Search - Don Cherry :: Hear & Now

Best!

Rowen di Bowen | MA ,United States | 08/12/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So happy to see this album finally again!

I first bought the record in the Miami airport in 1980 and the after many years of constant enjoying and inspiration finally got the cd in Tokyo a few years back.

This is THE ultimate fusion album or at least one of the best,ever.

Well,at least in my opinion.

Stan Samole is the incredible and otherwise sadly totally underrated guitarplayer here.Along with Narada Michael Walden on drums and Michael Brecker on sax the lineup is almost perfect.

Although this is music that most Don Cherry fans weren't that crazy about - as it is not the type of avantgarde jazz or as acoustic and minimal as most of his other stuff - it is still one of the absolut highlights of his career.

He seems to be really inspired and spiritually connected and takes the whole band up to the highest peaks of fusion enlightenment.

Track one is building up slowly into an almost funky groove with a sort of mystical tension.There is a lot of eastern influence throughout this album but just like a bit of spice,not too much.

Second song features D.Cherry singing and again is build upon a really cool groove.

Third song is my favorite ( well,hard to say as they are all so good..).

It has got this hymnlike quality that not many musicians easily achieve but so many seem to strive for.

Stan Samole is at his best here and also D.Cherry lifts it up and reaches up there high...

If you like Don Cherry you will apreciate this one but bear in mind it is not his usual avantgarde type stuff.

Very enjoyable!Be sure to also check out "Brown Rice"(if you haven't already..),"Codona I"(with Nana Vosconcelos and Colin Walcott),and maybe some of the stuff he did with drummer Ed Blackwell on ECM and maybe just to take it a bit further you could also look into "Elements" by Joe Henderson (with Alice Coltrane!).

So get this one soon ,sit back and enjoy the flight!

Cheers!"