Don Cherry - 1974 - Blue Lake

Don Cherry

1974

Blue Lake

01. Blue Lake 4:55

02. Dollar And Okay's Tunes 31:51

03. East 26:42

Bass – Jonny Diani

Drums – Okay Tamiz

Trumpet, Flute, Piano, Vocals – Don Cherry

Music from a 1971 concert in Paris with South African bassist Johnny Dyani and Turkish drummer Okay Temiz joining Cherry (a couple of other pieces from the concert can be found on another Cherry album, Orient). It is a pleasant album but fails to stick in the mind. The first track - Blue Lake - features Cherry playing flute: it claims to draw on Native American influences but also sounds hauntingly Oriental - but whether it draws on genuine traditions or just replicates a certain mood (one a bit like David Carradine playing the flute in the old TV series Kung Fu) I can't decide. The other two tracks are longer, both over 25 minutes and are also pleasant, likable, drawing in many influences, traditions, but they just seem to float along like a bottle thrown into the sea, drifting with the currents - all very gentle and peaceful but lacks any great dynamism.

Don Cherry is one of music's great adventurers. Always ready to stretch himself, he has seemed more concerned with growing as an artist and expanding his horizons than with getting a big paycheck. This live set, Blue Lake, is a worthy introduction to his solo work. The first part of the set begins with Cherry on a Native American flute. His simple song is as moving and spare as a New Mexico mesa. Next, he and his band move into their interpretation of some Dollar Brand tunes. First, they lay the melodies out straight and give the audience a window into this neglected composer's mind. Then it's time for their ferocious, free-wheeling, Ornette Colemanesque take on the same tunes. The last brace of tunes finds Cherry mostly singing á la Sam Rivers. Like Rivers' voicings, one forgets that this is a man, and hears only another instrument. Just when the tension rises to almost unbearable levels, Cherry breaks loose with some forceful, controlled soloing. The tone is muscular, and the ideas as sure and stringent as bitter salt. Cherry's journey as a musician has been that of a consummate artist. His remarkable career deserves stricter attention from fans and critics alike. Hopefully, the reissue of this set will start the ball rolling.