Don Cherry - "Mu" First Part / "Mu" Second Part (1983 Japanese Seven Seas Gatefold 2LP)

Vinyl: EX / EX
Sleeve: VG+
Obi: VG+

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Don Cherry - "Mu" First Part / "Mu" Second Part | Vinyl 2LP - 1983 Japanese Seven Seas Gatefold Reissue (K18P 6236/7, King Record Co. Ltd.)

Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell had played together since the Ornette Coleman quartet, and you can hear that shared history in every minute of these recordings. The August 1969 session at Studio Saravah is a duo conversation, no rhythm section, no chord instruments, just Cherry working between pocket trumpet, piano, Indian and bamboo flutes, voice, bells and small percussion, with Blackwell holding the centre on drums and rhythmic instruments of his own. Cherry's playing here is the bridge between his Ornette years and the world music he would pursue for the rest of his life. "Brilliant Action" opens with the pocket trumpet alone, screaming and then settling. "Sun Of The East" turns toward Indian melodic shapes. "Bamboo Night" is what the title suggests. The session is improvised throughout, including the structure: the order of pieces, the duration, the form, all decided in the room.

BYG Records issued the recording as two separate LPs, Actuel #01 in 1969 and Actuel #31 in 1970, two cornerstones of the label's free jazz catalogue. The UK label Affinity later licensed both albums, and in 1983 King Records of Japan pressed this two-LP set under their Seven Seas imprint. The set is housed in a gatefold sleeve and includes a Japanese liner notes insert.