Yet unsurprised and just laughing and laughing and laughing and yes crying but also so much hysterical laughter bc i don't know which way is up anymore i enjoy this man sm
Don Cherry along with his wife / artist Moki Cherry and their young son (and future musician) Eagle-Eye Cherry, hosting a children's music workshop in Tagarp, Sweden. The surrounding textile art pieces are Moki Cherry's works. (1973)
A cutout of a woman’s silhouette is displayed in many locations while a free jazz soundtrack is heard. The jazz musicians will pose later for the camera in a studio.
Literally no credits title card has ever gone harder than:
Don Cherry - The Five Spot, New York City, June 7, 1975
The Sandy Bull doc I shared with y'all a few weeks ago shared some sweet glimpses of Sandy's wedding — and apparently Don Cherry officiated? That is one cool wedding. The pics reminded me that I had heard tell of (but never heard) a live tape of Don and Sandy recorded sometime in the mid 70s. And lo & behold, the great Observations of Deviance had posted a snippet of it last year! Not only that, but OoD had linked over to the Deep Focus podcast, who not only had played the entire tape, but they'd also gotten that night's bassist, the legendary William Parker, to listen in and offer his valuable insights. Sometimes the world is ... good? I know, I can barely believe it either.
Anyhoo, what we've got here is a fairly lo-fi AUD, but nevertheless ... an amazing snapshot! The band is remarkable — not just Parker, Bull and Cherry, but also Frank Lowe, Selene Fung, Hakim Jami, Ed Blackwell and Roger Blank. It's typically eclectic stuff, positive vibrations all around, a true fusion of modes and moods, Cherry moving joyously from keys to trumpet to vocals. Occasionally, it's a mess! But it's a mess you're gonna love.
"Groove after groove after groove," Parker marvels, nearly 50 years later. Cook up some brown rice and get into it.
William Parker: There’s always someone bringing a tape recorder and sitting in the audience recording. I mean, they did it with Charlie Parker and John Coltrane and any musician that plays in a jazz club. There were people who came and they taped whether they had the tape recorder, you know, underneath their sleeve, hiding in their pants, the mics coming out of their hats, you know, all kinds of things. Because once you begin to listen to this music, you become obsessed with it. It really becomes a lifeline. The people that taped weren’t necessarily trying to start a record company, but they're taping it because it's really feeding them, and it keeps them balanced.