Don Cherry - s/d

Cherry's appearance on 'Escalator Over The Hill' is one of the real highlights of that alb.

Yeah, that 'Communion' reish is terrif; I also really like the 1988 'mainstream' alb 'Art Deco', which features a tenor player called James Clay, an underrecorded Texan contemporary of Ornette's, plus the classic rhythm section of Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins.

Has anybody heard that recentish BBC concert recording?

and i always had a feeling i wouldn't like Ornette. i have no idea why, just one of those prejudices you build up from stuff you read. i'm sure if i had some, i'd totally dig it. the only Ornette record i have is "Dancing in Your Head", one of his free-funk albums, which i love with all my heart.

thanks for these threads jason. plenty to check out.

'brown rice' might be my don cherry OPO, and i'm a big fan. the blue note trilogy is fantastic (esp. "symphony for improvisers"), and yeah, i'll second the "escalator over the hill" nod.

'eternal now' hasn't been mentioned yet, so i'll throw it out. it's cherry and the swedes in smaller ensembles, with some piano work and wooden wind instruments. it's a strong step towards the less identifiably "jazz", more uniquely "don cherry" music.

You do owe it to yourself to listen to him with Ornette. I have a special fondness for his work on the Complete Science Fiction Sessions, there's some fire on that shit.

http://users.northroute.net/~rpepper/celebs/doncherry2.jpg

wait, he plays music too, you say? THIS i gotta hear!

thee t

the two sets are trios. one is cherry, his wife mocqui on tamboura (ouch) and bennik. the other is cherry, johnny diani and okay tamiz (don't ask, i don't know).

the pieces seem compositionally similar to the "eternal rhythm" and "w/ penderecki" albums but they lack the power of those big groups and also ramble on more. can you imagine mu pts. 1+2 played w/ the E.R.O. (i can't). it doesn't help that the sound uniformly sucks and the percussion is generally pretty flat.

the one bright spot is a 20 minute improv on the "si ta ra ma" vocal chant that's mostly unaccompanied cherry. well, there's a bongo, but damned if i register anything but cherry. sounds dubious, i know, though i love it love it love it.

the albums most similar to humus are "eternal rhythm" and "eternal now" because they feature large ensembles. "orient" is similar in aim but it has a much smaller group of players. because it is a live album though it has similar energy. "mu 1+2" are also similar but it's a duo, and a studio recording, so it's much more meditative and less kinetic than "humus".

"humus" is very similar to pharoah sanders late 60s and early 70s work: "tauhid", "izipho zam", "karma" and "summun bukmun umyun" are definite must-haves. they are more focused and polished than cherry's work but similar in the blend of eastern and western motifs, and the energy playing, and the wild percussion, etc. also check out early alice coltrane (ptah the el daoud, world galaxy, universal consciousness) and maybe late john coltrane (crescent might be a good starting point). possibly even clifford thornton or archie shepp in morocco or even the jazzactuel 3cd reissue sampler box, that may be a good start.

these are similar to "humus" in overall sound but not in the way "humus" uses several different forms over the course of a composition - free playing giving way to funky stuff giving way to an eastern section or a ragtime or whatever. if i remember correctly, that is unique to "humus" in cherry's recordings. so for that angle, maybe check out the early 70s work of the art ensemble of chicago, sun ra, and charlie haden (particularly the liberation music orchestra recording mentioned above).

Seeing him and his battered pocket trumpet really got me into Ornette and then Jazz in general.

http://www.mingeringmike.com/images/lps09_20.jpg

http://www.mingeringmike.com/images/lps03_20.jpg

Another good'un not mentioned yet: Vibrations, possibly my favourite Albert Ayler record.

More?

i may have mentioned this on another Don Cherry thread (or a terry riley thread), but there's a tape of the two of them playing sometime in the mid-70s that is one of the greatest things I've ever heard. it's reallyreallyreally beautiful.

I want that

http://davecook.blog-city.com/don_cherry.htm

^ terry riley / don cherry

I love you

Is there anything more from that session?

cos it's fucking great.

I've been told to listen to rip rig & panic by a lot of people but haven't got round to it yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUBTHb3jGoU
DON CHERRY / HERBIE HANCOCK / RON CARTER / BILLY HIGGINS - Bemsha Swing, 1986

Billy Bang w/ Don Cherry, Wilber Morris, Dennis Charles
Untitled Gift (Anima, 1982)
Track: Echovamp 1678

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdMPgXm7UXQ

Magnus Nygren, who I google periodically since he's been working on a Don Cherry biography for over a decade, has now set up a website/newsletter to give updates on his progress and share tidbits from his research

https://www.doncherrybook.com/

that's cool — there should definitely be a big bio about Don! I imagine it's a tough book to write, he was a busy guy.

would love to see this exhibition: https://fabricworkshopandmuseum.org/exhibition/the-living-temple-the-world-of-moki-cherry/

It seems that Moki's pieces have been traveling the USA under various guises in the past few years. There was also the Corbett v. Dempsey "Communicate, How?" exhibition, which resulted in a book of the same name

I followed the live adventures of Lou and Don around YouTube for a while, some results posted here:
TS: 1970's Lou Reed vs 1980's Lou Reed

that's cool — there should definitely be a big bio about Don! I imagine it's a tough book to write, he was a busy guy.

Yeah, that would give me screaming nightmares, because it's not like he just moved from Big Project to Big Project... he'd just... show up somewhere, play with some guys, and then move on. Just deciding "do I include this weird one-off thing, but not that one?" would drive me nuts. If you include all of them, you wind up with a book about 40 people are interested in. And if you just skim off the highlights, you wind up with a book all 40 of those people will chase you down on social media to complain about.

lol

I realize it's heresy in most of my music dork circles including here, but I cannot get with most of his "classic" material aside from Brown Rice/ST.

I do really dig this sellout album for A&M that reminds me of the superb late-period Sun Ra discs from this same time/label.

https://www.discogs.com/master/699987-Don-Cherry-Multikulti

like those Mu duets? gtfo with that

but... I love the Codona records

you ever hear this one sleeve? https://doncherrylatifkhan.bandcamp.com/album/music-sangam

it was on my radar but I don't think so, thanks

His discography is positively kaleidoscopic, there's something there for everyone I'd imagine. Everyone with ears, that is :)

Seems like he drew me into Ornette's music before Ornette's own playing did, at least some of the time, early on.

Mu duets are killer, love them as much as Brown Rice

it's a me problem, I admit

do you use spotify and/or qobuz? i made a playlist of some drone-ier cherry that might be up your alley if you like codona and brown rice. maybe some leads there to follow up on

Organic Music may be a halfway point between Brown Rice and the Mu style free-er improv. I’ll admit having no critical abilities with Cherry’s music, I really do love it all.

The Latif Khan is a really nice duet, a great contrast to the Blackwell duets.

Dow, would love to hear your playlist, I use spotify

Assuming you mean me but yeah for sure. I realized that when I made it almost five years ago (how is this possible?) I never really finished it, so I rounded it out with a few more tracks, should be a fun journey. Couldn't think of a better title so may change if one occurs to me

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5YRzBWmw5qdhLBwLSgwW3K?si=0961284dc58f4a3c

no Spotify or Qobuz for me, but if any of this is on Bandcamp I'd love links

If you can at least see album titles, those would all be good to look at imo. The last one is in Japanese on Spotify for some reason but it's called Third World Underground

tbh some of the tracks are swiped from longer multi-track pieces, so the sequencing is kind of abrupt. For that reason I might re-do this as a mixcloud mix and if so will post

ooh that would be perfect!

cool, i'll add it to my list :D

NB i don't pay for Spotify anymore, i'm guessing the playlists will still work though

thanks, friend. queued up now

version of this linked upthread, but this is nicer quality and it's all in one place rather than parted out

Don Cherry Swedish TV Documentary 1978

whole thing is a gem front to back, but great footage of Moki working on her tapestries around 41:51

Ah that's a great doc, cool to see a better quality version.

Picked up the reissued Live In Ankara LP recently. Quite a loose and scrappy vibe, but there's a great energy and I love Don's takes on traditional Turkish tunes. There's a sweet Creator Has a Master Plan too, which shows how quickly it became part of the canon. Okay Temiz et al are in fine form.

The Moki exhibition is in Philadelphia until April. Will be there for a couple of days in March so will hopefully catch it at last!

Very cool, are you going to check out Solar Myth?

btw my DC mix is done, just need to think of a good title and then will throw it on Mixcloud. It's a little different and imo better than the Spot playlist

<3

https://www.mixcloud.com/abschied/its-not-my-music-don-cherry-and-friends-19711990/

1. Dialogue from Swedish TV documentary (1978)
2. Don Cherry & Ed Blackwell - Makondi (1982)
3. Hans Isgren - Manusha Raga Kamboji (1972)
4. Don Cherry & Latif Khan - One Dance (1978)
5. Don Cherry et al. - Luna Turca (1976)
6. Don Cherry et al. - excerpt from “Another Dome Session” (1971)
7. Mandingo Griot Society feat. Don Cherry - Sounds from the Bush (1978)
8. Don Cherry - Eagle Eye (1977)
9. Don Cherry - Chenrezig (1975)
10. Bengt Berger - Bitter Funeral Beer Live ’82
11. Dialogue from Swedish TV documentary (1978)
12. Codona - Hey Da Ba Doom (1982)
13. Don Cherry et al. - Marimba (1977)
14. Don Cherry - Melodica (1990)
15. The Holy Mountain OST - Isla (The Sapphic Sleep) (1973)
16. Jean Schwarz & Don Cherry - Doussn’ Gouni pt. 2 (1977)
17. Carlos Ward, Dollar Brand & Don Cherry - Waya-Wa-Egoli / Swazi / Wayeah-Wayeah-O (1972)

Ah nice will be checking this out!

yeah thanks! listening now

wow what's at 54:00?

That's one of Don's tunes, variously called "Orient," "Hope," and "Utopia and Visions," that he played on many different albums. Here it's the version from the Holy Mountain soundtrack called "Isla."

ah ty, that's another one I actually have but it's orphaned in the DVD box set so I always forget to play it

The last one is in Japanese on Spotify for some reason but it's called Third World Underground

i remember this one from inconstant sol blog years ago! iirc the moving parts are mostly really nice but they tend to change it up as soon as it gets going, lotta disruptions in the flow

. Hans Isgren

!!!

Hoping to check out Solar Myth. Not too far from where we're staying. Any Philly record store recommendations welcome!

I endowed a chair at Solar Myth under the Burning Ambulance name - look for it if you get there for a show...

Nice! Even if I don’t catch a show it looks like a cool place for a hang.

Hoping to check out Solar Myth. Not too far from where we're staying. Any Philly record store recommendations welcome!

There was a good one in Old City on N. 2nd Street with a good jazz selection but it may no longer exist

yah PRE is the best

Thanks for the tips! Not sure how much time I'll have but will see what I can do. Coming down from NYC in the morning as my better half is doing a performance lecture at UPenn in the afternoon, then we're off to DC for her show at Rhizome the following day.

Moki Cherry top of my list as I missed it when it was in the UK. Not sure if it's been mentioned upthread, but Neneh Cherry's memoir has a lot of really great stuff on Don and Moki, very moving.

Excited to get into this Don Cherry mix, ty . I've heard plenty that I'm so so on, but the 'global'/indigenous/folk stuff is so incredible. Like these tracks early on in this TTT mix: https://soundcloud.com/the-trilogy-tapes/ttt-nts-151121

Yeah, those are from the "Organic Music Theatre" release from Blank Forms a few years back, extremely fun music and pairs nicely with the "Organic Music Society" release

exciting news from Magnus Nygren

A week ago I signed a contract with Swedish Modernista to publish the Don cherry biography. I'm so happy! Finally it will be finished, hopefully by the end of this year. And – hopefully again – it will be out some time during 2027.

The live tracks with Jean Schwarz are crazy too, DC sounds great on the ngoni. Great mix!

Thanks!

Assuming you mean me but yeah for sure. I realized that when I made it almost five years ago (how is this possible?) I never really finished it, so I rounded it out with a few more tracks, should be a fun journey. Couldn't think of a better title so may change if one occurs to me

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5YRzBWmw5qdhLBwLSgwW3K?si=0961284dc58f4a3c

― Cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria de Episcopio, Wednesday, 18 February 2026 16:28 (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is so good!

tysm! check the mixcloud version for something that flows a bit better and has some xtra morsels