| Playing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1981 | |||
| Recorded | June 1980 | |||
| Venue | The Cornmarket Theater Bregenz, Austria | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 54:52 | |||
| Label | ECM ECM 1205 | |||
| Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
| Old and New Dreams chronology | ||||
| ||||
Playing is a live album by American jazz quartet Old and New Dreams recorded at the Cornmarket Theater in Austria and released on ECM the following year. The quartet consists brass section Don Cherry and Dewey Redman and rhythm section Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell. [1]
Regarding the album's opener, JazzTimes ' critic Ethan Iverson commented: "You could almost call this outstanding performance a jam session. The harmonic matrix between Redman and Haden is thrilling; they’re making up changes and patterns together. Cherry is also in prime form. During each horn solo, Blackwell and Haden go into halftime. In response, Redman gives us pure diatonic melody, while Cherry deals out the blues. The bass solo is fabulous; the collective improvisation after is joyous; Blackwell gets a proper say as well. If I had to choose one Old and New Dreams track, I'd select 'Happy House.'" [2]
AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars with reviewer Scott Yanow calling it "Recommended, as are Old and New Dreams' other three releases." [3]
Writing for ECM blog Between Space and Time, Reviewer Tyran Grillo called the album a "fantastic set" that is "the place to start for anyone wanting a glimpse into the attic of Old And New Dreams." He wrote: "Considering the heft of talents assembled here, the results are weightlessly executed. This shows not weakness or lack of fortitude, but the maturity everyone brings to the sonic table. This is a solid date from musicians who know the business inside and out, and then some. About as good as it gets." [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [5] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [6] |
Donald Eugene Cherry was an American jazz trumpeter. Beginning in the late 1950s, he had a long tenure performing in the bands of saxophonist Ornette Coleman, including on the pioneering free jazz albums The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) and Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation (1960). Cherry also collaborated separately with musicians such as John Coltrane, Charlie Haden, Sun Ra, Ed Blackwell, the New York Contemporary Five, and Albert Ayler.
Edward Joseph Blackwell was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for his extensive, influential work with Ornette Coleman.
Walter Dewey Redman was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett.
Old and New Dreams was an American jazz group that was active from 1976 to 1987. The group was composed of tenor saxophone player Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden, trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell. All of the members were former sidemen of free jazz progenitor and alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman, and the group played a mix of Coleman's compositions and originals by the band members.
This Is Our Music is the fifth album by saxophonist Ornette Coleman, recorded in 1960 and released on Atlantic Records in March 1961. It is the first with drummer Ed Blackwell replacing his predecessor Billy Higgins in the Coleman Quartet, and is the only one of Coleman's Atlantic albums to include a standard, in this case a version of "Embraceable You" by George and Ira Gershwin.
The Ballad of the Fallen is a jazz album by bassist Charlie Haden, with arrangements by Carla Bley, recorded in November 1982 and released on ECM October the following year.
Ethan Iverson is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King.
Eyes of The Heart is a live album by American pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at the Theater am Kornmarkt in Bregenz, Austria in May 1976 and released on ECM in 1979—the last release by Jarrett's "American Quartet", featuring saxophonist Dewey Redman and rhythm section Charlie Haden and Paul Motian.
80/81 is a double album by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny recorded over four days in May 1980 and released on ECM later that year. The trio features rhythm section Charlie Haden and Jack DeJohnette with guest saxophonists Dewey Redman and Michael Brecker.
Fort Yawuh is a jazz album by American pianist and composer Keith Jarrett. Originally released in 1973 by Impulse! Records, it marks the beginning of the label’s relationship with Jarrett. Recorded live at the Village Vanguard on February 24, 1973 by Jarrett's "American Quartet": Dewey Redman on tenor saxophone, Charlie Haden on acoustic bass, Paul Motian on drums, plus percussionist Danny Johnson. The title of the album is an anagram of "Fourth Way," a reference to George Gurdjieff's fourth path of self-awareness.
Shades is the fifth album on the Impulse label by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. Originally released in 1976, it features performances by Jarrett's 'American Quartet', which included Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian with Guilherme Franco added on percussion.
Back Hand is an album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded in two sessions in October 1974 that also gave way to the album Death and the Flower. Originally released in 1975 by Impulse!, it features performances by Jarrett's American Quartet, which included Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian along with Guilherme Franco added on percussion. For a long time, the album remained a relatively obscure work until it was resuscitated by Impulse! years later.
Somewhere Before is a live album by pianist Keith Jarrett recorded on August 30 and 31, 1968, at Shelly's Manne-Hole in Hollywood, California with his first trio, composed of Charlie Haden (bass) and Paul Motian (drums).
Old and New Dreams is the debut album by the jazz quartet Old and New Dreams. The record features trumpeter Don Cherry, saxophonist Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Ed Blackwell and was recorded in 1976 for the Italian Black Saint label. It is not to be confused with their 1979 album of the same name for ECM.
Old and New Dreams is the self-titled second album by jazz quartet Old and New Dreams, recorded in 1979 and released on ECM later that year. The quintet features trumpeter Don Cherry, saxophonist Dewey Redman, and rhythms section Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell—their debut, released on Black Saint, was also self titled.
A Tribute to Blackwell is a live album by jazz quartet Old and New Dreams. Recorded in 1987, it features trumpeter Don Cherry, saxophonist Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Ed Blackwell. It was released on the Italian Black Saint label.
El Corazón is an album by jazz trumpeter Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell recorded in February 1982 and released on ECM later that year.
The Golden Number is an album of four duets by bassist Charlie Haden recorded in 1976 and released on the Horizon label in 1977. Haden’s duet partners are trumpeter Don Cherry, tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp, pianist Hampton Hawes and alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Hawes died shortly before the album’s release, and Haden dedicated the work to him in the liner notes.
Friends and Neighbors: Live at Prince Street is a live album by the American jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman recorded in 1970 and released on the Flying Dutchman label.
The Belgrade Concert is a live album by Ornette Coleman. It was recorded in November 1971 in Belgrade, and was released by Jazz Door in 1995. On the album, which was recorded one day after the concert documented on Live in Paris 1971, Coleman is joined by saxophonist Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Ed Blackwell.
