The Montreal Tapes (with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell) [Live]

Charlie Haden | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 26, 1994)
• Original Release Date: July 26, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B0000046VJ
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,730 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Sphinx

2. Art Deco

3. Happy House

4. Lonely Woman

5. Mopti

6. The Blessing

7. When Will The Blues Leave?

8. Law Years

Editorial Reviews

Music recorded live on July 2, 1989 at the Festival International de jazz de Montreal, Canada**CD has 8 songs**

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible performance at the musicians' peak, January 6, 2000

By 

Reckless DC Music (Whitneyville, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Montreal Tapes (with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell) (Audio CD)

This has to be one of my favorite performances from one of the tightest ensembles ever to play in this idiom. Although it is Haden's album, this is really a group effort. Each individual shines in their respective role. I am constantly amazed by the subtlety and melodic quality of Ed Blackwell's drumming. As a music professor, specifically a jazz instructor, I have made all of my drum students study this album. Nor can enough be said about Haden's playing at this concert. He builds his lines with an authority that is assured and vibrant. The musical logic in his ideas are breathtaking. You can hear where he is taking his line and when he gets there, it's nirvana. One highlight of this album is Don Cherry's Art Deco, there's a certain wistfulness in the playing that compelled me to keep turning to this performnace over and over again after I learned of his passing. Okay, so I like this recording. I strongly recommend it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haden/Cherry/Blackwell : the meeting of three old friends, September 22, 2001

By 

JEAN-MARIE JUIF (BESANCON France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Montreal Tapes (with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell) (Audio CD)

On JUly 2,1989,Charlie Haden,Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell met to produce this extraordinary concert.Now,twelve years have passed,and Don and Ed are gone.THis night was a kind of tribute to Ornette Coleman; six of the eight tracks were written by him.But more than this, this is a tribute to all the history of jazz."The sphinx" for example, looks so much like a Charlie Parker tune."Art deco" is a very swinging melody by Don Cherry,some kind of insidious music that infects your mind and you'll always remember."Lonely woman" is a haunting tune by Ornette (not to be confused with Benny Carter's theme),played extraordinarily by this trio; listening to this tune,I still wonder why it has been called "free jazz";in this tune,Don's playing is so close to Miles' sound of the late fifties."the blessing" and "when will the blues leave?" are among Ornette's best known compositions."Law years",another tune by Ornette,is one of my favorites.Do you know the great version Geri Allen recorded for DIW with Haden and Paul Motian ? Ed Blackwell,who was so sick at this time,and who died shortly after, is very impressive all through the record;he's always been one of my favorite drummers,with Jo Jones,Art Blakey,Max Roach,Sam Woodyard,Frank Butler and Kenny Clarke;and a few others,like J.C.Heard,Shelly Manne or Ben Riley,or Billy Higgins.This music is really beautiful, because she's completely timeless,and the relust of so many roots and influences.This is not nostalgia from the Ornette Coleman's quartet of the early sixties,this is a second reading of a marvelous material, played with love.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Ornette Recording, February 2, 2001

By 

Douglas T Martin (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Montreal Tapes (with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell) (Audio CD)

Except that Ornette Coleman isn't actually on it. At first I passed on this recording because it didn't make sense - one of the classic Ornette Coleman quartets without Ornette playing Ornette Coleman songs. Granted, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Edward Blackwell's amazing interpretive skills and performing techniques contributed greatly to the groundbreaking Ornette Coleman albums for Atlantic; part of what made Coleman's recordings have the impact they did was that the music was presented so convincingly - a lesser band could not have made so bold a statement. But still, I just got the impression that without a sax in the band I would be listening to accompaniments without a melody - it didn't seem right.

I was wrong. One night I heard a trumpet/bass/drum trio wailing through some blues licks on the radio; I told myself that if that was the Haden/Cherry/Blackwell "Montreal Tapes" recording that I would pick it up tomorrow. It was and I did and I was not disappointed (the song I heard was "When Will the Blues Leave?"). After a brief introduction by Haden, the trio works its way through songs from various stages of Coleman's career as well as two catchy Cherry tunes. The trio of sax/bass/drums has become quite common these days with artists like Steve Lacy and Tim Berne doing a lot of great work in this format. I haven't heard any trumpet/bass/drum trios though I'm sure they exist - but I'll bet they can't sound much better than this. Don Cherry takes the frontman role and plays stronger than I have ever heard him play; Ed Blackwell proves over and over why he was one of the best drummers in jazz. This recording was made during a series of performances saluting Charlie Haden's career and he demonstrates why he should be accorded such an honor - his performances are dead-on perfect. A great work by three masters.