Don Cherry - "mu" first part, "mu" second part

2024

Two historic 1969 recording sessions by Don Cherry and drummer Ed Blackwell now assembled on this deluxe 2-CD set that comprises the seminal albums “Mu” First Part and “Mu” Second Part.

BYG Actuel’s astonishing series of free jazz albums, recorded in Paris during the late sixties, was home to some notable classics of the genre beginning with Don Cherry’s “Mu” First Part. That and “Mu” Second Part resulted from the same session, with Cherry contributing pocket trumpet, piano and several kinds of flute, and invoking sounds inspired by his study of music from different parts of the world, including India and North Africa.

He’s accompanied throughout by renowned jazz sideman Ed Blackwell, with whom he has a near telepathic understanding going back to the days of Free Jazz and Complete Communion - a title that expresses all that’s essential about their partnership.

That highly intuitive approach to improvisation coupled with Cherry’s keen explorations of folk music from other cultures, imbue the “Mu” recordings with undeniable beauty, spiritual depth, and originality. More than 50 years later, those albums sound as fresh and innovative as they did back then and have never sounded more vital or compelling.

““Mu” is a masterclass of improvisation delivered by two musicians of impeccable integrity who play what they felt and heard with complete freedom, and at exactly the right time.” John Masouri