Live at the Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986

Live at the Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986 is a live album by trumpeter Don Cherry. It was recorded in July 1986 at the Bracknell Jazz Festival in Bracknell, England, and was released on CD in 2002 by BBC Worldwide as part of their Jazz Legends series. On the album, Cherry is joined by members of the group called Nu: saxophonist and flutist Carlos Ward, percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, bassist Mark Helias, and drummer Ed Blackwell.^[1][2] Ward, Vasconcelos, and Blackwell would later appear together on Cherry's 1990 album Multikulti.^[2]

Live at the Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986
Live album by Don Cherry
Released	2002
Recorded	July 5, 1986
Venue	Bracknell Jazz Festival, Bracknell, England
Genre	Free jazz
Label	BBC Worldwide BBCJ 7004-2

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[3]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "Ward's reeling, bop-tinged solos... are a major feature, and so too is Vasconcelos's party-piece 'O Berimbau'. Don squeezes off tight notes and phrases and there is more trumpet-playing than on some occasions."^[3]

In a review for Jazz Times, Bill Shoemaker commented: "Live at the Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986 confirms Nu to be an ensemble that vigorously and cogently articulated the various aspects of the multi-instrumentalist's multicultural aesthetic... this exceptional concert recording fills a significant gap in Cherry's discography... Live at Bracknell is a good indicator of why Cherry's influence on subsequent generations is unique and apart from Coleman's."^[4]

Garry Booth of the BBC Music Magazine called the album "gripping stuff," and stated that Nu was interesting because "it combined several of Cherry's incarnations: drummer Ed Blackwell who he played alongside in Ornette Coleman's Fifties free groups; Panamanian altoist Carlos Ward, who provided the bridge between free and 'world music'; and Nana Vasconcelos, who helped him absorb Brazilian music. So this session... reveals all those different aspects of the avant-garde multi-instrumentalist."^[5]

Track listing

1. "Lito" (Carlos Ward) – 23:29
2. "Chopin Chopeen" (Ornette Coleman) – 9:01
3. "Foolish Heart" (Carlos Ward) – 6:58
4. "Traffic" (Ornette Coleman) – 6:39
5. "O Berimbau" (Naná Vasconcelos) – 4:35
6. "Untitled" (Carlos Ward) – 11:20
7. "Limbo" (Mark Helias) – 8:37
8. "Mopti" (Don Cherry) – 5:00

Personnel

• Don Cherry – trumpet, doussn'gouni, piano, vocals
• Carlos Ward – alto saxophone, flute
• Naná Vasconcelos – percussion, berimbau, vocals
• Mark Helias – bass
• Ed Blackwell – drums

References

1. "Don Cherry: Live At The Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
2. arwulf, arwulf. "Don Cherry: Live At The Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986". AllMusic. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
3. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. p. 246.
4. Shoemaker, Bill (October 1, 2002). "Don Cherry: Live at the Bracknell Jazz Festival, 1986". Jazz Times. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
5. Booth, Garry (January 20, 2012). "Live at Bracknell Jazz Festival". BBC Music Magazine. Retrieved August 16, 2022.