Donald Eugene Cherry (November 18, 1936 – October 19, 1995) was an American jazz trumpeter. Beginning in the late 1950s, he had a long tenure performing in the bands of saxophonist Ornette Coleman, including on the pioneering free jazz albums The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) and Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation (1960). Cherry also collaborated separately with musicians such as John Coltrane, Charlie Haden, Sun Ra, Ed Blackwell, the New York Contemporary Five, and Albert Ayler.
Cherry released his debut album as bandleader, Complete Communion, in 1966. In the 1970s, he became a pioneer in world fusion music, drawing on traditional African, Middle Eastern, and Hindustani music. He was a member of the ECM group Codona, along with percussionist Naná Vasconcelos and sitar and tabla player Collin Walcott. AllMusic called Cherry "one of the most influential jazz musicians of the late 20th century."
He was married to Monika Karlsson (Moki Cherry), a Swedish painter and textile artist, who also occasionally played tamboura drone on his recordings and jams. His stepdaughter, Neneh Cherry, his step-granddaughters Mabel and Tyson and his sons, David Ornette Cherry, Christian Cherry, and Eagle-Eye Cherry, are also musicians. David Ornette Cherry died from an asthma attack at the age of 64 on November 20, 2022.
Links to Peel[]
Peel was aware of Don Cherry in the 60's, mentioning him in a Disc & Music Echo article, published on 18th October 1969 as one of the musicians billed to perform in a festival in Paris, at which Captain Beefheart was also due to appear. There is no evidence according to available tracklistings on this site that JP played Don Cherry's material in the 60's and 70's, although Cherry was one of the avant-garde jazz players who had a certain following in the underground scene and were written about in Melody Maker.
However, he did play a couple of his recordings in 1982, including one he did with John Coltrane. At the time Cherry was working with step-daughter Neneh Cherry's group Rip Rig + Panic. In 1979, Don (and Neneh) had toured in the UK with Peel favourites The Slits.[1]
Shows Played[]
- 01 June 1982: Total Vibration (LP - 'Mu' First Part) BYG
- 09 December 1982 (& John Coltrane): The Invisible (LP – The Avant-Garde) Atlantic