Dyani / Temiz / Feza, Music for Xaba (side A)

In some ways Music for Xaba logically follows the second half of Don Cherry's 1971 LP Orient.  A year after working with Cherry, Johnny Dyani and percussionist Okay Temiz teamed with Dyani's former collaborator from The Blue Notes, trumpeter Mongezi Feza.  While Music for Xaba was recorded only a year after Orient, the change in trumpeter led to a very distinctive change.  Where Cherry was clearly the leader, driving the music and mixed the loudest on record, Feza (who may be best-remembered for his collaboration with Robert Wyatt on "Sonia") falls more into the ensemble here.  He often plays percussion in extended sections that focus heavily on groove and place Temiz into the foreground.  Even when Feza switches back to his natural trumpet, he's not leading here on melodies like "Sonia" — the ensemble feel is really central here.  Music for Xaba was originally released in 1973, but the US reissue did not come until 3 years later (and Volume 2 was not reissued in the US until 1979).  The cover photo of the trio wearing overcoats in a snowy field is amazing, and the simple live recording captures the magic of this group's collaboration.