The great champion of the most universal of universal sounds is caught on masterful form, proving that borders between both genres and peoples can dissolve by way of creativity and openness rather than harden with received wisdoms. Cherry's innate feel for any kind of folk music was coupled with the restlessness and attention to detail that underpin the jazz tradition and the combined power of these impulses made for music that was easy to love and hard to categorise. By way of explanation, one might cite the word ‘ceremonial’. It effectively summarises the prevailing ambience of the bulk of the material, gathered over a fertile two-year period in Sweden where the Oklahoman laid down roots and had a sizeable impact on the improvising music scene. Strong modal figures, splashes of percussive colour, swirls of woodwinds and above all Cherry's passionate incantatory singing are the order of the day, and beyond the beauty of the sound palette, it is the sincerity of the leader's ‘multi-culti’ ethos – the embrace of any sound from anywhere – that is deeply touching. Much has happened in the record industry since this album was cut and the idea of trans-continental music is an A&R staple these days. Lest we forget that a superficial kind of ‘world fusion’ can go horribly wrong if there is not a strong conceptual centre. Cherry was that centre. As much as he could reference Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, there is nonetheless a cast-iron individual driving the music, a thinker with no sense of restriction or limit to mind, heart, and, above all, soul.