Customer Reviews

The Montreal Tapes (with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell)

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Contrary to an earlier review, this CD is neither loud nor discordant. Cherry plays lovely melodic lines, Haden provides the skeleton (and steps out on his own with his usual fluency) and Blackwell is enormously creative. No, of course it's not Bill Evans! But it's just as great in its own way. This is one of Haden's best as far as I'm concerned (whereas I found Nocturne a little somnolent, if beautiful).

Like other people, I wasn't sure I would enjoy such a sparse ensemble. But I was pleasantly surprised to hear how it swings. Don Cherry's playing is quite loose, but he has great tone, and it's a rare treat to hear him play with a mute. The sound is quite close to Miles Davis on the French soundtrack Lift to the Scaffold (which has a trio setting). Ed Blackwell's illness is not evident, and his playful phrasings are witty and interesting. Charlie Haden's bass has a huge tone. His playing is tight and provides a perfect platform to bridge the sometimes scattered phrasings of the trumpet and drums. While the selections are cool, and the playing is strong, this is an exceptionally well-recorded performance, especially being live. Highlights include the deeply contemplative "Lonely Woman," the catchy "Art Deco" and the gleeful "When Will the Blues Leave." As usual, Don Cherry throws everyone for a loop during "Mopti" (the real title is "Guinea"), when he sets his trumpet aside to play his "3-in-1," a kazoo bound together with a didjeradoo and woodblock. But it demonstrates his soaring sense of humor. This is easily worth 15 bucks.

This is a live recording made in 1989 of bassist Haden playing with trumpeter Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell on drums--something like an Ornette Coleman Quartet recording, only without Ornette, or an Old and New Dreams recording without Dewey Redman. It certainly does not sound as if anyone is missing, however, as these three craftsmen ply their trade with grace and unity born of many years of playing together. Creative, fun, and energetic, The Montreal Tapes should appeal to jazz and world music fans alike.

Well recording,full of imaginatioin and passion.You just can't miss it.

After hearing the exquisite playing on Charlie Haden's Nocturne,I thought for sure this album would be enjoyable ,too. Not so! Either I am not "hip" or progressive enough or this album stinks. Every cut seems to drift into loud dissonant passages, and the more so the longer the cut seems to get and the louder the recording engineer seems to mix it. Afraid we'll miss some of it I guess. I have heard this album compared to Bill Evans music. I don't see this at all, and I've collected Bill Evans for many years. I have nearly a dozen Haden albums and this ranks just about at the bottom.