Friday, January 14, 2011

Sun Ra - Dance of Innocent Passion (1981)



Dance of Innocent Passion was recorded at the Squat Theater in New York in 1980. The title cut is another one of those gloriously uplifting tunes that Sun Ra builds from the simplest of parts, and features a soaring tenor solo from John Gilmore. "Omnisonicism" features a creepy theremin-like synth sound and could be put to good use on Halloween. "Intensity" is just a series of solo features, and the album ends with "Cosmo-Intensity," a battle between Richard Williams' bass and Ra's synth. After starting very strong, Dance of Innocent Passion loses a bit of momentum, but should still please fans. The lack of availability of many of these Saturn titles places them mostly in the province of collectors anyway. 
review by Sean Westergaard AMG

Note:  Sean W's review alludes to a different running order than what is detailed in 'The Earthly Recordings' and offered below.  Also, the band pics above do not match this band exactly but does seem to be from the Squat Theatre from around this time.

Again, many thanks to Paul W for this wonderful LP rip.



Saturn Sun Ra 1981.  Dance of Innocent Passion was released in 1981.
Ra (org, syn); Walter Miller (tp); Michael Ray (tp); Ronnie Brown (tp); Vincent Chancey (Fr hn); Ray Draper (tuba); Marshall Allen (as, fl, ob, perc); John Gilmore (ts, timb); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl, perc); James Jacson (bsn, fl, Inf-d); Skeeter McFarland (eg); Taylor Richardson (eg); Richard "Radu" Williams (b); Harry Wilson (vib); Damon Choice (vib); Luqman Ali (d); Samarai Celestial [Eric Walker] (d); Atakatune (cga, perc.).
Squat Theatre, NYC, 1980
The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed. - Campbell/Trent

Dance of Innocent Passion
1. Intensity     6:23
2. Cosmo Energy   19:20
3. Dance of Innocent Passion   12:30
4. Omnisonicism   6:34

or

As promised, nikos!
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21 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 9:46 AM

    thanks for the photos of the arkestra - those polaroids add the right touch! love 'em!

    I-)

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  2. nikosJanuary 14, 2011 at 10:07 AM

    Fantastic post & scans! Thank you Yotte!

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  3. BrakhageJanuary 14, 2011 at 10:25 AM

    Dude. You are blowing me away with all this stuff. Thank you so much.

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  4. LYSERGICFUNKJanuary 14, 2011 at 12:31 PM

    SUBLIME.....MANY MANY THANKS !
    guido/LF

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  5. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    This was always one of my favourites from this era. Great memories of seeing the arkestra live round about then. Viva Ra!

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  6. the jazzstronautJanuary 14, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    Super share, thanks.

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  7. yotteJanuary 14, 2011 at 1:59 PM

    I'm so happy everyone is enjoying these posts. I wish I could take more credit, but it is really Paul W who deserves the praise. He has been so generous and diligent with his offerings - not to mention how patient he has been with me. I'm no Ra scholar, only an enthusiastic collector. I'm definitely learning more about this remarkable man and his music every day.

    Thanks for your comments, everybody, and please stay tuned. There's definitely more rare Sun Ra to come!

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    dance of innocent passion - that track ranks way up there with the greatest jams ever played!

    I-)

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 3:54 PM

    Sun Ra is another one of those artists whom it is impossible to have enough of... that reads like complete rubbish, but you know what I mean... thanks very much for this!

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  10. AnonymousJanuary 15, 2011 at 7:56 AM

    great - thank you for the time and effort

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  11. nikosJanuary 16, 2011 at 2:38 AM

    Yotte, in response to your question about bootlegs to share in another post, I would like to offer a show from near this time (Ann Arbor, Sept. 28, 1979) that a friend downloaded recently from dime and that I have not seen in "blogland". I am new to uploading, so if anyone downloads this please let me know if it worked OK:

    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=436NQNB0

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  12. nikosJanuary 16, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    re: the post above: The text file has track 2, CD2 named "untitled improvisation". In fact parts of it at least must be scored, because it is a complex piece of stunning spectral beauty, with Vincent Chancey (i think) taking the mournful lead with french horn over the Arkestra's otherworldly voicings... Does anyone know on which composition it is based? It is followed by a wild synth Ra solo ("Calling Planet Earth"), while there's also some fiery soloing by all concerned in the (instrumental) Discipline 27 and Shadow World...

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  13. yotteJanuary 16, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    nikos! Thank you! I've just finished downloading but won't have a chance to listen until tonight/tomorrow morning. I can hardly wait!

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  14. SolomonJanuary 16, 2011 at 11:34 PM

    Thank you.

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  15. yotteJanuary 17, 2011 at 6:42 AM

    nikos, the show you've shared is fantastic! The sound quality of the recording is excellent as is the performance. The untitled improv that you mention is a highlight and I'm afraid that I do not know it. THANK YOU!

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  16. nikosJanuary 17, 2011 at 9:46 AM

    Glad you liked it! I have two more recent ones: Symphony Space NYC 1978.12.30 and Old Waldorf, San Fransisco 1980.11.10. Let me know if you'd like me to post the links here.

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  17. nikosJanuary 17, 2011 at 9:56 AM

    Forgot to mention that thanks must also go to the original uploader at Dime and to B.K. for passing along the links.

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  18. yotteJanuary 17, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    Thank you, nikos for the wonderful offer! I would love for you to share those recordings here. I hope to put together some kind of 'readers contributions' page but I'm just not blog-savvy enough to do it without some research. In the meantime, Please & Thank YOU!

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  19. nikosJanuary 18, 2011 at 2:07 AM

    It is a pleasure to share Sun Ra music: TOTAL BLACK MUSIC, ANCIENT TO THE FUTURE & BEYOND!
    Here is the Old Waldorf, San Fransisco 1980.11.10 show: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R07J6447
    and here the one from Symphony Space, NYC 1978.12.30:
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=96XGUKM8
    I have not listened to these properly yet, except for the first disc of the San Fransisco show: it has some good improvs and a super "Tapestry From An Asteroid". Enjoy!

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  20. nikosJanuary 18, 2011 at 6:42 AM

    I am also not blog-savvy (actually completely ignorant), but maybe you could include a pointer to this comments page in one of your newer posts so that folks that might not think to look up the comments here know there are some concerts on offer.

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  21. Peach and BlackJanuary 9, 2014 at 9:44 PM

    Used to have a cassette copy of this album that an old friend who attended Temple University in Philadelphia in the mid/late 1980s had taped from their radio station. It was something to do with a Temple University's radio show called "Point Of Depature", an outsider jazz program their radio station aired very late on Saturday nights. Can't remember if he taped it at the actual station they played songs from this album, or if it was from a conventional stereo broadcast.

    With that copy long-gone, it would be much appreciated if there could be an eventual re-posting of this album.

    If anyone has access to the files to the 1978 NYC, 1979 Ann Arbor or 1980 San Francisco shows and is able to post them, that would be also be amazing & appreciated.

    Such great photos too!

    Thanks to all!

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