Don Cherry - Complete Communion
I think that Cherry's album "Complete Communion" is the apogee of the concepts presented more than 5 years before its recording by the Coleman - Cherry groups. It extends and crystallizes the same ideas of harmonic freedom but it is also much more fun to listen.
The first piece "Complete Communion is more than 20 minutes long but one never feels it. It works on a subconscious level without trying to understand what exactly is going on. Constantly interesting and what is more important constantly surprising.
The wealth of melodic material is amazing. Don Cherry was a super talented writer. Most of the tunes are short, simple and iterated many times. They serve as starting material for improvisations and also as links between the parts of the composition. The song like themes are get stuck in your brain and you just can't get rid of humming them all day long. Cherry's improvisations are far from being perfect but they are full of melodic discoveries and an imaginative exploration of his own tunes. Gato Barbieri with his tenor sax is much more powerful. He is technically accomplished and exciting.
My favorite tune is the one that starts circa the 14th minute when Blackwell changes his use of the drum (I'm not a drummer and can't tell exactly what he is doing but I love it). The final theme is relaxed and somehow official before the beginning is restated and the music halts.
"Elephantasy" starts with a playful tune that is built in a ABA form and a rubato coda which also serves as an introduction to the next theme. The A section has a jumpy melody made of strong rhythmic motifs while the short B is more relaxed and ceremonial. The coda (circa 4 minutes and 45 seconds from beginning) actually contains one phrase initiated several times by Cherry. After the phrase is stated the band locks into a harmony and moods and comments freely. Cherry plays the role of a conductor and a composer simultaneously leading the musicians to new moods and leaving them space for self expression.
The second tune begins at about 6 min. and 20 sec. Barbieri solos typically for him, fiercely with great passion but also logically and songfully. The end of his solo is marked by an accompaniment comprised of long tones played by the horn and Don is next. Notice the difference and the similarities in Gato's accompaniment for him. Grimes brief solo is built around the central motive of this tune and Blackwell changes his drumming to a more subtle one.
The final bunch of melodic material is presented between the 11th and the 14th minutes when a 3/4 groove starts on which Cherry, Barbieri and Grimes run their solos. Most of the ending after the 17th minute is mixes prewritten melodies with ornamentations on those melodies. The ornamentations are not the exactly the same as the old masters like Armstrong and Lester Young used to do.
The restatement of the first tune before the ending makes this piece into a cohesive whole.
