Search - Charlie Haden, Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell :: The Montreal Tapes (with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell)

A Great Ornette Recording

Douglas T Martin | Alpharetta, GA USA | 02/03/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Haden/Cherry/Blackwell : the meeting of three old friends

JEAN-MARIE JUIF | BESANCON France | 09/23/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Loud? Discordant? Hardly!

johnshade | Falls Church, VA United States | 11/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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)."