Don Cherry's Pocket Trumpet Meets Free Jazz Freedom
Cherry's pocket trumpet cuts through Mangelsdorff's multiphonic trombonist innovations with pure melodic warmth.
Don Cherry's pocket trumpet is the secret weapon here. While Albert Mangelsdorff gets the marquee billing and rightfully so—his multiphonic technique was genuinely unusual for jazz trombone in the late sixties—it's Cherry who gives this session its emotional core. He plays with a kind of conversational intimacy, never pushing, never overplaying, which creates space for Mangelsdorff's complex harmonic experiments to breathe. The trombone doing multiple notes at once can sound clinical or showy in the wrong hands, but with Cherry present, asking gentle questions through his horn, the whole thing feels like a genuine dialogue between friends rather than a trombonist showing off a technique.
Elvin Jones anchors everything with his characteristically intelligent drumming—no bombast, just responsive listening. Karl Berger on vibraphone adds color without clutter. The session has a chamber-music quality despite the free jazz vocabulary, probably because Cherry refuses to let things get abstract or cold. He keeps pulling the conversation back to melody, to something almost lyrical.
This is not Mangelsdorff's most celebrated work, but it's one where his innovation feels integrated into actual musical storytelling rather than isolated as technique. Cherry's presence ensures that even the most experimental passages have a human scale. For anyone curious about Mangelsdorff's multiphonic work, start here before tackling his more challenging solo efforts.
Who's playing
Don Cherrytrumpet
Albert Mangelsdorfftrombone
Elvin Jonesdrums
Karl Bergervibraphone
Attila Zollerperformer
Lee Konitzperformer
Wolfgang Daunerperformer
Where next?
The musicians on this record
Where Is Brooklyn? 1969
Don Cherry
plays trumpet here
plays trumpet here
Heavy Sounds 1968
Elvin Jones
plays drums (drum set) here
plays drums (drum set) here
Alone Together 1959
Lee Konitz
plays performer here
plays performer here
