Customer Reviews

Complete Communion

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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!

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

one of the best conceived free jazz works i've heard in a long time, great reissue top flight band Blackwell, Barbeiri, Grimes and Cherry - complete and collective communion , spiritual swing

Here is a contradiction which will forever fascinate me; Ornette Coleman and his quartet abandoned chord centers and made some of the most melodic jazz I know. John Coltrane stuck with a chord base until the end and made some of the most searing. Compare Free Jazz with Ascension.

Don Cherry has a less ideological relationship to free jazz, He walked around music with that little pocket trumpet of his, going anywhere he desired. Cherry was in Coleman's band, but worked with Coltrane on an album called Avant-Garde.

This non-bound approach bares fruit on Complete Communion, recorded Christmas Eve, 1965. Cherry has an amazing band here: himself, Coleman bandmate Ed Blackwell drumming, Cecil Taylor's bassist, Harry Grimes, and a young Gatto Barbieri on tenor.

Two tracks, the title and "Ellphantasy" compose this album. There is a lot of free soling here, but this is basically melodic music. When any one of the musicians is taking flight, it is done with only the backing of the rhythm section. There is no McCoy Tyner on piano, like in the Coltrane Quintet; so while the soloing may be fre4e harmonically, there is little backdrop, so little dissonance.

Both tracks have melodic, even hooky, opening riffs which occur throughout the pieces, and this sets the tone. Blackwell has an amazingly light touch on drums, the opposite of Elvin Jones' sledgehammer attack, and neither Cherry or Barbieri play abrasively.

The playing here by all is top notch, but more amazing is how light and airy this music feels. You can play this and love the joy of the music, the exuberance of the playing by all the soloists. Complete contrast to Coltrane,Taylor, Archie Shepp, Pharroh Sanders, or most free jazz you know


That alone makes Complete Communion completely fascinating.

This is a very good CD comprised of two tracks approximately 20 minutes each in length. Each track is divided into several sections alternating between composed and improvised free workouts which flow together to form a suite.

There is a great variety in the many composed and improvised parts in each of the pieces. Some are boppish' others full of melodic and rhythmic abandon. Some have an almost tribal feel to them courtesy of Ed Blackwell. Still others are quiet and gentle, though never for long.

Throughout the CD Ed Blackwell plays some complex and swinging drums. He's a sympathetic and aware player who pushes and pulls at the right moments. Likewise Henry Grimes bass playing. He's a nimble player who keeps everthing moving and is dynamically aware.

Don Cherry and Gato Barbieri are playful with the composed parts and very free and lyrical with their solos. Initially I was surprised by Gato's presence in this a more free setting, but he plays fine and has a warm and strong tenor sound. Don plays exceptionally well, really stretching out and is in fine tone throughout. These guys seem to be having a lot of fun and its infectious.

Overall this CD is both complex and rewarding. The twenty minutes per song goes by quickly. Not groundbreaking but a very enjoyable set of 1960's era free jazz. One can really hear the influence of this CD and Ornettes early work in the Masada series by John Zorn.

A most amazing album. I got this as an update from the vinyl copy I bought when it first came out. I hadn't heard it for a while and the instant it kicked in I recognised the joyous extrodinariness of it all over again. Cherry's deft playing and a breath taking rhythm section (Ed Blackwell is brilliant) make it irresistable. Gato Barbieri is astonishing too. Wild before the more predictable Brazilian albums that come later. His timbre and tone, so sharp and high in the register bring a combative 'take this' to the quartet. Sometimes irritating but always blisteringly engaging.
A wonderful creation that at a stroke consolidated Cherry's position at the cutting edge of rhythmic tunefulness of the avant-garde. Indespensible. Buy it!

This album is a joy. I put it on when I want to get my creative juices flowing. The interplay is subtle, sometimes not, and is always turning in interesting directions. Not as cacophonous as Coltrane or Ayler, but just as engaging to the listener. A classic that's highly recommended.

Cherry begins to shed Coleman's stylings and develop into an original musician and composer in his own right. Barbieri was meant to play with Cherry, and never IMHO did work as good as on here and Symphony for Improvisers.

Everyone should own this record!

After reading many reviews of this session, I think I expected a little wilder recording. I've read much about Gato Barbieri's 60s free playing, which is always compared to Ayler and Sanders. Unfortunately his sound seems derivitave, not whole heartedly convincing like Ayler and Sanders (as he proved his lack of commitment to this type of playing later). That said, I think he works well on this recording. The compositions are structured enough and the playing is sort of "inside/out" enough for his brand of overblowing to work. Not a masterpiece, but a solid, thoughtful avant statement that I think I'll listen to alot.