Don Cherry

The spirit of Don Cherry soars again. For Record Store Day 2026, Blue Lake receives its first official reissue. Long out of print since its 1974 Japan-only release, this transcendent live set has become a holy grail of avant-jazz collecting. Fully restored and remastered from the original master tapes, this deluxe 2LP gatefold brings a rare masterpiece back to life.

Following the success of last year’s RSD release of Orient - drawn from the same 1971 concert - this long-awaited companion completes Cherry’s pan-global vision: a sound that dissolves borders and dances between jazz, folk, and world ritual.

Recorded live in Paris on April 22, 1971, the performance captures Cherry at his creative zenith with South African bassist Johnny Dyani and Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz. The trio moves like a living organism - fluid, spontaneous, and deeply spiritual. The opening piece, Blue Lake, finds Cherry on flute, channelling Native American inflections that merge seamlessly with Far-Eastern tonalities. The following two extended compositions, each over twenty-five minutes, are sprawling journeys of rhythm and resonance, rich with cross-cultural dialogue and ecstatic improvisation.

This deluxe reissue comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve and features new, in-depth liner notes by acclaimed jazz writer Kevin Le Gendre, offering fresh insight into Cherry’s universal musical philosophy.