Old & New Dreams

Some very rare footage today of one of my favorite groups of all-time, Old & New Dreams, featuring the great drummer Edward Blackwell on the tune "Happy House":



I'll always have a special place for Ed Blackwell as he was one of the first jazz drummers that I checked out during my teens. I remember checking out an LP copy of Don Cherry's album "El Corazon" from the Regina Public Library during the early 1990s. The album features Cherry and Blackwell playing duets and I was impressed with how Blackwell combined the bebop drumming of Max Roach with the parade beats of New Orleans and the exotic rhythms of West Africa. There are some great solos on this album with Ed Blackwell playing a log drum !

During my later studies at McGill University, my drum teacher Chris McCann (who had been a student of Blackwell's) would teach me quite a bit about Ed Blackwell's unique approach to the drums. I also gained a deeper appreciation for the band Old & New Dreams and this provided me a great introduction to the music of Ornette Coleman.