I'm a fan of trumpeter Don Ellis but can work up little enthusiasm for this reissue. It opens reasonably well with ‘Children’, a pretty, if insubstantial, tune. But the next two tracks, ‘Blossoming’ and ‘Water Jewel’, are essentially easy listening. You might have gathered that the music is built upon the conceit of the Japanese Haiku and we are asked to ponder the appropriate verse for the relevant track. It doesn't help. ‘Cherry Petals’ is an oddity – imagine James Last covering Webern. As for ‘Forest’ and ‘Two Autumns’, they recalled Eddie Calvert – Oh, Mein Papa! The only decent track on the album, ‘Parting’, a blues that recalls Ellis’ film writing to good effect, merely adds to the disappointment. Around the same time as this, he made Soaring for the same label with his big band, a better record by far. Quite why they reissued Haiku rather than that is a mystery.