Don Cherry & Ed Blackwell - El Corazón

Trumpet and drum duets are not exactly commonplace, making this collaboration between Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell something special. The music is often quite sparse (Cherry also plays a little bit of piano, melodica and organ) and the colorful Blackwell often steals the show (although the trumpeter's unaccompanied "Voice of the Silence" is a highpoint). The use of space is consistently impressive and those listeners with open ears will find this thoughtful date quite interesting. - by Scott Yanow, AMG

Trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell had a long creative relationship, beginning in Ornette Coleman's early quartets and continuing intermittently throughout their careers, including the excellent band Old and New Dreams. This 1982 session presents duets, solos, and mini-suites that reveal profound empathy and a shared interest in African and Mediterranean music, with an emphasis on rhythmic and melodic fundamentals carried throughout the CD. Cherry's pocket trumpet has a strong Spanish tinge on "Solidarity" and "El Corazón," while his piano is suitably Monkish on "Bemsha Swing." Blackwell's carefully tuned drums are an added melodic element, with his roots in New Orleans parade drumming showing on "Rhythm for Runner." His "Near-in" is an extended and hypnotic piece for wood drums, while Cherry's "Makondi" is complex percussion music that expands on repeated figures. The concluding "Voice of the Silence" is a strikingly solitary trumpet solo that's magnified by an eerie resonance. This is intimate and magical music making by two very resourceful artists. - by Stuart Broomer, Amazon.com

Artist: Don Cherry & Ed Blackwell
Album: El Corazón
Year: 1982
Quality: eac-flac, cue, log, artw.
Label: ECM
Runtime: 44:32

Tracks:
1.  Mutron/Bemsha Swing/Solidarity/Arabian Nightingale (Don Cherry/Thelonious Monk) 15:18
2.  Roland Alphonso (Roland Alphonso) 3:17
3.  Makondi (Don Cherry) 3:49
4.  Street Dancing (Ed Blackwell)  2:21
5.  Short Stuff/El Corazón/Rhythm for Runner (Ed Blackwell/Don Cherry) 7:29
6.  Near-In (Ed Blackwell) 6:43
7.  Voice of the Silence (Don Cherry) 5:32

Personnel:
Don Cherry (Trumpet, Piano, Melodica, Doussn'gouni and Organ)
Ed Blackwell (Drums, Wood Drums and Cowbell)