Don Cherry

Person · Male

Don Cherry

jazz trumpeter

From
Oklahoma City, United States
Active
1936–1995
Releases
78
  • jazz
  • avant-garde jazz
  • free jazz
  • spiritual jazz

About

Donald Eugene Cherry (November 18, 1936 – October 19, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist. 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 (1961). Cherry also collaborated separately with musicians including John Coltrane, Charlie Haden, Sun Ra, Ed Blackwell, the New York Contemporary Five, and Albert Ayler.

Read more

Cherry released his debut album as bandleader, Complete Communion, in 1966. In the 1970s, he became a pioneer in world fusion, with his work drawing on African, Middle Eastern, and Hindustani music, as heard on the 1975 release Brown Rice. He was a member of the ECM group Codona, along with percussionist Naná Vasconcelos and sitar and tabla player Collin Walcott. Chris Kelsey of AllMusic called Cherry "one of the most influential jazz musicians of the late 20th century."

From Don Cherry (trumpeter) on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Member of

Discography

Albums 30
EPs 1
Singles 1
Live 35
Compilations 8
Other 3

Links

Married

Parent

Supporting musician

Also known as

Cherry, Don · Donald Eugene Cherry · ドン・チェリー

Tags

  • 2008 universal fire victim

Identifiers

ISNI
0000000110677283

Data from MusicBrainz, saved 8 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.