CD ECM Records Old And New Dreams: Playing

1981
Don Cherry - trompeta, pian
Dewey Redman - saxofon tenor, musette
Charlie Haden - contrabas
Ed Blackwell - tobe

AllMusic:
"This Austrian concert CD features the four notable Ornette Coleman alumni (trumpeter Don Cherry, tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Ed Blackwell) stretching out on three of Ornette's tunes, plus a song apiece from Cherry, Redman and Haden. Although Cherry's chops were not quite in peak form anymore, Redman is consistently stirring. Recommended, as are Old and New Dreams' other three releases. "

ecmreviews.com:

"This fantastic set, recorded live in Austria, is the place to start for anyone wanting a glimpse into the attic of Old And New Dreams. The playing is on point, the crowd riled, and the stakes high. From that first lively jump into “Happy House,” one of three extended Ornette Coleman tunes, we are plunged into the group’s quintessential sonic parameters.

Lithe syncopations from Dewey Redman relate to Ed Blackwell’s drumming like family, while the free-flowing trumpeting of Don Cherry loosens its grip on predictability for a style that is utterly devoid of pretense and ever eager to communicate.

Charlie Haden’s melodious plasticity completes a formula that carries through to the last drop. Just listen to the gut-wrenching tenor solo in “New Dream,” the liquid horns and percolating toms of “Broken Shadows,” where Redman’s musette also unfurls for a fantastically CODONA-like sound, and tell me there isn’t something special going on here.

Cherry drops a groovy hit of his own with the pointillist “Mopti,” of which the infectious pianism from the composer and attuned percussion delight. Redman contributes “Rushour,” the album’s most incendiary flush. The incredible saxophonism and expansive lyric trumpeting spread their joys far and wide. The title track comes from the hand of Haden, around whose spine horns weave like a medical caduceus before being lobbed back into their familiar station like ping-pong balls at the ready."