In 1977 Sun Ra recorded two LPs of solo piano for the enterprising Improvising Artists label. Of the two, I prefer Solo Piano Volume 2, St Louis Blues IAI373858, reissued on CD. It is a live recording - a videotape release of the performance has also been available from IAI. There is real purpose to the music here, from 'Ohosnisixaeht' (the recording venue spelt backwards!), to the closing 'Thoughts On Thoth'.
from Chris Trent's 'Another Shade of Blue'
The second of two Improvising Artists Sun Ra solo piano sets from 1977 reissued on CD (they should have been combined on a single CD) finds the normally forbidding keyboardist digging not only into four fairly accessible originals, but "St. Louis Blues," "Three Little Words" and "Honeysuckle Rose." By this time, Ra was starting to reinvestigate his roots in Fletcher Henderson's music and in swing, but these occasionally traditional interpretations remain full of surprises. There is definitely a charm to Sun Ra's solo piano sets.
AMG review by Scott Yanow
Just as his reputation on he synthesizer was growing, Sun Ra began to play more piano again, and in a style that reached back further in jazz tradition than most would have suspected. But those who had known him for years understood that his origins were in the blues, and assumed that side of his playing: "Sun Ra could play the blues for twenty four hours without repeating a phrase," they claimed. Though many recognized him as capable of playing bombastically, and of using the piano for color, few thought of him as a major player. But Paul Bley, one of the two or three leading pianists of free jazz, believed that Sonny was a great piano player, so great that he didn't need a band. If anything, he felt, the band was a cover for his insecurity. Early in 1977 Bley convinced Sonny to do a series of piano duo performances with him in New York and Europe and to record for Bley's new audio and video company, Improvising Artists. In Europe Bley was surprised to see that once he was alone on stage, "Sonny was a ham who liked to clown and surprise the audience -- as at Lake Como, where he shocked them by playing a cake walk!" On May 20 Sun Ra went into the studio to record Solo Piano, and played a mixture of his own compositions and some unusually conceived standards, such as a very freely played "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child," or "Yesterdays" done in a brisk stride. On July 3 he was recorded solo (St. Louis Blues) while playing at Axis-in-Soho as part of the Newport Jazz Festival, and again there were surprises: his "St. Louis Blues" aluded to Earl Hines's famous boogie-woogie version and a cheerful little love song like "Three Little Words" got turned into a melodrama. But there were modest experiments in keyboard resources as well, such as "Sky and Sun," which stayed almost entirely within a small range at the top of the keyboard.
from Chris Trent's 'Another Shade of Blue'
The second of two Improvising Artists Sun Ra solo piano sets from 1977 reissued on CD (they should have been combined on a single CD) finds the normally forbidding keyboardist digging not only into four fairly accessible originals, but "St. Louis Blues," "Three Little Words" and "Honeysuckle Rose." By this time, Ra was starting to reinvestigate his roots in Fletcher Henderson's music and in swing, but these occasionally traditional interpretations remain full of surprises. There is definitely a charm to Sun Ra's solo piano sets.
AMG review by Scott Yanow
Just as his reputation on he synthesizer was growing, Sun Ra began to play more piano again, and in a style that reached back further in jazz tradition than most would have suspected. But those who had known him for years understood that his origins were in the blues, and assumed that side of his playing: "Sun Ra could play the blues for twenty four hours without repeating a phrase," they claimed. Though many recognized him as capable of playing bombastically, and of using the piano for color, few thought of him as a major player. But Paul Bley, one of the two or three leading pianists of free jazz, believed that Sonny was a great piano player, so great that he didn't need a band. If anything, he felt, the band was a cover for his insecurity. Early in 1977 Bley convinced Sonny to do a series of piano duo performances with him in New York and Europe and to record for Bley's new audio and video company, Improvising Artists. In Europe Bley was surprised to see that once he was alone on stage, "Sonny was a ham who liked to clown and surprise the audience -- as at Lake Como, where he shocked them by playing a cake walk!" On May 20 Sun Ra went into the studio to record Solo Piano, and played a mixture of his own compositions and some unusually conceived standards, such as a very freely played "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child," or "Yesterdays" done in a brisk stride. On July 3 he was recorded solo (St. Louis Blues) while playing at Axis-in-Soho as part of the Newport Jazz Festival, and again there were surprises: his "St. Louis Blues" aluded to Earl Hines's famous boogie-woogie version and a cheerful little love song like "Three Little Words" got turned into a melodrama. But there were modest experiments in keyboard resources as well, such as "Sky and Sun," which stayed almost entirely within a small range at the top of the keyboard.
from Szwed - Space Is The Place p. 342-343
St. Louis Blues (Solo Piano vol. 2)
Ohosnisixaeht 6:09
St. Louis Blues 5:19
Three Little Words 5:56
Honeysuckle Rose 3:44
Sky And Sun 6:20
I Am We Are I 6:27
Thoughts On Thoth 6:41
or
continuing onward in exploring the solo - thanks!
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That's right! There's only a few more solo piano releases that I'm aware of... they'll be coming up later this week.
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