DON CHERRY — Organic Music Society (review)

DON CHERRY — Organic Music Society album cover

Live album · 1972 · World Fusion

3.5/5 · 2016-04-04
siLLy puPPy

Every once in a while i pick up an album simply because the album cover artwork is just so beautiful that i just have to buy it so i can hear what kind of music lurks inside accompanying such visual beauty. Such was the case with DON CHERRY’s 1972 foray into his spiritual jazz meets ethnic world fusion album ORGANIC MUSIC SOCIETY which has one of the most colorful and stimulating wrap around album covers i’ve ever seen especially in a musical genre that tends to be conservative more often than not displaying the artists in some uninspiring pose with unobtrusive colors and settings. I actually picked up the modern CD version which is a faithful representation of the original vinyl LP only reduced in size complete with all the inner artwork and as a bonus a big fat little booklet that explains everything about this album including all kinds of juicy details of how the journey of ideas unfolded for such CHERRY’s growing interest in global fusion and how it all came together complete with archival photos as icing on the cake. Sold!

What i was expecting was the usual avant-garde free form jazz that CHERRY dished out in the 60s but what i heard instead was not only surprising but made me realize that ORGANIC MUSIC SOCIETY was actually his first effort in fusing world ethnic forms of music with his unique style of jazz playing and this could unofficially be thought of as the very first Codona album as 2/3 of the band is here and this was CHERRY’s first formal collaboration with berimbau player and percussionist Nana Vasconcelos. As the CD begins it doesn’t take long to realize that this isn’t a jazz album at all but a more eclectic album that does its best to incorporate as many sounds from across the globe as possible with only the occasional trumpet presenting itself on only a handful of tracks representing the world of jazz.

The album begins with “North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn” which is basically a long drawn spiritual chant with some sort of drone accompanying a repetitive litany of wordless vocalizations and a parade of percussion that alternates between some kind of bells jingling and other shaky things. The opening track does more than establish ORGANIC MUSIC SOCIETY as a non-jazz dominated album but also sets the tone for a contemplative and meditative experience where the listener is hypnotized by the swell of repetitive passages that only vary slightly from one measure to another. Whereas the opening track commences with nary a jazz instrument nor syncopation to be found, others such as the second track “Elixir” while not jazz per se do contain a jazz trumpet solo where CHERRY leaves his unequivocal sound after a haunting ethereal opening and in the midst of an energetic African rhythmic section where he has license to pierce the din with his high pitched squeals like an elephant trampling through the jungles of the Congo.

ORGANIC MUSIC SOCIETY was originally released as a double vinyl LP and just barely fits onto one modern day CD at a bloated running time of 79:35. I have to admit that this is a brilliant album that encompasses a wide swath of global timbres, styles and rhythms but at the same time it’s hard to take in on a single listen as it tends to wear out its welcome towards the end where i start itching to hear something else more energetic. A great start indeed for CHERRY’s expedition into the sonic possibilities of eclectic world jazz fusion but ORGANIC MUSIC SOCIETY seems like it could have been subjected to a little more editing and / or sprucing up in the experimental department but then again i’ve already been spoiled by the superior future Codona albums that would take the approach of this album and refine it into a more sophisticated tapestry of influences. This album does deliver in its ORGANIC approach nevertheless and truly feels like it was birthed in the experimental energies of the 1972 timeline. While not being my top pick for a world jazz fusion album, this album definitely has a nice meditative global feel to it that warrants a listen although best digested in partial samplings at any given time instead of a single sprawling experience since the tracks are all interesting examples of global world fusion but at the same time don’t always hang together so well. Still though, more than enough here to recommend.