Don Cherry's New Researches Featuring Naná Vasconcelos

𝘼 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝘿𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙤𝙠𝙞 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮'𝙨 𝙊𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚, 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙩. "𝙁𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙚 𝙟𝙖𝙯𝙯 𝙙𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙣 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟮" 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥'𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙖 𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮𝙨' 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨.

Accompanied by musicians Naná Vasconcelos, Christer Bothén and Doudou Gouirand and Danish puppeteers Det Lilla Cirkus, Don and Moki laid out their life philosophy to French festivalgoers on this extended set. The performed outdoors and were joined onstage by a handful of friends, both adults and children, who danced and sang as the band played. The duo's message was clear: they wanted to bring people together.

This was the period that Don Cherry had rejected his former status as a jazz titan, jettisoning his career in favor of a more mysterious existence in rural Sweden with his wife and family. But as "Organic Music Theatre" illustrates, it wasn't a rejection of music, but of the art world's oppressive hierarchy, that was central to his decision. The music here, a frolicking fusion of Indian, African, South American and Native American forms that feel charged with an almost spiritual energy, is intimate but universal.

There's little of the avant/free jazz that Cherry cut his teeth pioneering here, rather it's a performance that celebrates the very act of playing in public. The band play challenging pieces - including tracks that would eventually make their way to Cherry's "Organic Music Society" and "Home Boy" albums - but inject them with so much positive energy that their context is shifted completely. It's a privilege to hear this performance from beginning to end and bask in its hopeful energy.