The avant-garde

Description

John Coltrane formed his first quartet as a leader at the Jazz Gallery in New York in May 1960. He also began playing soprano saxophone during his stay at this club. It was at this precise time that he recorded his only session with trumpeter Don Cherry, released under the title The Avant-Garde. On this album, Trane is doubled on soprano, but none of the members of his usual quartet (at the time McCoy Tyner, Steve Davis and Pete La Roca) are heard here. For his date with Cherry, the saxophonist instead chose a format more closely associated with Ornette Coleman, Cherry's longtime associate, the piano-less quartet. Charlie Haden and Percy Heath - alternating on bass - and Ed Blackwell - on drums - complete the group.