'Old and New Dreams' are Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell; a quartet comprised of Ornette Coleman alumni.
As bassist Charlie Haden explained:
"We feel that everything we experienced together playing with Ornette shouldn't stop. That improvised acoustic music doesn't happen now, not that way. We're not duplicating 20-year-old songs, but playing from Ornette´s harmelodic concept which each of us grew up in, playing on the feeling rather than the chord structure or melody."
Confusingly, Old and New Dreams made two self-titled albums, the first was for the Black Saint label in 1976, and the second for ECM Records in 1979, which is today's freeload.
To my ears the highlights of this recording are an extended performance of the classic "Lonely Woman" on which bass player Charlie Haden really shines. The two African-influenced originals, "Togo" by drummer Ed Blackwell, which is based on a Ghanese traditional folk song and "Guinea" by trumpeter/pianist Don Cherry. And then there's Charlie Haden’s "Song for the Whales" on which Charlie said "It was written with respect for all species of whales, in the hope that they will soon be protected by international law." Well, Charlie got his wish fulfilled [though one can argue about just how effective the International Whaling Convention actually is - Ed.]. I once read somewhere that the song of the humpback whale spans eight octaves. From the way this track sounds, Charlie's bass can span eight octaves.
This is Free Jazz, but accessibly so.
Tracks:
- Lonely Woman
- Guinea
- Open Or Close
- Orbit Of La-Ba
- Song For The Whales
Don Cherry - trumpet, piano
Dewey Redman - Tenor saxophone and Musette (suona)
(The instrument, Suona, is a Han Chinese oboe, also called Laba, and is credited as a "Musette" on this release)
Charlie Haden - Bass
Ed Blackwell - Drums
Produced by Manfred Eicher
Recorded in August 1979 at Talent Studio, Oslo
This is a vinyl rip of Original German pressing from 1979
For the freeload, tell us what your favorite non-domesticated wild animal is.