Complete Communion
Blue Note arrived late on the '60s avant-garde scene, only recording figures likeEric Dolphy,Ornette Coleman, andCecil Taylorafter they had disappeared from the rosters of other major American jazz labels.Complete Communion, from 1964, was Don Cherry's first session as a leader after brilliant sideman contributions with Ornette Coleman andSonny Rollins, and it's one of the landmark records of the era. The music consists of two long suites of interlocking Cherry compositions, and they're played with telepathic precision and explosive energy by a great quartet ofGato Barbierion tenor saxophone, bassist Henry Grimes, and Cherry's long-term collaboratorEd Blackwellon drums. Cherry is in superb form, throwing off high notes like bright spears and twisting lines that suddenly rebound into the ensembles. For those who only know Barbieri's work from his later, more commercially inclined Brazilian-flavored work, his playing here will be a revelation. He combines an original sound, booting energy, and a startling melodic fluency that leaps freely over his horn's range. This is an essential document of jazz in the '60s. --Stuart Broomer