Complete Communion [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Don Cherry

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 2000)
• Original Release Date: December 24, 1965
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B00004GJVK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #139,942 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Blue Note arrived late on the '60s avant-garde scene, only recording figures like Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, and Cecil Taylor after they had disappeared from the rosters of other major American jazz labels. Complete Communion, from 1964, was Don Cherry's first session as a leader after brilliant sideman contributions with Ornette Coleman and Sonny Rollins, and it's one of the landmark records of the era. The music consists of two long suites of interlocking Cherry compositions, and they're played with telepathic precision and explosive energy by a great quartet of Gato Barbieri on tenor saxophone, bassist Henry Grimes, and Cherry's long-term collaborator Ed Blackwell on drums. Cherry is in superb form, throwing off high notes like bright spears and twisting lines that suddenly rebound into the ensembles. For those who only know Barbieri's work from his later, more commercially inclined Brazilian-flavored work, his playing here will be a revelation. He combines an original sound, booting energy, and a startling melodic fluency that leaps freely over his horn's range. This is an essential document of jazz in the '60s. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bona Fide Classic, April 26, 2000

By	Robert M. Ethington Jr. (Akron, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This long unavailable album is a true masterpiece of the '60's avant-garde - At times wild, at times serene and contemplative, always captivating... The interplay between the musicians is amazing, with Barbieri's sax and Blackwell's drumming especially noteworthy. Being a limited edition makes this cd an immediate must-buy for any fan of Coltrane, Ornette, or transcendent music!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great outing, June 30, 2000

By	teresa ruggles (olathe, KS United States) - See all my reviews

upon first seeing this album, i was a bit skeptical. i know that i love Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, and Henry Grimes. but Gato Barbieri? The master of Latin Jazz? he stopped me from actually giving the disc a listen for a long time. but finally i did hear it and to much my surprise (and happiness) it was hot! Barbieri almost steals the show. but Don Cherry matches him every step of the way. if you love Ornette Coleman's recordings with Cherry and want to hear him in a "leader" role then this album is a good place to start. his later stuff really moved a lot into world music and i don't dig it as much. but this album smokes!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just unmissable, January 13, 2004

By	Corrado Beldi (Jazz Critic, Milano, Italy) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Era ora! Dopo anni di oblio torna alla luce uno dei grandi capolavori del free jazz. Questo disco, registrato nel 1965 dal cornettista Don Cherry con il tenorsassofonista argentino Gato Barbieri ed una sezione ritmica composta da Henry Grimes al contrabbasso e Ed Blackwell alla batteria, rimane uno dei momenti più importanti di tutta la stagione free. Cherry, reduce da una lunga militanza nel quartetto di Ornette Coleman, trova in Barbieri il compagno ideale per intraprendere un dialogo brillante, fatto di suggerimenti, urli ed intrecci, condotto con una comunione d'intenti che sembra quasi telepatica. Anche la sezione ritmica, che crea una base poliritmica sulla quale i fiati tessono le loro trame, non disdegna d'intervenire nella conversazione. Nei due lunghi brani che compongono il disco, l'improvvisazione free e post-bop si contamina d'influssi etnici, regalando una musica che ancora oggi suona innovativa e non può che farci notare come molti degli attuali astri del jazz stiano in effetti ripercorrendo strade gia esplorate trentacinque anni fa.
Arthur Cravan