Cherry, Don: Organic Music Society LP

The 1971-1972 sessions that comprise Organic Music Society are varied and represent several directions in Don Cherry's oeuvre. Only two tracks ("Elixir" and "Relativity Suite") were recorded in a studio setting; the rest of the music was made live, in wildly divergent circumstances. Along with various top-notch Swedish players – Bengt Berger, Christer Bothén, Tommy Koverhult – the accomplices include Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz and an early appearance by the Brazilian berimbau specialist Nana Vasconcelos. Cherry himself performs on pocket cornet, but also on voice, harmonium, flute, conch shell, and piano.

Compositions include some familiar material, such as "Relativity Suite" and Pharoah Sanders' classic "The Creator Has a Master Plan," and fascinating material from Dollar Brand ("Bra Joe from Kilimanjaro") and even the world minimalist composer Terry Riley ("Terry's Tune"). Some tracks are long, loose, and meditative (""North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn"), while others are taut and bracing; on one track, a 50-piece string orchestra accompanies the band. Across the board, on Organic Music Society we find Cherry's intense interest in multicultural sounds, in the intersections of improvisation and folk music, and the expansion of jazz into a melting pot of sonic experience.