Trumpet player Don Cherry changed direction in a dramatic way with this 1977 outing, where his free jazz roots and global communal musical mission were temporarily put on hold in order to let this jazz fusion monster out.

Surrounding himself with a crack team of contemporary players, Cherry’s immediate goal was to attract a new audience while, at the same time, push forward his ideas of a universal earth music that everybody could tune into. He is greatly assisted here by guitarist Ronald Dean Miller whose Santana-esque rock motifs blend perfectly with the African drum patterns and Cherry’s lava-hot trumpet eruptions. Elsewhere on the lively ‘Karmapa Chenno’ shadows of Waka/Jawaka era Frank Zappa sidle alongside Cherry’s playing, while on ‘California’ the groove is more laid back and almost throwaway, coming across as an abandoned idea that has been sandwiched between two field recordings of crashing waves. Likewise, ‘Eagle Eye’ and ‘Surrender Rose’ feel more like sketches than finished compositions, although everything suddenly changes for the epic titled ‘Journey To Milarepa’. Made up of three parts, here the full vision of Cherry’s fusion fuelled adventure crystallises into a free-floating masterwork that can be proudly hung alongside any of his Ornette Coleman, Blue Note or BYG/Actuel recordings.

Finally made available again, now is the time to reclaim this long-underrated Don Cherry album.