Don Cherry Honored By DownBeat Hall of Fame

Congratulations to Don Cherry for his selection in the DownBeat Critics Poll to the magazine's Hall of Fame. Cherry, with his pocket trumpet was an important part of Ornette Coleman's "Change of the Century." In addition to being a vital part of Coleman's pioneering group, he later played with Sonny Rollins, recorded with John Coltrane, as well as joined Steve Lacy for an album devoted to Thelonious Monk's Music. He was a member of the New York Contemporary Five with Archie Shepp and John Tchicai and recorded with Albert Ayler and Gato Barbieri. He also recorded for Blue Note as a leader including the albums Complete Communion and Symphony For Improvisors.

With Coleman alumni Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Eddie Blackwell, he was a member of the group Old and New Dreams who had four albums on Black Saint and ECM. He then became involved in world fusion music, including the "world jazz" group Codona, a trio that consisted of Don Cherry (trumpet, melodica, organ), Collin Walcott (tabla, sitar, percussion), and Nana Vasconcelos and recorded 3 albums for ECM. 

Cherry also recorded duets with Eddie Blackwell and several world music albums under his own name including Brown Rice, and MultiKulti. He passed away from liver cancer at the age of 58 in 1995. 

Here are several videos to celebrate his music. First the Don Cherry Trio in Paris in 1971.

Here is Don Cherry in a group performing in 1980.

And finally Don Cherry's "MultiKulti" in 1991.

Noah Howard's "Schizophrenic Blues" Sounds Fresh Today.

The late alto saxophonist, Noah Howard passed away in early September leaving behind a considerable musical legacy. Born in New Orleans, he emerged in the 1960s among the first wave of ‘free jazz’ artists. He recorded a couple albums for ESP and then recorded “The Black Ark,” but finding the reception for free jazz cool at best in the United States, he relocated to Paris and spent much of the ensuing years of his life abroad, living in Brussels at the time of his death. 


Growing up in New Orleans where he played first in church, his first instrument was the trumpet which he played in the military and it wasn’t until later he started playing the alto saxophone. His recordings for ESP were among the 28 or so albums he recorded over the years. Recently, Destination Out (http://destination-out.com/), a web site devoted to free jazz, has started issuing downloads from out-of-print FMP vinyl albums that have never been made available on compact disc. Among the recent albums they have made available is a couple by Howard from the seventies.

“Schizophrenic Blues” reissues a live 1977 performance from the Quartier Latin in Berlin where Howard is joined by Itaru Ok on trumpet; Jean-Jacques Avenel on double bass and Oliver Johnson on drums. The title track is a blues that displays his bluesy tone as he and Ok play variations on the blues theme. His tone has a bit of vibrato, but not overdone, and would indicate that both Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler were influences on a composition would not be out of place on a Coleman disc.  Ok’s trumpet riffs provides a vinegary contrast to Howard, and the rhythm ably anchor the performance. “Birds of Beauty” is a slow ballad with trumpet more prominent at the lyrical opening and the two  complement and interact off the other.

“Fire March,” a tribute to Albert Ayler, opens with Johnson taking a drum solo before the tempo changes to a march like groove as Howard enters in an Ayler-esque mode as Ok evokes Donald Ayler’s trumpet with his playing while Howard exploits the upper registers of his alto and overblows producing shrieks and cries. Ok’s trumpet sounds like a swarm of very unhappy bees here. Bassist Avenel opens up “Creole Girl,” the lengthiest performance of this album, with a lengthy solo. After Johnson sets the tempo, Howard and Ok join in tstating the theme and take solid solos that do not sound to these ears as  very out.

“Solo Sax,” is a slice of saxophone exploration (but not a solo saxophone performance) with Howard employing a bit more vibrato here, as Avenel playing some buzz saw arco bass, Johnson laying an atemporal groove with brushes and Ok’s trumpet buzzes around the sax. The album concludes with a reading of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” with Howard and Ok embellishing the melody in an Ayler-esque fashion.

The performances on “Schizophrenic Blues” hold up over thirty years later. Certainly anyone familiar with the music of Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and Old Dreams and New Dreams should find this quite accessible and even at its most Ayler-esque moments “Fire March,” there is a lyricism as well as a blues foundation that makes this release engaging. Recommended, and again this can be downloaded at http://destination-out.com. Just go to the store tab and look for this release.

New York Contemporary Five's Musical Explorations

The reissue on CD by Delmark of “The New York Contemporary Five” under Archie Shepp’s name is welcome for fans of early examples of “free jazz.” The group was actually a cooperative, with cornet from Don Cherry, alto sax from the Danish born John Tchicai, Shepp on tenor, Don Moore on bass and J.C. Moses on drums. Recorded in November, 1963 at the legendary Denmark club, Jazzhus Montmartre, the six performances here present a document of the exploratory direction of much music of the time. The trumpeter and composer, Bill Dixon, who recently passed away, arranged three of the performances and introduced the ensemble. There are originals by Cherry, Shepp and Tchicai along with two Ornette Coleman compositions and a straight rendition of Thelonious Monk’s “Crepuscule With Nellie.”

Cherry’s “Cisum,” opens with his cornet evoking “Fanfare for the Common Man,” before stating the theme leading to his solo backed by the rhythm with his interesting mix of burst of notes and more melodic lines as he rides over Moses’ rhythm. Cherry is followed by Tchicai who builds on repeated phases while employing the higher register of his alto. Shepp enters into like a buzz saw with a machine gun like attack. Ornette Coleman’s “O.C.,” is built upon a swinging jump riff and groove with Shepp first up taking a raspy solo that mixes Ben Webster with Big Jay McNeeley, followed by Cherry who is the most consistently interesting solo on this date. This is followed by the another Coleman composition “When Will the Blues Leave,” that has one of Coleman’s most memorable themes with a jaunty groove that Cherry explores with some of his most melodic playing on this date. Cherry doleful tone opens Shepp’s dirge, “The Funeral,” with the saxophones contributing to the mood and a relatively quiet passage where Moore and Moses are to the fore before some organized chaos at the close. Tchicai’s “Mik,” opens with a riff that evokes Tadd Dameron, with a bluesy solo followed by some bright playing from Cherry over a seemingly meter-less rhythm.

There is some excellent playing with Cherry and Tchicai especially exceptional. Moore and Moses do not strike this listener as organic a rhythm combo compared to say Charlie Haden and Eddie Blackwell (or Billy Higgins) with Ornette, or Henry Grimes or Gary Peacock and Sunny Murray with Albert Ayler. Moses spent time with Roland Kirk, recorded with Eric Dolphy and was a house drummer at Jazzhus Montmartre playing with such as Dexter Gordon and Ben Webster in a vein that shows his strengths better. Still, that is a minor issue as listeners should be pleased to have this readily available again.


For FTC purposes the review copy was provided by Delmark Records.