The Third World Underground Posted by b

The Third World Underground: Don's Song/Cherry From: The Third World Underground [Trio Records (Japan), 1972] Since I'm about a week from a new computer that will enable me to dig in and make some posts from the vinyl collection, I'll follow up floodwatch's post with a track from a CD which also bears the distinction of being an annoyingly difficult to find Japanese release. This is one of those jazz "albums" that is really a concert selection: Nov. 14, 1972 : Jazz-House Montmartre : Copenhagen, Denmark. The Third World Underground is actually: Don Cherry, Dollar Brand (one of my favorites), and Carlos Ward. I couldn't find much info about this specific show or the circumstances of this collaboration, but, a little research reveals that Dollar Brand and Carlos Ward played together fairly regularly. Don Cherry seems to be a temporary addition. Most of the compositions here are credited to Brand though Cherry is credited for writing Don's Song. I did find this which hints that this trio might have played a few shows together in 1972. Don's Song/Cherry is the first of the disc's two "songs" (more like medleys) and it contains all of the things I love about Dollar Brand's piano-playing: his steady rolling left hand, a minimalism in chord changes, and an almost architectural quality in his chord variety and phrasing. He does a beautiful job of both laying a solid foundation and creating an open space in which the soloists can explore. The consistently adventurous (career highlights often involve work with Ornette Coleman) Cherry jumps right in with the trumpet. Meawhile, Ward's saxophone playing is nicely supportive keeping Cherry aloft on the trumpet and filling in potential gaps throughout the entirety of the performance. The three groove along in a very natural, relaxed fashion. The mp3 is a little over 20min which I hope isn't a problem. I thought about editing it shorter, but just didn't have the heart. If you want to hear the rest, I found the disc States side here.