Don Cherry - Complete Communion (Blue Note, 1966)

Don Cherry's cornet is legendary. Ornette Coleman's work would not have been the same without Cherry's asset to a few albums. This is an essential record and I'll give you two reasons why:

1. Don Cherry as bandleader. Always standing in the shadows, Cherry must of been working on his own brand of free jazz. Coleman abandoned chord centers opting for very melodic jazz, whereas Coltrane stuck with the chords, tearing the world asunder. Cherry decided just to dodge all this and progress without a formula. What resulted here was a light and airy stress-free communication. Incorporating Eddie Blackwell was his best decision, as he was the most light-handed drummer of the time. Most everyone else was still into the post-bop aggression.

2. And on sax, ladies and gentleman, Gato Barbieri? Yes, the same, the one you know as a heavy hitter of latin jazz. What a pleasure it is to hear him wailing on some free melodic licks.

And the great Henry Grimes is just a given. I lost Cherry after around '72, but he spun solidly crafted material prior to that.

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