Ladies and gentlemen, you‘re floating through space, always. This is not a mindset, this is sheer physics. Nevertheless, being a dog-loving pagean, I do have much love for all those bangers on the doors of perception who found their ways in, with meditation, esoterics, and the power of musics. So, the August edition of MOJO (Uwe will be happy) contains an interstellar list of so-called spiritual jazz. Part of the charts, on No. 2, is Don Cherry‘s „Brown Rice“ which I played extensively during my last radio night. Mojo says: „In the wake of John Coltrane’s passing, former collaborator and band member Cherry recorded a series of albums that continued his mentor’s legacy, crafting a chaotic, beautiful sound that blended African rhythms and Eastern gamelan percussion with free jazz improvisation. However, this mid-’70s recording, which utilises the framework of Miles Davis’s otherworldly spacejazz, is arguably the most satisfying place to start. Bookended by two eerie, motorik-funk incantations – Cherry’s hypnotic vocal whisper floating over squealing toy trumpet spirals and oily electric bass – the LP explores African, Indian, and Arabic polyrhythms, in trippy shamanic spells that pull you into a bubble of mysterious calm.“ Well said, guys. This is really a record that sends you places. Other „astral stuff“ comes from Joe Henderson, Alice Coltrane, Larry Young, Roland Kirk, Herbie Hancock a.o. Far away from being „historical“, this music is still crazy (and mind-bending) after all these years and will never be losing its deep emotional impact, as long as you are open for a state of wonder. Ladies and gentlemen, you‘re floating through space. Al Reinert‘s documentary on the Apollo 9-mission, „For All Mankind“, will be reissued before the end of month, and might be an ideal travel companion. A lot of drifting, and Brian‘s „Apollo“ part of the surround mix.