between staying "within the lines" and crossing over them -- he weaves back and forth and makes a point of maintaining a connection with consonance while Rivers, to my ear, is not nearly as concerned about this connection. Consistent with your assertion that I highlighted, It’s a matter of degree, not an either/or polarity.