Bobby Bradford, Frode Gjerstad, William Roper, Alex Cline

Before Don Cherry appeared in Ornette Coleman's quartet, the band's trumpeter was Bobby Bradford. Responsibility for his family dissuaded him from his career as a nomadic musician. It's a well-known story, but it's hard not to wonder "what would have happened if Bradford had stayed in New York and continued to create with Coleman?" This thought is even more intriguing when we learn that the marriage, which dominated the development of the young musician, broke up in 1970.

I like to think that if Bobby Bradford had chosen differently, he would not have met the great John Carter or another legend, this time of the European improvised music scene, John Stevens or Frode Gjerstad, and the recording we are now giving to you would probably not have been made. This is not their first meeting at all, but for the first time, the album includes the music they recorded in the second half of 2022 in a quartet with marvelous tuba virtuoso, William Roper and the outstanding drummer Alex Cline.