DON CHERRY
Symphony for Improvisers
Blue Note
Trumpet player Don Cherry was pretty much
Blue Note’s premiere find in the 60s avant-garde jazz
sweepstakes. The label was a bit late to the party, and
though they ended up releasing excellent recordings by formidable
avant-garde names such as Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman,
and Cecil Taylor, that was only after these musicians had
already done groundbreaking work on other labels who proceeded
to drop them eventually. 1964’s Complete Communion
was Cherry’s first for Blue Note, and it featured
tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri, who became a part of Cherry’s
regular European group. In the U.S. Cherry was playing with
an ensemble that included tenor sax player Pharoah Sanders
before he collaborated with John Coltrane. Symphony
for Improvisers, recorded in 1966, combines the two,
at least on one track.
The album is divided between two lengthy pieces.
The first, “Symphony for Improvisers” is a four-part
suite that tends to exude an upbeat, bustling air that remains
light and low-density for the most part. This is in part
due to the difference in timbre and pitch of the three front
line instruments. Cherry plays cornet, Barbieri plays tenor,
and Sanders plays piccolo. Though the piccolo and cornet
share a fair amount of range, the difference between the
bright piccolo and the more burnished sound of the cornet
is very easy for the human ear to discern. This is true
even though Cherry does explore the cornet’s upper
range quite a bit. Karl Berger plays vibes on this track,
and Henry Grimes plays bass on the opening section, but
apparently is replaced by Jen-Francois Jenny-Clark on the
remaining sections. In fact, Grimes and Jenny-Clark never
play at the same time, so both suites have a switch of bassist
at some point.
The opening section takes up much of the piece’s
entire length, with an eventual diminuendo marking the transition
to the second section of the piece, “Nu Creative Love.”
This piece almost seems like hard-driving hard bop piece
until one realizes that the establishment of a more linear
beat is an illusion created by the incredible drumming of
Ed Blackwell, who is at the very peak of his powers here.
The piece shifts gears around nine minutes in to the Albert
Ayler-ish “What’s Not Serious,” a section
that overtly features Blackwell and recreates Ayler’s
folk and gospel music inflected compositions. The final
section picks the tempo back up again, ending the suite
on a very satisfying note as both Cherry and Blackwell take
undeniably interesting, well-structure solos.
“Manhattan Cry” is a more lyrical,
open-spaced improvisational framework. Both Sanders and
Barbieri play tenor sax on this track, but like the bassists
they never play together. Barbieri plays through the first
two sections, “Manhattan Cry” and “Lunatic,”
with Jenny-Clark on bass. Following a balladic opening featuring
Berger on piano and Cherry, again on cornet, Barbieri plays
a haunting and expressive solo around three minutes in that
demonstrates what a burning, open tone he had and the sheer
fire and imagination of his avant-garde playing. “Lunatic,”
the second section, finds Berger back on vibes (which he
continues to play for the rest of the album), while Cherry
and Barbieri outline the melodic content of the piece. All
three musicians solo, and then a brief solo by drummer Blackwell
leads into the third section, “Sparkle Plenty.”
From here on out Grimes and Sanders take over. Sanders solos,
followed by Berger and then again by Sanders. Grimes plays
an arco solo leading to the final section, “Om Nu.”
Symphony for Improvisers is one of
Cherry’s landmark recordings, and it is one of the
most enjoyable free jazz recordings from the period. Those
not familiar with the more fiery tenor sax work of Gato
Barbieri’s early years are in for a real surprise,
and Sanders also offers some fine work here, as does Cherry
himself. Perhaps the finest performance, though belongs
to Ed Blackwell, who is also there, encouraging, supporting,
and cajoling the players. He is a strong force, but never
overbearing, and drummers will find this recording a particularly
instructive one. Together with Complete Communion and
Where Is Brooklyn, Symphony for Improvisers
provides a look at one of the freshest improvisers and musicians
around at a critical juncture in his career.
