John Coltrane & Don Cherry

Biography

John Coltrane & Don Cherry is the credited billing on The Avant-Garde, a landmark album assembled from two Atlantic Records sessions recorded in New York City on June 28 and July 8, 1960. The collaboration brought together two of the most consequential voices in jazz at a pivotal moment: Coltrane, born in Hamlet, North Carolina (September 23, 1926), was at the height of his Atlantic period, having just released Giant Steps, while Cherry, born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (November 18, 1936) and raised in Watts, Los Angeles, had already established himself as the cornetist in Ornette Coleman's groundbreaking quartet. The sessions used Coleman's own rhythm section — Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell — and the repertoire drew heavily from Coleman's compositions, situating the collaboration squarely within the free jazz revolution Coleman had ignited.

The album represents a remarkable convergence of artistic curiosity. Coltrane had become so drawn to Coleman's "harmolodic" approach that he reportedly paid Coleman $30 per lesson — a striking gesture from an already celebrated artist studying a younger peer. The sessions also mark Coltrane's first studio recordings on soprano saxophone, appearing on "The Blessing" and "The Invisible," months before the instrument became central to his identity on My Favorite Things. Atlantic shelved the recordings for nearly six years; by the time The Avant-Garde was released in April 1966, both musicians had undergone enormous artistic transformations — Coltrane had recorded A Love Supreme and was deep into his late free period, while Cherry had spent years integrating global music traditions into his work in Europe and beyond.

The legacy of this collaboration is outsized relative to its modest output of one album. It stands as documentary evidence of the moment Coltrane crossed fully into free jazz territory, and it captures Cherry at his most inventive, navigating between Coleman's melodic freedom and the harmonic complexity Coltrane brought from his "sheets of sound" approach. John Coltrane died of liver cancer on July 17, 1967, at age 40, leaving behind a body of work that earned him a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 2007 and literal sainthood in the African Orthodox Church. Don Cherry continued to push boundaries for three more decades, pioneering what would become "world music" before his death in Málaga, Spain on October 19, 1995. Both remain among the most influential figures in twentieth-century music.

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Fun Facts

• The Avant-Garde sessions mark the first time Coltrane played soprano saxophone in a recording studio — on 'The Blessing' and 'The Invisible' — several months before the instrument became his trademark on 'My Favorite Things' (October 1960).
• Coltrane paid Ornette Coleman $30 per lesson to study free jazz techniques, a remarkable act of humility from an artist who was already a critically acclaimed bandleader and Atlantic Records recording artist.
• Atlantic Records sat on these recordings for nearly six years before releasing the album in 1966 — by which time Coltrane had already recorded 'A Love Supreme' and was considered one of the greatest jazz musicians alive.
• Don Cherry's family became a multi-generational music dynasty: his stepdaughter Neneh Cherry scored a 1989 international hit ('Buffalo Stance'), his son Eagle-Eye Cherry had a 1997 hit ('Save Tonight'), and his son David Ornette Cherry — named after Ornette Coleman — became a jazz musician.
• The entire rhythm section for Session 1 (Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell) was literally Ornette Coleman's working band at the time; Coltrane and Cherry essentially stepped into Coleman's group in Coleman's place, making the sessions a direct conversation with Coleman's harmolodic language even in his physical absence.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Charlie Parker - Coltrane's foundational saxophone influence; hearing Parker in 1945 was, in Coltrane's own words, a revelation that hit him 'right between the eyes' [1940s–1950s]
• Miles Davis - Bandleader who employed Coltrane in the Miles Davis Quintet (1955–1960), shaping his harmonic sophistication and modal approach; also an early trumpet model for Cherry [1955–1960]
• Thelonious Monk - Coltrane's 1957 residency with Monk's group at the Five Spot deeply expanded his harmonic conception
• Ornette Coleman - The dominant creative influence on this collaboration — Cherry's primary partner and musical framework; Coltrane paid Coleman for lessons in free jazz techniques [1958–1960]
• Dennis Sandole - Philadelphia music theory instructor who taught Coltrane advanced harmonic concepts early in his career [Early 1950s]

Key Collaborators

• Charlie Haden - Bassist on the June 28, 1960 session; Ornette Coleman's working bassist at the time, providing continuity with free jazz practice (The Avant-Garde (1966))
• Ed Blackwell - Drummer on both Avant-Garde sessions; core member of Coleman's rhythm section who anchored the free jazz pulse (The Avant-Garde (1966))
• Percy Heath - Bassist on the July 8, 1960 session, replacing Haden for the second date (The Avant-Garde (1966))
• McCoy Tyner - Pianist in Coltrane's classic quartet (1960–1965), central to the modal sound of his Impulse! period [1960–1965]
• Elvin Jones - Drummer in Coltrane's classic quartet; his polyrhythmic intensity defined the ensemble's ferocity [1960–1966]
• Pharoah Sanders - Tenor saxophonist Coltrane championed and brought into his late group, continuing the free jazz lineage [1965–1967]
• Archie Shepp - Saxophonist Coltrane actively promoted; also collaborated with Cherry in the New York Contemporary Five [1960s]

Artists Influenced

• Pharoah Sanders - Direct free jazz protégé of Coltrane; absorbed his late-period intensity and spiritual approach [1965–present]
• Kamasi Washington - Contemporary saxophonist who cites Coltrane as a primary influence, carrying spiritual jazz into the 21st century [2010s–present]
• Neneh Cherry - Don Cherry's stepdaughter, who became a pop and R&B innovator; Don's world-music ethos shaped her artistic outlook [1980s–present]
• Albert Ayler - Free jazz saxophonist who pushed even further beyond Coltrane's late work; mutual influence in the mid-1960s avant-garde [1960s]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia