Don Cherry, Cecil Taylor, and the Lost Candid Project: A Source‑Based Overview

[Luciano]

1. Scope of This Document
 This file brings together all source-based information concerning the documented and semi-documented intersections between Don Cherry and Cecil Taylor during the Candid period. Only material directly relevant to Cherry, Taylor, and the lost Candid project is included.
 
 2. DownBeat Yearbook 1972
 Buell Neidlinger briefly mentions an episode involving Don Cherry during the early 1960s Candid period. While not describing a recording, the testimony indicates Cherry’s presence around Taylor’s circle and aligns with later accounts.
 
 3. Cadence Magazine, Vol. 12, No. 6 (June 1986)
 In this interview, conducted by Bob Rusch, Neidlinger recalls Cherry’s involvement in a New York R’n’B session. Although not directly tied to Taylor, it reinforces Cherry’s proximity to the same musical environment active during the Candid years.
 
 4. Cadence Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 10 (October 1997)
 This interview contains the most significant testimony regarding a planned Cherry–Taylor collaboration. Neidlinger states that he organized a recording session with Cecil Taylor, that Don Cherry attended all rehearsals and was expected to be the trumpeter, and that Cherry withdrew on the eve of the session after Ornette Coleman warned him that participating would jeopardize his position in Ornette’s band.
 
 5. The Question of Actual Musical Encounters
 No verified recording or documented performance confirms that Cherry and Taylor ever played together. Neidlinger’s 1997 account shows that a collaboration was planned and nearly realized. Other musicians have hinted at informal encounters, but no primary source has been verified.
 
 6. Current Assessment
 There is no evidence of a completed Candid recording involving both Cherry and Taylor. The testimonies from 1972, 1986, and 1997 help reconstruct the environment in which such a project could have occurred. The 1997 interview provides the strongest indication of a near-collaboration. Further archival research may clarify whether any rehearsal tapes or documentation survive.