Don Cherry’s ghost sounds
a talk by Gabriel Bristow

Speaking about Don Cherry, Miles Davis once said: ‘Anyone can tell that guy’s not a trumpet player—it’s just notes that come out […]’. This crass comment is a counterintuitive route into understanding the revolutionary use of indeterminacy in Cherry’s playing. Drawing on and radicalising the ‘flaws’ found in Miles’ own trumpet technique, Cherry developed a sound that foregrounded breath, playing at the outer edges of intentionality. Listening closely to what Cherry called ‘ghost sounds’ not only sharpens our understanding of his music—it feeds into a fundamental rethinking of the racialised history of the avant-garde.