10. Don CherryWhere Is Brooklyn
The Thing took their name from a track on this 1966 album, and of course, worked with Don’s stepdaughter, Neneh on last year’s Cherry Thing.
The Thing is of course one of the most Google-unfriendly band names ever, and people wonder where the name comes from, but of course it is the Don Cherry composition, which we’ve played also. He means a lot to the Swedish scene, since he married a Swede and lived in Sweden. Don Cherry meant and means a lot, the attitude, the curiosity to find music wherever you find it, you pick it up and make it your own. That’s one of the most important learning experiences I had with my music: if you want to play a Stooges piece, you play it like The Thing not the Stooges. You play a Joe McPhee piece or a Don Cherry piece, you play it like The Thing or whatever group you’re in. I think Don Cherry showed that to the scene, that you can use Indian music, African music, anything and make it your own. I think Where Is Brooklyn is another masterpiece of jazz. It’s a stupid word, but everything about that record is fantastic, the way the rhythm section works and [Pharaoh] Sanders – phew! – that saxophone playing is scary, just over the top. Everything Sanders did in the 60s and 70s – he’s still kicking ass, but especially the stuff he did in the late ’60s is completely fantastic. And I think if you really listen closely to Don Cherry, he’s one of the strongest melodic players in jazz. Which is quite something. When you really go into what he’s doing melodically and harmonically, it’s pretty extraordinary. That’s a fantastic album, from the start to the end, you can’t take anything away, can’t add anything, it’s perfect.
