Home boy, sister out

"This long-forgotten 1985 album is far from the legendary jazz trumpeter's best work, but look past its awkwardness and dated sonics, and a certain charm reveals itself".

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"Produced in Paris in 1985 and initially released only in France - after [Atlantic boss] Ahmet Ertegun reportedly passed on releasing it - the album highlights the visionary trumpeter and world music explorer primarily singing, and not especially well. The material is described as "a typical Paris sound mixing funk, jazz with African and Latin music," but it sounds like poorly thought-out postpunk club music".

"On this little-known LP released on the Paris-based Barclay label in 1985, Cherry, who was 49 at the time, presented a different facet of his musical personality by singing, rapping, and playing an array of instruments on a kaleidoscopic album that blended jazz with funk, hip hop, Jamaican, and Afrobeat flavours ... Ranging from ballads (the doo wop of "Call Me") and Afro-funk ("I Walk") to rap ("Alphabet City) and antique gypsy jazz ("Art Deco"), this brilliant, multi-hued album reflects the vibrant eclecticism of the Paris music scene in the mid '80s".