Upcoming Release XXI

 Here are two incredible releases from the label Blank Forms Editions scheduled in mid June, both appears to be some essential records for fans of Don Cherry.

First is one of the earliest incarnation of the organic music theatre, a live recorded in France in 1972, with Nana, Moki, Christer Bothèn and french saxophonist Doudou Gouirand, the sound seems perfect.

The second double cd is titled « Summer House Session » and it is one of the many jam sessions that Don Cherry organised when he was in Sweden. Here also the sound is incredible and the sound samples reveals a fantastic music. Those two releases foreshadows a very cool summer :)

https://blankformseditions.bandcamp.com/music

Organic Music Theatre - Television Session Summer 1976

After Magogiallo's generous contributions of rare unreleased live by Don Cherry, here is one more very close to the RAI session with the same personnel and almost same titles.

The music if not so incredible as his early recordings show very well the musical personality of Don Cherry who was interested in the music itself before the style.

It remain me a story that composer and violinist Jean Yves Bosseur told me some years ago. He was invited to play violin by Archie Shepp but he said:
-"I'm not a jazz musician".
Then Shepp answered:
-"we won't play jazz, we will play music".

This might be a good definition for Don Cherry's music.

-Moki: Tampura, percussion, vocals
-Gianpiero Pramaggiore: guitar, flute, vocals
-Nana Vasconcelos: percussions, berimbo, vocals
-Don Cherry: trumpet, dous'n goni, flute, vocals

Summer 1976 for Italian télévision

DON CHERRY "BROTHERHOOD SUITE" (FLASH MUSIC, 1968-74)

Given the recent "flood" of Don Cherry boots in the contributions section I recalled this post which sleeps on my hd since more than a year.


Don Cherry, pocket-trumpet, bamboo flute (2,4,5), gong (3,5), piano/birdwhilstle voice (5)
Maffy Falay, trumpet (1)
Bernt Rosengren, tenor saxophone (1,2,4,5), flute/oboe/bamboo flute (5)
Tommy Koverhult, tenor saxophone (1,2,4)
Torbjörn Hultcrantz, double bass (1,2,4,5)
Leif Wennerström, drums (1,2,4,5)
Henno Tooming, piano (4)


1. A.B.F. [Don Cherry] 3:03
2. Brotherhood Suite II [Don Cherry] 11:08
3. In A Geodetic Dome [Don Cherry] 4:07
4. Pannonica / Skippy [Thelonious Monk] 11:25
5. Brotherhood Suite I [Don Cherry] 34:55


Track 1 recorded at the A.B.F. House in Stockholm, May 15, 1968.
Track 2 recorded at the Sergel Theatre in central Stockholm, August 22, 1969.
Track 3 recorded at Modern Museum in Stockholm, July 3, 1971.
Track 4 recorded at jazz-rock club "Fregatten" in Stockholm, August 26, 1974.
Track 5 recorded at the Sergel Theatre in central Stockholm, July 26, 1968.

Track 5 includes Bra Joe, composed by Dollar Brand-Abullah Ibrahim, 4:25.

Flash Music FLCD-4 (Sweden 1994)

DON CHERRY "THIS IS NOT MY MUSIC" (SWEDEN, 1978)

Here's a Swedish TV documentary about Don Cherry. Filmed for the most part in the US and on the island Cherry was living with his family during the 1970s.

With Rashied Ali, James Blood Ulmer, Nana Vasconcelos, Denis Charles, Huss Charles a.o.
Especially the music by Cherry, Ali and Ulmer is great IMO. Sadly it seems there's no other recorded evidence of this trio.


 Produced and directed by Urban Lasson

DON CHERRY - NEW YORK TOTAL MUSIC CO "FRANKFURT, 1968"

A short but sweet broadcast -


Don Cherry, cornet, bamboo flute
Steve Lacy, soprano saxophone
Karl Berger, vibes, piano
Kent Carter, double bass
Jaques Thollot, drums

1. Tune In 6:01
2. A New Folk 12:23
3. Bird Suite 7:13
4. Going Home 4:14


Recorded at Grosser Saal des Volkbildungsheims, Frankfurt on March 24, 1968 (or maybe on March 23)
Recorded at the 10th Deutsches Jazzfestival Frankfurt by Hessischer Rundfunk.

BILLY BANG "SWEET SPACE / UNTITLED GIFT" (8TH HARMONIC BREAKDOWN, 1979/82)

SWEET SPACE:

Billy Bang, violin
Luther Thomas, alto & tenor saxophone
Butch Morris, cornet
Curtis Clark, piano
Wilber Morris, bass
Steve McCall, drums

1. A Pebble Is A Small Rock (Alternate Take)     14:09
2. Sweet Space (Alternate Take)     4:43
3. Loweski For Frank (Alternate Take)     12:13
4. Music For The Love Of It (Alternate Take)     4:23
5. A Pebble Is A Small Rock     16:37
6. Sweet Space     5:09
7. Loweski For Frank (T.F.R.)     12:50
8. Music For The Love Of It     5:44

------

UNTITLED GIFT:

Billy Bang, violin, yokobue flute, congas, bells
Don Cherry, pocket trumpet, flute, bells
Wilber Morris, bass
Denis Charles, drums

1. Echovamp 1678     12:08
2. Night Sequence  5:52
3. The Kora Song     6:05
4. Maat     11:53
5. Levitation For Santana     4:18
6. Focus On Sanity  4:25


"Sweet Space" recorded at the Loeb Student Center, New York University, November 15, 1979. Tracks 5 - 8 previously released on LP Anima 12741 (USA) - tracks 1 to 4 previously unreleased.

"Untitled Gift" recorded at OAO Studio, Brooklyn, New York, February 7, 1982. Previously released on LP Anima 3BG9 (USA).

Both CDs were mastered from the original source tapes.
8th Harmonic Breakdown – 8thHB 8005-6 (US, 2004)

Don Cherry Universal Silence - Berlin November 3, 1972

This has been requested by Ernst few days ago, this is for him and also for Mew23 who regularly bring back some treasures from the basement. 

Obviously this fabulous band lasted one month only and plays not more than 4 to 6 concerts. One have been officially released:

https://www.discogs.com/fr/Dollar-Brand-Don-Cherry-Carlos-Ward-The-Third-World-Underground/release/4264413

Two others bootleg seems to exist, one from the 3rd of November that is presented here, the second from the following day.

-Don Cherry : Trumpet, Percussions, Flute, Vocals

-Dollar Brand : Piano and Vocals

-Carlos Ward Alto Sax and Vocals

The Universal Silence Suite in six parts.

Recorded live at the Philharmonie Berlin on November 3, 1972

Don Cherry Multikulti Live 1990 + The New York Contemporary Five Live 1963

Don Cherry Multi Kulti 

01. Medley

02. Until The Rain Comes

-Don Cherry: pocket trumpet, flute, melodica, doussn'goni, piano, Yamaha DX-7

-Peter Apfelbaum: piano, flute, sax, percussion

-Bo Freeman: bass

-Hamid Drake: drums, tabla, percussion

recorded live in Crowley - England, on September 2, 1990

The New York Contemporary Five

01. Emotions

02. Monk’s Mood

03. Consequences

-Archie Shepp: Tenor Sax

-Don Cherry: Cornet

-John Tchicai: Alto Sax

-Don Moore: Bass

-J.C. Moses: Drums

October 27, 1963

Copenhagen, Denmark Radiohusets Konsertsal

This radio broadcast is part of the tour during wich the two volumes published on Sonet have also been recorded.

Audio Letter - It Is This It Is Not This (Neti-Neti) - 1988

Label: CNLF - CNLF-1
Format: Vinyl
Country: US
Released: 1988

Dennis Charles -  Drums, African Hand Drum, Indian Bells, Cymbals
Sue Ann Harkey - Prepared 12 String Guitar, Percussion, Train Whistle
Sharon Gannon - Words, Vocals, Violin Echo-plex, Tibetan Bells, Indian Ankle Bells
David Life - Sarengi, African Lyre, Steel Drums
Don Cherry - Pocket Trumpet, Doussn' Gouni, Berimbau, Flutes and Whistles

A1 - Paracelsus Paradigm    
A2 - Is This A Bridge Exactly?    
A3 - Gajananam    
B1 - Liberation From Samsara    
B2 - Neti-Neti    
B3 - Fading Green

Recorded on Mothers Day 1987 at Harold Dessau Studio, NYC.
Direct Metal Mastering at Europadisc NYC Hannukah 1987.

About Audio Letter:
The Past... In 1979, long before Seattle was known for Cobain and Cornell, vocalist/violinist Sharon Gannon and guitarist Sue Ann Harkey formed, as Gannon describes it, "a stream-of-consciousness experiment" which they dubbed Audio Letter. Although other musicians would drift in and out of their orbit, the duo remained a constant as their experimental nature allowed Gannon to incorporate her interests in alchemy, meditation, and Eastern philosophy into their work.

Relocating to New York in 1983, Gannon and Harkey became fixtures in the downtown experimental and world music scene, finding fellow musicians such as John Zorn, Fred Firth and Ikue More to be kindred spirits. Audio Letter's wholly improvised gigs in East Village venues like Life Cafe and 8BC attracted a growing number of fans including legendary jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, drummer Denis Charles, and artist/musician David Life. Collaborations with Cherry, Charles, and Life resulted in It Is This, It Is Not This, Audio Letter's first album, released in 1987.

The album garnered enthusiastic critical acclaim in the underground music world exemplified by future Rolling Stone critic Ann Powers who, then writing for The Rocket, described it as a "philosophical and musical stew different than any other aural communication in Seattle." However, the world had not yet awakened from the Reagan years and Audio Letter disbanded in 1988. Gannon and Harkey simply waited for the times to catch up to them

ORNETTE COLEMAN "MAN ON THE MOON / GROWING UP" (STATESIDE / IMPULSE, 1969)

Ornette Coleman, alto saxophone
Dewey Redman, tenor saxophone
Don Cherry, trumpet
Charlie Haden, bass
Ed Blackwell, drums
Emmanuel Ghent, electronic devices (A)

A. Man On The Moon (Dr. Emanuel Ghent & O. Coleman) 3:06
B. Growing Up  (O. Coleman) 2:17


Recorded in NYC, July, 1969.

Stateside – 2C 006-90.643 M (France)

(vinyl rip)

For further reading:
http://www.pointofdeparture.org/PoD53/PoD53Ornette.html
http://valghent.com/emmanuel-ghent-ornette-coleman-man-on-the-moon/

DON CHERRY'S NU - Live at the Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986

DON CHERRY - pocket trumpet, piano, vocals, doussn'gouni
CARLOS WARD - alto saxophone, flute
MARK HELIAS - bass
ED BLACKWELL - drums
NANA VASCONCELOS - percussion, berimbau, vocals

1. Lito  23:29
2. Chopin Chopeen  8:01
3. Foolish Heart  6:58
4. Traffic  6:39
5. O Berimbau  4:35
6. Untitled  11:20
7. Limbo  8:37
8. Mopti  5:00


Live At The Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986  (BBC Jazz Legends)

I remember John Stevens at the side of the stage intently studying Ed Blackwell's drumming.

Happy Christmas.

Billy Bang/Don Cherry Quartet Tramps NYC 3-26-84

Original notes:
unknown aud source>shn>wav>flac(level 8)

total time 45:46

Billy Bang  Violin
Don Cherry  Trumpet, Piano
Wilbur Morris  Bass
Dennis Charles  Drums

One of only a handful of gigs they did in Support of the "Untitled Gift" LP
-----------
originally a punkjazz seed in shn, I did the shn>wav>flac, other than that it's the same.

flac fingerprints:
bang-cherry1984-03-24_01.flac:4f342d42664345fb82d8e49ad47a7b09
bang-cherry1984-03-24_02.flac:2a282b941dde4e2fea89fa352cfc1598
bang-cherry1984-03-24_03.flac:a656e32323d54ae7c743aa33d7511a0f

PRINCE LASHA / SONNY SIMMONS / CLIFFORD JORDAN / DON CHERRY "IT IS REVEALED" (ZOUNDS, 1963)

Dear friends and followers of Inconstant Sol

We do this re-up because there has been a so called reissue of this LP.
Take a look at discogs.
To put it frankly: It is a bootleg - and of course our post is technically the same.
But we feel there's a crucial difference - we don't ask you for twenty bucks....
What's more - we are meanwhile quite sure that the music you would hear on the LP is taken from our previous share here at IS.

Another point which should be mentioned is that not only Abraxas/Doxy isn't acting right toward the musicians, but it is also directly trying to scam customers.
Pushing the reissue as a "First edition of 500 numbered copies in a deluxe gold laminated jacket" (https://www.deep.hu/catalog/ACV2038) or "Limited, numbered pressing – on clear vinyl!" (https://www.dustygroove.com/item/724167) clearly ammounts to trying to get people to assume the product is high end.
Does "clear vinyl" really matter when you're pressing something which has been unprofessionally transfered from an LP to a digital file back to an LP?
Mentioning the "deluxe" aspect of the release and forgetting to write about this side of things is rather interesting...

We decided to do a reup again. This time including scans of the insert/liner notes (see above) which is not a part of the bootleg LP.

Best thing instead of buying bootleg vinyl would be to download here and to buy one of Sonny's recent releases on Improvising Beings. 



Prince Lasha, flute
Sonny Simmons, alto saxophone
Clifford Jordan, tenor saxophone
Don Cherry, trumpet
Fred Lyman, fluegelhorn
Bill Wood, bass
Orville Harrison, bass
Charles Moffett, drums


1. Lost Generation 20:50
2. The Trane       11:20
3. Prelude To Bird 05:25


Procucer : Fred Lyman

Recorded at Zounds Recording Studios, New York City, May, 1963.

ZOUNDS L-71863

Notes :

* : It is common practice among discographers to list Prince Lasha as the leader of this session. This short extract of a Fred Lyman interview suggests that this may not be exactly the case (courtesy of Ben Young and Marc Chaloin) : « ... mostly a jam-session [...] they were all in my studio, I don't know how they got these particular guys up there, it was probably Clifford Jordan got it together. And they just started to play and I started recording, and I played on it too, I played fluegelhorn on this track. And it turned out pretty good, [...] it was an example of what I liked to think music could be at that time. » According to Lyman, they picked up Don Cherry in the street…

** : Johann Heidenbauer suggests it could be read as crypted indication of the publishing date : L-7-18-63, i.e. Lasha, July 18, 1963.

*** : Read also the original liner notes (*.rtf format). Many thanks to A. Lukas for providing the original transfer, pictures of the original plain cardboard sleeve, labels, and liners notes, and to Pierre Crepon for relaying the info.

SUNNY MURRAY "SONNY'S TIME NOW" (JIHAD, 1965)

Some hours ago there was a request for this album - I believe it is OOP.
This post contains the title "The Lie" which was for the first time released on the Japanese LP re-edition. The package included a one-sided single which wasn't part of the original Jihad LP.
The CD contains both - single + LP.
What to say else about the music - it is a classic and it should appeal to everyone who digs f.e. ESP.
Soundwise it is a bit murky and sadly the bassists are best heard in the quieter parts.
But the intensity of the music will make up for those shortcomings and Mr. Murray IS a master of the drums.


Sunny Murray, drums
Albert Ayler, tenor saxophone
Don Cherry, trumpet
Henry Grimes, bass
Lewis Worrell, bass
Amiri Baraka, spoken words


01. Virtue             11:03
02. Justice (pt.1 + 2) 12:51
03. Black Art          06:41
04. The Lie            05:55

TT 36:32


Recorded Brooklyn, NY, November 17, 1965.

Amiri Baraka was known as LeRoi Jones at this time and is so credited on the issues.
Sunny Murray spelled his name "Sonny" at this time.

JIHAD PRODUCTION Jihad 663 (LP)
DIW Records – DIW-355 (CD)

DOLLAR BRAND / DON CHERRY / CARLOS WARD ‎– THE THIRD WORLD - UNDERGROUND (NADJA/TRIO, 1974)

A1. Don's Song
A2. Cherry

B1. Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro
B2. Jabulani-Easter Joy
B3. Waya-Wa-Egoli
B4. Swazi
B5. Wayeah-Wayeah-O


Dollar Brand, piano
Don Cherry, trumpet, vocals, percussion
Carlos Ward, alto saxophone, vocals, percussion

Recorded live at the Jazz-House Montmartre, Copenhagen, November 14, 1972

Trio Records ‎– PAP-9018, Nadja ‎– PAP-9018

Vinyl Rip

Not sure of the release year for this: does anyone know?

KARL BERGER / WOODSTOCK WORKSHOP ORCHESTRA ‎– LIVE AT THE DONAUESCHINGEN MUSIC FESTIVAL (MPS RECORDS, 1980)

For Paul and Norm: this time, with a Cherry on top.

A1. Open Time
A2. The Smile That You Send Out Returns To You
A3. Collective Talks

B1. New Moon
B2. Zeynebim - A Turkish Folk Dance


Terry Sines, bass
Janet Grice, bassoon
Tom Cora, cello
Peter Apfelbaum, drums, baritone saxophone
Ingrid Berger, vocals, percussion
Karl Berger, vibraphone, piano
Savia Berger, flute
Susan Veglia, French horn
Mark Ralston, oboe, English horn
Lee Konitz, alto saxophone
Don Davis, alto saxophone, flute, clarinet
Oliver Lake, alto and soprano saxophone, flute
Trilok Gurtu, tabla, congas, drums
James Harvey, trombone
Leroy Jenkins, violin
Michael Lytle, clarinet
George Lewis, trombone
Don Cherry, pocket trumpet, bamboo flute
Tom Collins, tenor and soprano saxophone


Recorded live at the Donaueschingen Contemporary Music Festival on October 1979 in collaboration with Sudwestfunk Baden-Baden and MPS Records Villingen/West Germany.

MPS Records ‎– 0068.250

Vinyl Rip

THE LEADERS. Bracknell 1984

DON CHERRY, trumpet, harmonica
ARTHUR BLYTHE, alto sax
CHICO FREEMAN, tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet
HILTON RUIZ, piano
CECIL MCBEE, bass
DON MOYE, drums

1. New arrival  8:32 (missing beginning)
2. Blues on the bottom  22:20
3. The search  15:28
4. Miss Nancy  16:05

Bracknell Jazz Festival.  1984.

BBC Radio 3 'Jazz In Concert'  b'cast

DON CHERRY - Eternal Now (Sonet 1974)

For Newk. From The Sonet Recordings double CD, I kept only "Eternal Now", as "Live Ankara" is pretty useless due to poor recording quality. One of Don's numerous world jazz classics, "Eternal Now" was also reissued under the title "Tibet", and is possibly obtainable on vinyl from Jazzloft or Downtown Music Gallery.


DON CHERRY - Eternal Now (Sonet 1974)

All composions by Don Cherry except as indicated

1. "Gamla Stan - The Old Town by Night" - 8:27
2. "Love Train" - 7:50
3. "Bass Figure for Ballatune (Two pianos and three piano players)" (Bothén) - 3:44
4. "Moving Pictures for the Ear" (Bothén, Cherry) - 9:40
5. "Tibet" - 7:59

Don Cherry - trumpet, piano, harmonium, vocals, h'suan, daster, gong
Bengt Berger - piano, Tibetan bells, African finger piano, mridangam, cymbal
Christer Bothén - piano (2, 3), dousso n'koni (4), Tibetan bell (5)
Bernt Rosengren - tarogató (2)
Agneta Ehrnström - Tibetan bell (2), dousso kynia (4)

Recorded at Studio Decibel in Stockholm, Sweden on April 30 (2-4) and May 1 (1 & 5), 1973.

from CD Verve 533 049-2 (The Sonet Recordings 2CD, OOP)

Don Cherry-Togetherness 1965 (Inner City Vers 1976)

I don't imagine that there are many fans of this music who don't have this indispensable minor masterpiece  by,one of the greatest bands of their day.... it is as far as i know out of print , although if memory serves  it has been bootlegged on CD.

A live Parisian recording of dubious provenance  originally released on the Italian Durian label ,  this predates  THE  marvelous Symphony for improvisers , on which Cherry employed an expanded version of this basic quintet...With Ed Blackwell Cherry's friend and favourite drummer instead of Romano who plays on this.
superb music in less than high fidelity  .
ENJOY!!..


PS- i'm posting it by way of experimenting with a suitable file host  since quite a few people are struggling to use Mega.... basically this upload is a shot in the dark .

i would appreciate any feedback relating to the accessibility of  Mixturecloud

Jacques Bisceglia, 1940-2013

Black & White Fantasy

French photographer Jacques Bisceglia passed away on March 1st, 2013. Even if his tool was not a musical instrument, his work is an integral part of the history of the music we love and we feel it is important to pay tribute to him. From the 60's onward, Jacques Bisceglia photographed many moments of jazz making: iconic episodes such as the Pan-African Festival in Algiers or Albert Ayler at the Fondation Maeght, but also many more mundane moments, daily life episodes or concerts now forgotten, moments he captured masterfully.

At the end of Jacques Bisceglia's Black & White Fantasy book, published in 1984 and now out-of-print, Abbey Lincoln wrote "Bisceglia's work speaks for itself, of course." Very much so, this is why we would like to share a few pictures, taken from Black & White Fantasy.

alan silva & françois tusques - paris, 1969

don cherry - paris, 1968

anthony braxton & barbara bisceglia - paris, 1971

 

beb guérin - paris, 1970

june tyson, richard wilkinson, marshall royal, eloe omoe, sun ra - between paris and donaueschingen, 1970

sonny simmons, barbara donald & son - san francisco, 1971

For more information on Jacques Bisceglia's life and his often astute views on the history of the music, see William Parker's essential Conversations book (Rogue Art, 2011). The book features an interview with Bisceglia (the only non-musician) and is illustrated with his work. Rogue Art also published a collaboration between Bisceglia and poet Steve Dalachinsky, titled Reaching Into the Unknown (2009). French speaking readers might want to look for the "Memories of You" series of articles Bisceglia wrote for the Improjazz magazine.

peter gannushkin - peter brötzmann & jacques bisceglia - new york, 2009