Don Cherry Music

Trane and cherry are the perfect foil for each other. As far as this type of music goes, this is one of the best albums. This is much like a Coleman album with Coltrane sitting in. The musical interplay on "The Blessing" is outstanding. It's interesting to hear Coltranes soprano sax here, the first time he played it on an album I believe.
This is a very important album in the history of Jazz, it is wort getting for that fact alone. Some of my friends who do not like Jazz, especially this type, actually like this album. If you want to explore the music of John Coltrane and Don Cherry as individual artists there are some better choices though. Like most of the music Coltrane was involved with he makes a very bold musical statement. Also a nice version of "Bemsha Swing".

There are much better Coltrane albums. It is not his parquet. More of this songs is written by Ornette Coleman. Coleman is the best in his own music. Buy Coleman's albums like Change of the century rather when you want listen similar music.

While the lineup is intriguing -- joining Trane with musicians associated with Ornette Coleman (Percy Heath also makes an appearance) -- and some of the music compelling, "The Avant-Garde" is, for me, the least successful release in the saxophonist's Atlantic discography. In fact, it's a rare example -- one of the few I can think of -- of a session that might have been strengthened had another saxophonist taken his place.

That's not to say that "The Avant-Garde" is anywhere near being a bad album. On "Focus on Sanity," for example, Coltrane's tenor finds a groove with the bent lyricism of Cherry's horn and Ed Blackwell's remarkable juggling rhythms. Monk's "Bemsha Swing" is another highlight: a truly fresh treatment of one of the pianist's infrequently recorded tunes.

But the recording, to these ears anyway, often exhibits a strained quality, most of which comes from Trane trying to adapt his sound to the jagged, angular rhythms that Cherry and company were more comfortable with from playing with Coleman. "The Blessing," for example, Coltrane's first recorded effort on soprano, suffers badly in comparison with the later "My Favorite Things" and "Ole Coltrane," to name two examples. On "The Blessing" he sounds, for one of the few times in his post-1958 career, uncertain. The result lacks the lyricism of "My Favorite Things" or the fury of "Ole." He seems to be fighting the tune rather than finding its contours, as Cherry does.

An interesting comparison with this release is "Bags and Trane," recorded the same year, for the same label. In that effort, Coltrane, the "radical" often excoriated by the press of the day for his "undisciplined" and wild attacks, fits his sound with "mainstream" vibist Milt Jackson like a hand in a glove. Surprisingly, on the "The Avant-Garde," paired with other "radicals," Coltrane never quite finds his stride. It's another good reason, I suppose, to ignore conventional wisdom about musicians, ignore labels, and just listen for yourself.

I'd actually recommend "The Avant-Garde" more to listeners who are after really good Don Cherry performances. This is one of Cherry's best efforts; his sound is commanding on every tune, and he clearly benefits from his familiarity with Blackwell and Charlie Haden.

i have a love/hate relationship with the whole genre of avant-garde jazz. if you happen to dislike the genre yourself, don't be put off by the title of this album. this is from 1960, before things became too heavily tilted towards dissonance, too offensive to the ears. all of the music on this album is quite accessible to the average jazz fan, and it's all excellent. don cherry sounds almost conventional here (unlike on the other recordings that i have heard him play on), and coltrane's playing is inventive and gorgeous, as usual. this was a hole in my coltrane collection that i just filled. and i am very glad that i did. wonderful jazz.

Here we have perhaps the most respected saxophonist ever [there even exists a Church of Saint John Coltrane for his deeply spiritual liner notes to A Love Supreme] w/ all the other members of the most controversial & therefore underrated Ornette Coleman Quartet, Ed Blackwell on drums, Charlie Haden on bass [replaced by the slightly more starightforward Percy Heath of the Modern Jazz Quartet on tracks 2, 4 & 5], & trumpeter Don Cherry as co-leader. This is brilliant music that for some unexplained reason didn't get released in 1960 when it was recorded but lay in the vaults until 1966, just in time that Coltrane could see it out when he was alive. It opens w/ Don Cherry's compositon Cherryco, the main theme of which very much resembles a tune the OCQ were doing @ the time called Revolving Doors which I'm very fond of, & here it is a fair bit less frantic but certainly excellent still, obvious taken off in different directions [it's a good couple of minutes longer too], in the original liner notes it explains "Cherryco is one of Don's favourite tunes - he played it all through his recent sabbatical of Europe & North Africa, & had considerable success w/ it." The bulk of the album is taken up w/ 3 Ornette tunes, he himself not being present perhaps to give more space to John to do his thing. The 1st of these is Focus On Sanity [from the Shape of Jazz to Come] & it's a 12 minute version, taken further & given as much space as it needs, it fades out as if it could have gone on a lot longer. The Blessing is a charming tune, coming from Something Else!!!, Ornette's debut album from 1958, as does The Invisible which follows it, & the Blessing is apparently the 1st recording of JC on soprano sax, normally he was on tenor. The newer liner notes have this to say: "it offers a strong contrast between Cherry's solo, with its relaxed freedom from the song's chords, & Coltrane's anxious flights on soprano", there's also a noteworthy drum solo in there too. The Invisible is a fast, stomping, squawking kind of a tune, a lot of excitement there. Thelonious Monk's classic Bemsha Swing is the last song & it of course swings long graciously, as any good version of it would, of course Coltrane played in his group in 1957 so he should know it better than anyone. But the ending of it is rather subdued, basically saying this is a very good record but not as revolutionary as the title The Avant-Garde might suggest [although several of the Ornette album titles were bold statements that often held true], it is something that anyone w/ an ear for creative music should enjoy & generally it's not too brash or abrasive to prove a challenge, rather a pleasing listen. Unfortunately there was never again any recordings/performances of this supergroup.

I have this recording by Don Cherry and I suggest you buy it. There was never a voice as great as Don's--nor will there ever be--and when you hear this CD you will also agree.

As great as his voice is on this CD--done decades ago when you would think his voice was at it's finest---his recordings done today are as good if not better than ever before. The voice has the same warmth and soul reaching quality as it did many years ago and as seen on this recording...This voice only gets better and takes on a quality that is breath-taking.
As with this CD, I suggest you buy all Don Cherry CD's and those that have been made lately.

Mr. Cherry's music is alive and well.
I really love his new release ..
A Tribute to Perry Como.

This stunningly beautiful record is a tribute to the foresight of producer, pianist and nominal leader Mr Mike Nock. It's music that is as modern as today but which has its roots in in the collective improvisations of New Orleans jazz except that there is much more room for solos. Mr Nock's solo on the title track is as good as I've heard him. This is a group of master musicians playing at the peak of their considerable powers, playing in an atmosphere of artistic freedom, mutual respect and collective love of their art. Mr Ehrlich contributes the title track; trumpeter Mr Carroll contributes two tracks; Mr Formanek one track and the nominal leader Mr Nock, four tracks. Highlights include: Mr Carroll's solo on NOCK DOWN UNDER, majestic, beautifully controlled and butter smooth; the flute solo on DON'T LEAVE ME by Mr Ehrlich is an heartfelt and exquisite moment; the poignant harmony on the coda to DON'T LEAVE ME; Mr John's drums on NEW MORNING OF THE DREAM, Mr Nock's solo on INDIFFERENCE; Mr Lacy's solo on EL NINO; Mr Formaek's masterful bass behind mr Carroll's solo on INDIFFFERENCE; the moody LEGACY by Mr Nock; Mr Ehrlich's alto solo on EL NINO; Mr Lacy's great trombone solo on CRUCIBLE; Mr Ehrlich's clarinet solo on CRUCIBLE. And all this for less than seven bucks!

I have this recording by Don Cherry and I suggest you buy it. There was never a voice as great as Don's--nor will there ever be--and when you hear this CD you will also agree.

As great as his voice is on this CD--done decades ago when you would think his voice was at it's finest---his recordings done today are as good if not better than ever before. The voice has the same warmth and soul reaching quality as it did many years ago and as seen on this recording...This voice only gets better and takes on a quality that is breath-taking.
As with this CD, I suggest you buy all Don Cherry CD's and those that have been made lately.

Mr. Cherry's music is alive and well.
I really love his new release ..
A Tribute to Perry Como.

Riccardo Stracciari, Lawrence Tibbett, Amelita Galli-Curci, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, for me there is no doubt: the years before II World War really were the golden age of opera!

You will be amazed by the beauty, poise and excitement with which these artists were singing while your grandparents were alive. The quality is really pretty good and putting up with a little background hiss is absolutely worth it.

This excellent compilation of famous operatic pre-WW2 recordings start with a blast - Luisa Tetrazzini oompah-pah her way through Bellini with cartoonish abandon and her impact is such that nothing that comes afterwards can compare to her genius.Sure,they are all excellent in their way,after all we are talking about Caruso,Ponselle and Tauber here but its Tetrazzini I always return to and this CD inspired me to search for her own "Prima Voce" CD.Special mention: Richard Tauber who had a golden touch with everything and Marian Anderson who stand out.Excellent introduction.

This is a worthy addition to the collections of music from opera from the early part of the 20th century. Names that are famous come to life as one listens to their music; one comes to see differences in technique from the earlier part of the 20th century to today. This includes some of the greatest names in opera from the time period, such as Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Amelita Galli-Curci, and so on. Let's consider a sampling. . . .

The redoubtable Luisa Tetrazzini sings "Ah! Non giunge" from Bellini's "La Sonnambula." We experience a different coloratura technique from that of the past 50 years; in itself, this makes this version interesting. The singer takes this song at a nice pace. Tetrazzini shows nice agility; her higher notes are cleanly hit in the first "go through." In the repeat, there is greater ornamentation. She uses higher notes as opposed to more trills and other florid techniques characteristic of the more recent past. There are some nice high notes toward the finale. She displays an attractive voice and good technique, although the c lose is a bit wild and wooly.

John McCormack sings "Il mio Tesoro" from "Il Trovatore." He shows a rich voice, although a bit wooden to me. The song is competently sung, but not much characterization comes through (compare with Stracciari's manic "Largo al factotum").

Amelita Galli-Curci, the well regarded coloratura soprano sings "Son vergin vezzosa," a piece well rendered by the likes of Joan Sutherland and Beverly Sills and Sumi Jo. Again, different technique from what we are used to, but nicely sung. She demonstrates a smooth and agile voice. The ornamentation is well done (if not as we are accustomed to). She hits some high notes, although the last one seems a bit thin. All in all, a nice version.

And then there is Riccardo Stracciari, singing the wonderful "Largo al factotum" from "Il Barbiere de Siviglia." He sings with great enthusiasm and creates a character with just his voice (mirabile dictu!). He begins at a quick pace and goes from there. His voice is attractive, with a nice lower tone. He seems to enjoy singing this; he also shows nice breath control. After his repeating "Figaro" many times, he then accelerates the pace of the music, putting the music into high gear. He hits the notes well, remains musical, and generates great energy. A terrific version (he's in the same league with Tito Gobbi, whom I think did a stellar job on this work).

Others? Gigli, Caruso, Marian Anderson, Tito Schipa, Richard Tauber, Lawrence Tibbett, Rosa Ponselle, and so on. This would be a very nice addition to the musical library of anyone who is interested in the voices from an earlier era. Despite the more primitive technology, the voices ring out and leave one with a sense of what once was in the world of opera.

While noone will rave about the sound quality of these recordings, they are none the less important documents regarding the transition of operatic style from the 19th to the 20th centuries. Most pieces are at a quicker tempo or edited due to recording restrictions of the time, however, these imperfections vanish when one hears the stunning diction and speed of Stracciari's "Largo" from Barbiere, or the halting dignity of Ponselle's "Casta Diva" foreshadowing Callas and Sutherland. Ernestine Schumann-Heink's glorious "Brindisi" and Marian Anderson's supple English version of "mon couer ouvre a ta voix" from Samson are beautiful examples of 19th century technique and vocalism captured by 20th century technology. Not to be missed!