Audiopile Review: Legendary trumpeter and cornetist Don Cherry had many important collaborations in his life. From a personal perspective, his artistic partnership with wife Moki was probably the most important. But most jazz heads would likely rate his membership of the Ornette Coleman Quartet as the most significant. For us, we’re huge fans of Codona, his ECM Records ethno-jazz supergroup. Cherry’s work with Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz is less well known, but recent reissues are showing that it was certainly a significant collaboration. You may remember that we made ‘Live in Paris – 1971 (The ORTF Recordings)’ record of the week a little while back. That album was undeniably brilliant and a fascinating archival discovery, but ‘Music for Turkish Theatre 1970’ is next level. It’s the previously unreleased soundtrack to a controversial (but, by all accounts, wildly popular) play written by James Baldwin. The pieces are stark, but hauntingly beautiful and richly textured, duets. Just occasionally, they erupt into confrontational fire music. It’s weirdly easy to imagine this combination soundtracking a story of gay love performed to enflamed audiences in 1970s Istanbul. It’s a fantastic album, but it’s also intensely evocative of an extraordinary moment in global cultural history.

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NEVER-BEFORE-RELEASED RECORDING
of the Sensational and Banned Turkish Theater Play by James Baldwin and Engin Cezzar, Istanbul 1970

Meticulously restored from the original master tape, remastered and cut by Shawn Joseph at Optimum Mastering, Bristol, UK.

Licensed by Gökhan Akçura, author of Engin Cezzar’s autobiography, who was personally entrusted with the original master tape by Engin Cezzar.

“One of the most shocking and daring plays staged in Turkish theaters was banned by the Istanbul Governorship on February 7, 1970. The ban on the play, which was watched by 30,000 people in 60 days, did not last long.” – Turkish Press, 1970

Includes liner notes by Zeynep Oral (James Baldwin’s assistant and journalist), Gökhan Akçura, Okay Temiz, and record producer Erinç Güzel (Caz Plak İstanbul).

In 1970, Turkish theater owner Engin Cezzar produced James Baldwin’s groundbreaking play about gay relationships in a 1970s Istanbul prison setting. In 1969, jazz musician Don Cherry, visiting Istanbul with Okay Temiz to record an album, reunited with Baldwin and contributed music to the production. The recording session followed extensive discussions and featured performances by Cherry and Temiz, heightening the play’s tension.

An unearthed masterpiece from 1970s Istanbul.