German vibraphonist-pianist/composer Karl Berger’s collaborations with Don Cherry and Carla Bley catapulted him into the front echelon of the 1960’s jazz Avant-garde. Lauded for his work as educator and a proselytizer of the integration of world music into jazz, his Creative Music Studio (CMS) in Woodstock, New York became a center for both established and aspiring musicians of the new music. Its advisory board included Ornette Coleman, John Cage, and Gil Evans. The Woodstock Workshop Orchestra grew out of the CMS, with jazz giants trumpeter Don Cherry, trombonist George Lewis, percussionist Trilok Gurtu, saxophonists Lee Konitz and Oliver Lake, and violinist Leroy Jenkins orchestra members on this 1979 live recording. After Berger’s vibes intro, Open Time uses a pentatonic scale and 21 beat rhythmic cycle that affords a structured freedom. Soloists include Lewis and Trilok Gurtu. Berger describes The Smile as “serene and unceasing: the smile of the Buddha.” It features Jenkins and Lake, and is followed by the group instrumental conversation Collective Talks. The symphonic-like New Moon features Jenkins, Konitz, Lewis, and Gurtu, with Cherry on bamboo flute. The Turkish folk song Zeynebim plays over a 15 beat (4-4-4-3) cycle, and represents the Mid-Eastern fusion of Asian, African, and European musical elements. Lake and Cherry are featured soloists. An important historical insight into the melding of musical worlds.