Collin Walcott, Don Cherry & Naná Vasconcelos''Codona - Live At Lugano Estival Jazz''
Trevano, Switzerland, 08 July 1978
Tracklisting:
01. Like that of sky 24:53
02. New light 07:39
03. Relativity suite 09:05
04. Unknown title 05:50
05. Unknown title 03:42
06. Unknown title 02:33
Personnel:
Collin Walcott - sitar, tabla, perc, dulcimer, sanza, voc
Don Cherry - pocket tpt, fl, perc, voc
Naná Vasconcelos - berimbau, perc, voc
Review:
Codona was a merger of three major talents from very different segments of the jazz tradition. Percussionist Nana Vasconcelos provided Brazilian rhythms, which he played on a variety of Third World instruments. Collin Walcott added Indian instrumentation played on sitar and tabla, as well as playing dulcimer and timpani. Jazz trumpet legend Don Cherry supplemented the group's sound with melodica, organ, and flutes in addition to cornet and trumpet. The multi-instrumentalists recorded three albums between 1978 and 1982, in between other musical projects.
Described by Kelsey as "a pastiche of African, Asian, and other indigenous musics," Codona formed in 1977 at the prompting of Manfred Eicher. Cherry guested on Walcott's solo album Grazing Dreams, and Walcott had met Vasconcelos at a recording session for Egberto Gismonti's Sol do Meio Dia. The trio's three groundbreaking albums gained critical respect and accolades from discerning jazz aficionados, and they are credited with presaging the rise of world music in the 1980s. The multi-instrumental capabilities of each of Codona's members as well as their diverse musical backgrounds resulted in a musical stew that seamlessly blends musical influences as widely divergent as American soul and pop, free jazz, Indian, Middle Eastern, European, and South American folk music.
Codona recorded their first album in Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, in what was then West Germany. According to the The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, this debut is "one of the iconic episodes in so-called (but never better called) 'world music.'" The writer goes on to describe the group's music: "Any tendency to regard Codona's music, or Walcott's compositions, as floating impressionism is sheer prejudice, for all these performances are deeply rooted in modern jazz (Coltrane's harmonies and rhythms, Ornette Coleman's melodic and rhythmic primitivism) and in another great and related improvisational tradition from Brazil." The debut album is noted for including a medley of Coleman tunes blended with portions of Stevie Wonder's musical tribute to Duke Ellington, "Sir Duke." According to the Penguin editors: "The permutations of instrumental sounds are astonishing, but rooted in a basic jazz-trio format of horn, harmony and percussion. All three men contribute string accompaniment: Walcott on his sitar, Vasconcelos on the 'bow-and-arrow' berimbau, Cherry on the Malian doussn' gouni. The interplay is precise and often intense." While admiring the group's two subsequent albums, the Penguin editors concluded that neither matches the first in terms of artistic audacity; they did, however, admire the composition "Walking on Eggs" from Codona, Vol. 3 as "one of [Walcott's] and [Codona's] best performances."
Bruce Walker (AMG)
01. Like that of sky 24:53
02. New light 07:39
03. Relativity suite 09:05
04. Unknown title 05:50
05. Unknown title 03:42
06. Unknown title 02:33
Personnel:
Collin Walcott - sitar, tabla, perc, dulcimer, sanza, voc
Don Cherry - pocket tpt, fl, perc, voc
Naná Vasconcelos - berimbau, perc, voc
Review:
Codona was a merger of three major talents from very different segments of the jazz tradition. Percussionist Nana Vasconcelos provided Brazilian rhythms, which he played on a variety of Third World instruments. Collin Walcott added Indian instrumentation played on sitar and tabla, as well as playing dulcimer and timpani. Jazz trumpet legend Don Cherry supplemented the group's sound with melodica, organ, and flutes in addition to cornet and trumpet. The multi-instrumentalists recorded three albums between 1978 and 1982, in between other musical projects.
Described by Kelsey as "a pastiche of African, Asian, and other indigenous musics," Codona formed in 1977 at the prompting of Manfred Eicher. Cherry guested on Walcott's solo album Grazing Dreams, and Walcott had met Vasconcelos at a recording session for Egberto Gismonti's Sol do Meio Dia. The trio's three groundbreaking albums gained critical respect and accolades from discerning jazz aficionados, and they are credited with presaging the rise of world music in the 1980s. The multi-instrumental capabilities of each of Codona's members as well as their diverse musical backgrounds resulted in a musical stew that seamlessly blends musical influences as widely divergent as American soul and pop, free jazz, Indian, Middle Eastern, European, and South American folk music.
Codona recorded their first album in Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, in what was then West Germany. According to the The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, this debut is "one of the iconic episodes in so-called (but never better called) 'world music.'" The writer goes on to describe the group's music: "Any tendency to regard Codona's music, or Walcott's compositions, as floating impressionism is sheer prejudice, for all these performances are deeply rooted in modern jazz (Coltrane's harmonies and rhythms, Ornette Coleman's melodic and rhythmic primitivism) and in another great and related improvisational tradition from Brazil." The debut album is noted for including a medley of Coleman tunes blended with portions of Stevie Wonder's musical tribute to Duke Ellington, "Sir Duke." According to the Penguin editors: "The permutations of instrumental sounds are astonishing, but rooted in a basic jazz-trio format of horn, harmony and percussion. All three men contribute string accompaniment: Walcott on his sitar, Vasconcelos on the 'bow-and-arrow' berimbau, Cherry on the Malian doussn' gouni. The interplay is precise and often intense." While admiring the group's two subsequent albums, the Penguin editors concluded that neither matches the first in terms of artistic audacity; they did, however, admire the composition "Walking on Eggs" from Codona, Vol. 3 as "one of [Walcott's] and [Codona's] best performances."
Bruce Walker (AMG)
By Celo
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