DON CHERRY Vinilo y CD

Review: Acclaimed free jazz improvisor and all round American music maestro Don Cherry has a vast discography that covers just about all points on the spectrum. Here & Now found the famed trumpeter work with plenty of epic rock guitars on a collection of high octane and dense tracks. They were recorded in December 1976 and released on Atlantic in the same year and a wealth o guest musicians continued to the record's rich sonic tapestry. It might not be his most famous work but it has lots of interesting polyrhythmic percussion work that is well worth checking out.

Review: Legendary jazz man and truly free spirited musical maestro Don Cherry joined up with Swiss pianist and composer George Gruntz and his group in Tunisia and Germany in May and September 1969 to record this. It brings together two powerhouses with North-African flavoured deep jazz results featuring piano, cornet, flute and celeste mixed up with various different reeds players as well as a selection of traditional instruments such as the bendir, ney, bagpipes, tabla and darbouka. It all adds up to a mesmerising and trance inducing ritual of jazz magic.

Review: Two masters of the free / improvisational jazz form, Don Cherry and Jon Appleton, are rare to come by these days. Both artists are highly sought after and difficult to find on the second-hand market, so a reissue of their work - especially together - is the perfect kind of treat for our Thursday morning tasting sessions. This reissue of "Don" comes in 7" format, and its wonky, spaced-out horns and subtle electronics are every bit as strange and daring as they were back in 1970. "Jon", on the flipside, is just as twisted, and possibly even further out there into the ether. Bloody hell...1970! Highly recommended.

Review: Way back in 1979, Japanese composer, bandleader and percussionist Masahiko Togahashi headed to Paris for a set of recording sessions with bassist Charlie Haden and trumpeter Don Cherry. Under the watchful eye of Martin Meissonnier - then Don Cherry's right-hand man - the trio recorded 'Son of Soil', a magical and spiritually enriching set that mixed elements of free-jazz improvisation with Japanese musical motifs, Togahashi's sublime percussion work, Haden's fast-fingered bass-played, and Cherry's mastery of various brass and woodwind instrumentation. The set was initially only released in Japan, so this worldwide reissue - accompanied by a booklet featuring extensive liner notes, previously unpublished photos and new interviews - is very welcome.