Sun Ra - Of Mythic Worlds (1980)

 

Of Mythic Worlds is a fine album recorded in 1979 that sounds like a studio date. "Mayan Temples" is a great piece: slow and exotic with lots of flutes and bass clarinet. A nice reading of "Over the Rainbow" follows, then a great piano feature called "Inside the Blues." Side two heads just a bit farther out, with "Intrinsic Energies" sounding like some kind of space bebop while "Of Mythic Worlds" is a great tenor feature for John Gilmore. This is another album that will probably be tough to find but well worth it.  

AMG review by Sean Westergaard

Exact repro of this 1980 album, the second Sun Ra album to be released on Philly Jazz following Lanquidity. Undated live recording, not previously reissued on either LP or CD! "Sun Ra's music is equational. It is based on a system and philosophy as old as the most ancient of civilizations, and it points the way of the future as well. Music is not seen as merely entertainment. Ra has oftentimes mentioned the potentials of music to change the social order. In fact, the highlight of many of his performances is his self-conceived cosmodrama which is essentially a dramatic monologue by Sun Ra in which he outlines the paths toward omniversal perfection. The Arkestra itself becomes the musical foil for Pharonic wisdom and cosmic insight." 

--Spencer R. Weston (Jazzloft review)

Philly Jazz PJ 1007, Of Mythic Worlds, was released in 1980; the matrix numbers were 9791A and 9791B, which probably indicated that it was mastered in September 1979.

Ahmed Abdullah believes the LP was recorded in 1979 (no date is given on the jacket).  The jacket states that the album was recorded in Chicago, but the proprietors of Philly Jazz knew nothing of the origins of the tape, and this information may be inaccurate.  A photo on the jacket shows the Arkestra performing at the Ann Arbor Festival in September 1979, but this LP features a much smaller ensemble; even allowing for the fact that excerpts featuring Ra and other soloists were used for the LP, only one trumpet an be heard in the freakout that concludes "Mayan Temples."  Also, guitars and vibes would be heard in the accompaniment if they were present.  Applause can be heard on Side A (it was cut out on Side B; both pieces are edited portions of long free improvisations), so this is definitely a live recording.  The sonics indicate a large hall, not a club.

Were it not for the Crumar Mainman that Sun Ra uses on "Intrinsic Energies" and "Mythic Worlds," it would be easy to mistake this for a 1977 recording; John Gilmore even announces "The Mayan Temples" in his best mid-'70s manner.  Personnel identified by rlc.  

From The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 2nd ed.

Sun Ra (org, p, Crumar Mainman); unidentified (tp); Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); Danny Davis (as, fl, perc);  John Gilmore (ts, timb, announcement); Eloe Omoe (bcl, fl, perc); James Jacson (bsn, Inf-d, perc); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, libf, bgo); prob. Hayes Burnett (b); Luqman Ali (d); prob. Michael Anderson (d, perc); Atakatune (cga, perc).

Live, poss. Chicago, 1978

Of Mythic Worlds

1. Mayan Temples    7:50

2. Over The Rainbow    5:31
3. Inside The Blues     5:30

4. Intrinsic Energies     8:43

5. Of Mythic Worlds     12:49

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