Don Cherry Music

this is not a review, I just wanted to correct something, Pinza is not the most comtemporary since he died in 1950, Mark Reizen died in 1992, and sang gremin in eugene onegin in 1985 (his 90th birthday!)

As a developing singer and lover of bass arias, I have enjoyed this great collection of historic bass recordings. It is a fantastic opportunity to hear some of the greatest opera basses of the 20th century in some rare and hard to find recordings. Since many of these recordings are from the early part of that century (I think the most contempory of the basses is Ezio Pinza who died, I beleive in the 1950s), the sound qulaity may be lacking at times for our modern tastes. The performaces, howver, are well worth it. There are some real gems on this cd and a must for any affecianato of the operatic bass repretoire.

As with the female vocalists volume in this 1996 two volume set from Varese Vintage, the contents are mixed when it comes to helping you remember the '50s. In fact, it's not as good.

First of all, why include Dick Haymes? His heyday was in the 1930s and 1940s, first as a band singer with the Harry James, Benny Goodman, and Tommy Dorsey orchestras, and then as a solo artist from 1943 to the very early part of the 1950s. Two of the five Dick Haymes selections included here [tracks 1 and 2] are from 1949, and two are 1950 duets, one with Ethel Merman [track 4] and one with Eileen Wilson [track 5]. Only Count Every Star is a solo 1950s selection, reaching # 10 in 1950. A much better choice, in keeping with the theme of 1950s male vocalists, would have been Nick Noble whose Mercury hits from that decade are just not to be found.

In any event, they do a much better job with both Alan Dale [once with the Carmen Cavallaro band] and Johnny Desmond [who earlier had sung with the Bob Crosby and Gene Krupa bands, as well as the Glenn Miller Military orchestra].

These are, like Noble, two more male vocalists from that period whose solo hits are very hard to find in CD format. Indeed, with the exception of (The Gang That Sang) Heart Of My Heart - a 1951 collaboration with Don Cornell and Johnny Desmond which would have been a better choice than track 6 which did not chart - both of Dale's big mid-1950s hits are here, as another reviewer points out. Where Desmond is concerned, in addition to his effort with Alan Dale and Buddy Greco at track 9, we get three of his biggest solo hits.

On the Don Cherry tracks they do a reasonable job with this former singer with the Jan Garber band in the 1940s, although they could have omitted track 13, which was not memorable in any respect, and instead included either of Wild Cherry or Ghost Town [# 29 and 22 respectively in 1956].

As with the female volume you get an insert containing one full page on each of the main artists involved, written by Robert W. Rice in 1996, and a complete discography of the contents on the reverse. Like the other volume, the sound quality is excellent.

At last someone has seen fit to release on CD some recordings by the great ALAN DALE. Now that the mambo is staging a comeback, it's especially timely that this disc includes Dale's classic vocal of that dance's most famous number, "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White". You'll also find the song that launched the mambo's successor, the Cha Cha Cha --- Dale's record of "Sweet and Gentle". Most welcome, howcver, is an example of why Alan Dale was in the forefront of the post-Sinatra generation of singers, the dramatic ballad, "I'm Sorry." The three other singers featured here are well served by the chosen selections --- but they've been available on CD before. It's the presence of Alan Dale that makes this one special. Give it a listen, you'll be glad you did.

Leonard Warren was a baritone noted mostly for the power of his dark baritone voice, but he could also sing quite sensitively as this collection proves. Unfortunately, he does NOT sing sensitively in the heavy-handed, old-fashioned readings of Handel, Bach, "Aamarilli" or "O del mio amato ben," but his performances of tracks 3, 7, 9, 10, 13, 17-22 and 24 are superb. Especially interesting is his baritone version of the tenor specialty "Mattinata," which he turns into an intimate love ballad...I have never heard the like, and it is surprisingly effective. In the arias, of course, Warren is in his element; the "Faust" is sung much like Alexandru Agache in the Rizzi recording, and "Nemico della patria" is a predictable tour-de-force. William Sektberg's pianism is competent and perfunctory, nothing more. American-based singers of this era (among them Steber, Merrill and Bjorling) didn't exactly use the best pianists most of the time; the singing was the focus of things. Recommended, then, with a few reservations.

This hard to find recording documents a live performance at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in 1971, but the co-crediting is somewhat misleading. While the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra (named for Cherry's magnificent album from a few years prior, Eternal Rhythm) appears throughout, the first two pieces are by Cherry, the last by Penderecki. The two "principals" don't actually come into contact with each other. The orchestra is truly an all-star cast of the cream of European improvisers, each and every one having gone on to significant achievements. Cherry's "Humus - The Life Exploring Force" is a suite not too dissimilar to those he performed on both Eternal Rhythm and the ensuing Relativity Suite (including an early version of "Desireless"), ranging from raga-inspired lines to bluesy refrains, to jaunty modal riffs. If the performance is a little on the ragged side and if vocalist Loes Macgillycutty proves somewhat overbearing, it more than makes up for it in enthusiasm and joy. This is followed by a brief encore in which Cherry gets the audience to sing along on a complex (for Westerners) Indian scale; it's quite enchanting before exploding into a short, orchestral free-for-all. Penderecki's "Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra" is another kettle of fish entirely. The composer had often used jazz elements in his previous works, though always sublimated to his overall classical (if avant-garde) direction. Here, he makes a good attempt to meet this "foreign" genre halfway, allowing the orchestra much latitude for improvisation while supplying dark and brooding borders to keep things corralled. The problem is, that's basically all there is to the piece: alternating written parts (fine in and of themselves) and free improv (also energetically performed) with little to conceptually bind them. It's not a bad performance by any means, and is of some degree of historical import if only to document a relatively rare meeting of the jazz and classical avant-garde, but it doesn't quite hold together as a solid work. Fans of Cherry, though, will definitely want to own this disc as a significant addition to his stellar work of the late '60s and early '70s.

if by some unlikely chance you happen to stumble upon this review, take it as a sign and get this record. basically the deal is don cherry was a jazz cat who did free jazz thingamajigs with ornette coleman and then he discovered world music and has created his own beautiful, simple and wholesome sound by merging the two genres. he blows his fun-size trumpet and teaches the audience to sing over randomly organized slews of pre-prepared little ditties so he'll like start up something and then the rest of the ensemble will join in with their parts. it's just so warm and fuzzy. buy it and then play it on a really sunny day in between eating some vegan burgers and meating your mistress. ..oh yeah... and the second side is got some penderecky on it or something.

This hard to find recording documents a live performance at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in 1971, but the co-crediting is somewhat misleading. While the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra (named for Cherry's magnificent album from a few years prior, Eternal Rhythm) appears throughout, the first two pieces are by Cherry, the last by Penderecki. The two "principals" don't actually come into contact with each other. The orchestra is truly an all-star cast of the cream of European improvisers, each and every one having gone on to significant achievements. Cherry's "Humus - The Life Exploring Force" is a suite not too dissimilar to those he performed on both Eternal Rhythm and the ensuing Relativity Suite (including an early version of "Desireless"), ranging from raga-inspired lines to bluesy refrains, to jaunty modal riffs. If the performance is a little on the ragged side and if vocalist Loes Macgillycutty proves somewhat overbearing, it more than makes up for it in enthusiasm and joy. This is followed by a brief encore in which Cherry gets the audience to sing along on a complex (for Westerners) Indian scale; it's quite enchanting before exploding into a short, orchestral free-for-all. Penderecki's "Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra" is another kettle of fish entirely. The composer had often used jazz elements in his previous works, though always sublimated to his overall classical (if avant-garde) direction. Here, he makes a good attempt to meet this "foreign" genre halfway, allowing the orchestra much latitude for improvisation while supplying dark and brooding borders to keep things corralled. The problem is, that's basically all there is to the piece: alternating written parts (fine in and of themselves) and free improv (also energetically performed) with little to conceptually bind them. It's not a bad performance by any means, and is of some degree of historical import if only to document a relatively rare meeting of the jazz and classical avant-garde, but it doesn't quite hold together as a solid work. Fans of Cherry, though, will definitely want to own this disc as a significant addition to his stellar work of the late '60s and early '70s.

I too immediately grabbed this from the bin of the used CD shop, figuring I'd either love it, or if I didn't would easily be able to pass it along to someone who would (it reeked of collectibility, as well as weirdness). I don't know if I love it exactly, but parts of track one alone turned out to be enough to keep it.

The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra is an all-star ensemble that gathers an amazing proportion of the luminaries of the free jazz movement in a single live performance (to wit: Don Cherry, Tomasz Stanko, Albert Mangelsdorff, Peter Brotzman, Han Bennink, Terje Rypdal, Kenny Wheeler, Willem Breuker, Gunter Hampel, ...).

This is at times a challenging listen (as free jazz often is), yet there's also a distinct cohesiveness prevailing through a series of fine grooves in track one. Track two is interesting despite what the other reviews might lead you to think. Track three melds avant-classical composition with free jazz improv, for another performance that has unique merits. I'd like to hear the rest of the show (since this disc seems to be just part of it). Overall pretty sweet... and worth seeking out.

...otherwise, you should be advised as to what you are getting yourself into.

First, let me say this: As far as rare finds and collectors items go, this is a gem. I had never heard of this record before when one day I stumbled across the CD rummaging through a box at a used record store. The title "Actions" doesn't explain enough. The group is billed as The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, featuring none other than experimental jazz guru Don Cherry and Krzysztof Penderecki (of Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima fame), known for his use of sound mass and tone clusters in his compositions, making him one of the foremost late-twentieth century composers. Needless to say, when I found this thing I nearly wet myself, and had to buy it regardless of whatever musical content was contained therein.

First of all, as I said before, just the content of this album makes it a must-own for fans of post-modern free-form music, even if only from a learning standpoint. Nevertheless, be warned: as you can probably guess by the name of the group, this is very much "free" jazz. The recording is of a 1971 concert at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in Germany. The first two pieces are "composed" by Cherry, and the last is "Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra," written and conducted by Penderecki.

To give you a taste of what you will hear, I offer the following quote from Cherry himself in the liner notes:

"I hate professionalism. I've been a professional musician long enough and shown I can do it. But professionalism became like a religion in certain quarters. To me, there's more to religion than that."

Needless to say, said professionalism has been very much eschewed from this performance. So you are not going to hear tight, explicitly notated licks. Rather, nothing was notated of the Cherry tunes--in rehearsals, he introduced the players to 15 "themes," of which some were used in the actual performance, which moved freely among seven or so. To give you another idea of Cherry's idealism for this concert, a couple of the sections feature drumming and guitar playing by Cherry's 3 YEAR-OLD SON (!!), Lanou Eagle Eye, who you may know from the one-hit wonder band Eagle Eye Cherry.

The second track on the recording is of Cherry teaching the basic tenents of an Indian raga (specifically, the traditional "teen tal") to the audience, coaxing them to participate in a rather bombed attempt to get a German audience to lose themselves into a free-flowing Indian beat cycle. (I know, I know...who'da thunk it would fail?)

Finally, the record concludes with Penderecki's "Actions," a semi-notated free jazz piece that moves through a variety of different sections, some having distinct jazz rhythmic grooves, and others trailing into formless chaos. The saxes overblow to produce screaming multiple pitches, and the brass instruments blare obscure lines of sound over the top of the ensemble. It's a different style than anything I'd heard of Penderecki's, but has some characteristic KP giveaways: semi-tone dissonant entrances between two instruments, and siren-like slides reminiscent of "Threnody."

All in all, I'm not going to lie and pretend that this is a monumental record or that these are monumental pieces just because of the names involved--they're not. In fact, it's a pretty bizarre recording and at times is pretty abrasive to listen to. But if you are a fan of either of these guys or have an interest in free form jazz (and especially its influence from Indian music), just get this for the sake of owning such a rare gem.

This hard to find recording documents a live performance at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in 1971, but the co-crediting is somewhat misleading. While the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra (named for Cherry's magnificent album from a few years prior, Eternal Rhythm) appears throughout, the first two pieces are by Cherry, the last by Penderecki. The two "principals" don't actually come into contact with each other. The orchestra is truly an all-star cast of the cream of European improvisers, each and every one having gone on to significant achievements. Cherry's "Humus - The Life Exploring Force" is a suite not too dissimilar to those he performed on both Eternal Rhythm and the ensuing Relativity Suite (including an early version of "Desireless"), ranging from raga-inspired lines to bluesy refrains, to jaunty modal riffs. If the performance is a little on the ragged side and if vocalist Loes Macgillycutty proves somewhat overbearing, it more than makes up for it in enthusiasm and joy. This is followed by a brief encore in which Cherry gets the audience to sing along on a complex (for Westerners) Indian scale; it's quite enchanting before exploding into a short, orchestral free-for-all. Penderecki's "Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra" is another kettle of fish entirely. The composer had often used jazz elements in his previous works, though always sublimated to his overall classical (if avant-garde) direction. Here, he makes a good attempt to meet this "foreign" genre halfway, allowing the orchestra much latitude for improvisation while supplying dark and brooding borders to keep things corralled. The problem is, that's basically all there is to the piece: alternating written parts (fine in and of themselves) and free improv (also energetically performed) with little to conceptually bind them. It's not a bad performance by any means, and is of some degree of historical import if only to document a relatively rare meeting of the jazz and classical avant-garde, but it doesn't quite hold together as a solid work. Fans of Cherry, though, will definitely want to own this disc as a significant addition to his stellar work of the late '60s and early '70s.

if by some unlikely chance you happen to stumble upon this review, take it as a sign and get this record. basically the deal is don cherry was a jazz cat who did free jazz thingamajigs with ornette coleman and then he discovered world music and has created his own beautiful, simple and wholesome sound by merging the two genres. he blows his fun-size trumpet and teaches the audience to sing over randomly organized slews of pre-prepared little ditties so he'll like start up something and then the rest of the ensemble will join in with their parts. it's just so warm and fuzzy. buy it and then play it on a really sunny day in between eating some vegan burgers and meating your mistress. ..oh yeah... and the second side is got some penderecky on it or something.

This hard to find recording documents a live performance at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in 1971, but the co-crediting is somewhat misleading. While the New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra (named for Cherry's magnificent album from a few years prior, Eternal Rhythm) appears throughout, the first two pieces are by Cherry, the last by Penderecki. The two "principals" don't actually come into contact with each other. The orchestra is truly an all-star cast of the cream of European improvisers, each and every one having gone on to significant achievements. Cherry's "Humus - The Life Exploring Force" is a suite not too dissimilar to those he performed on both Eternal Rhythm and the ensuing Relativity Suite (including an early version of "Desireless"), ranging from raga-inspired lines to bluesy refrains, to jaunty modal riffs. If the performance is a little on the ragged side and if vocalist Loes Macgillycutty proves somewhat overbearing, it more than makes up for it in enthusiasm and joy. This is followed by a brief encore in which Cherry gets the audience to sing along on a complex (for Westerners) Indian scale; it's quite enchanting before exploding into a short, orchestral free-for-all. Penderecki's "Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra" is another kettle of fish entirely. The composer had often used jazz elements in his previous works, though always sublimated to his overall classical (if avant-garde) direction. Here, he makes a good attempt to meet this "foreign" genre halfway, allowing the orchestra much latitude for improvisation while supplying dark and brooding borders to keep things corralled. The problem is, that's basically all there is to the piece: alternating written parts (fine in and of themselves) and free improv (also energetically performed) with little to conceptually bind them. It's not a bad performance by any means, and is of some degree of historical import if only to document a relatively rare meeting of the jazz and classical avant-garde, but it doesn't quite hold together as a solid work. Fans of Cherry, though, will definitely want to own this disc as a significant addition to his stellar work of the late '60s and early '70s.

I too immediately grabbed this from the bin of the used CD shop, figuring I'd either love it, or if I didn't would easily be able to pass it along to someone who would (it reeked of collectibility, as well as weirdness). I don't know if I love it exactly, but parts of track one alone turned out to be enough to keep it.

The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra is an all-star ensemble that gathers an amazing proportion of the luminaries of the free jazz movement in a single live performance (to wit: Don Cherry, Tomasz Stanko, Albert Mangelsdorff, Peter Brotzman, Han Bennink, Terje Rypdal, Kenny Wheeler, Willem Breuker, Gunter Hampel, ...).

This is at times a challenging listen (as free jazz often is), yet there's also a distinct cohesiveness prevailing through a series of fine grooves in track one. Track two is interesting despite what the other reviews might lead you to think. Track three melds avant-classical composition with free jazz improv, for another performance that has unique merits. I'd like to hear the rest of the show (since this disc seems to be just part of it). Overall pretty sweet... and worth seeking out.

...otherwise, you should be advised as to what you are getting yourself into.

First, let me say this: As far as rare finds and collectors items go, this is a gem. I had never heard of this record before when one day I stumbled across the CD rummaging through a box at a used record store. The title "Actions" doesn't explain enough. The group is billed as The New Eternal Rhythm Orchestra, featuring none other than experimental jazz guru Don Cherry and Krzysztof Penderecki (of Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima fame), known for his use of sound mass and tone clusters in his compositions, making him one of the foremost late-twentieth century composers. Needless to say, when I found this thing I nearly wet myself, and had to buy it regardless of whatever musical content was contained therein.

First of all, as I said before, just the content of this album makes it a must-own for fans of post-modern free-form music, even if only from a learning standpoint. Nevertheless, be warned: as you can probably guess by the name of the group, this is very much "free" jazz. The recording is of a 1971 concert at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in Germany. The first two pieces are "composed" by Cherry, and the last is "Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra," written and conducted by Penderecki.

To give you a taste of what you will hear, I offer the following quote from Cherry himself in the liner notes:

"I hate professionalism. I've been a professional musician long enough and shown I can do it. But professionalism became like a religion in certain quarters. To me, there's more to religion than that."

Needless to say, said professionalism has been very much eschewed from this performance. So you are not going to hear tight, explicitly notated licks. Rather, nothing was notated of the Cherry tunes--in rehearsals, he introduced the players to 15 "themes," of which some were used in the actual performance, which moved freely among seven or so. To give you another idea of Cherry's idealism for this concert, a couple of the sections feature drumming and guitar playing by Cherry's 3 YEAR-OLD SON (!!), Lanou Eagle Eye, who you may know from the one-hit wonder band Eagle Eye Cherry.

The second track on the recording is of Cherry teaching the basic tenents of an Indian raga (specifically, the traditional "teen tal") to the audience, coaxing them to participate in a rather bombed attempt to get a German audience to lose themselves into a free-flowing Indian beat cycle. (I know, I know...who'da thunk it would fail?)

Finally, the record concludes with Penderecki's "Actions," a semi-notated free jazz piece that moves through a variety of different sections, some having distinct jazz rhythmic grooves, and others trailing into formless chaos. The saxes overblow to produce screaming multiple pitches, and the brass instruments blare obscure lines of sound over the top of the ensemble. It's a different style than anything I'd heard of Penderecki's, but has some characteristic KP giveaways: semi-tone dissonant entrances between two instruments, and siren-like slides reminiscent of "Threnody."

All in all, I'm not going to lie and pretend that this is a monumental record or that these are monumental pieces just because of the names involved--they're not. In fact, it's a pretty bizarre recording and at times is pretty abrasive to listen to. But if you are a fan of either of these guys or have an interest in free form jazz (and especially its influence from Indian music), just get this for the sake of owning such a rare gem.

Este recopilatorio ofrece variedad de estilos, versiones siempre de alto nivel y precio medio muy interesante. Muy recomendable para iniciarse en el mundo de la opera de la mano de los mejores artistas de hoy y de ayer, aunque algunos de los grandes cantantes se echan quiza en falta.

This set of two CDs is a great way to listen to some highlights from many different operas when you aren't in the mood to listen to a full opera. Many of your favorite arias are here, such as Nessun Dorma, Habanera, Non piu andrai etc. But what I liked most about it is that it features many different artists. While I love my Pavarotti and Domingo albums, it is nice to hear other singers.

Also, hearing some pieces that sounded familiar have gotten me interested in operas I haven't heard or seen before, such as the Flower Duet from Lakme. I've heard that before--but where? Probably in some car commercial...

This music will haunt you, and is wonderful for listening to while driving or just sitting. Try it with headphones on so the rest of the world goes away.

I am not particularly a fan of opera but do realize it's merit. I also appreciate the talent of it's artists. This 2 disc set offers a wide, wisely chosen selection from most of the popular operas, performed by most of the world's greatest singers, present and yesteryear. Yes, you will find legends such as Maria Callas to Pavarotti to the up and coming Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu; sharing space on these discs. Economically, I was able to obtain this set for under ten bucks. My research could not find a more varied set with such a stellar roster at any price. It will impress any novice to seasoned collecter. I wish that EMI annotated the set better, a brief synopsis of each track would have tutorial value. The sound reproduction flows seemlessly from track to track.

This is billed as "the greatest opera stars on one double album for the first time ever."

Many major voices of the first part of the past half century are presented on this CD (e.g., Shwartzkopf, Moffo, Freni, de los Angelos, Sutherland, Callas, Gedda, Merrill, Bjoerling, Pavarotti, Sutherland, Domingo, et al.). Also represented are some more contemporary singers, among whom are Kanawa, Gheorgiu, Alagna, Dessay, and so on).

So, a nice album. But we are also reminded of the absence of some major figures on CDs (such as Richard Tucker, who is little represented on CDs). . . . Hopefully, in future years, more of those glorious voices will become accessible on CD.

Beautiful music for anyone. Even those I know who generally dislike opera have taken an interest! These are truly highlights of some of the greatest peices...breathtaking voices...relaxing and yet movingingly passionate. I reccomend this for anyone wanting a varied and yet stunning collection.