Sun Ra - Other Planes of There (1964)

After posting Secrets of the Sun, it occurred to me that more of Ra's early '60s recordings should be featured here.  This is a transitionary time for the Arkestra as they leave behind the Post-Bop of Chicago through Sun Ra's analysis of musical possibilities unknown to jazz.  This is music dreamt through both the telescope and microscope -  experiments with small ensembles give a 'classical music' feeling to many of these pieces and the shifting magnitude of focus strikes relief between various clusters of instruments and the power of the full Arkestra.  I'm reminded of Mandelbrot's fractal  - these Choreographer's Workshop rehearsals have long been some of my favorite Sun Ra music.  Such strange beauty...

 OTHER PLANES OF THERE

The displaced years

Memory calls them that

They were never were then;

Memory scans the void

And from the future

Comes the wave of the greater void

A pulsating vibration

Sound span......bridge to other ways and

Other planes of there......

My music is the music of precision…Actually, I don’t play free music, because there is no freedom in the universe. If you were to be free you could just play no matter what and it doesn’t come back to you. But you see, it always does come back to you. That’s why I warn my musicians to be careful what you play…every note, every beat, be aware that it comes back to you. And if you play something you yourself don’t understand, then that’s bad for you and for the people too.
-- Sun Ra (quoted in Szwed, John, Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra (Pantheon) (p. 235-236)

The title track to Other Planes of There marks the first recorded appearance of extended group improvisation by the Arkestra but, as indicated above, this is anything but “free jazz.” Sun Ra was deeply suspicious of the notion of freedom, remarking that the only free person was in the graveyard (id. p.309). In all of his work, he stressed the importance of discipline over freedom. At the height of the civil rights movement in 1968, he flatly stated: “Don’t be fooled, talking about revolutin’…what the white race got to revolute against? They got everything. That’s not for you. Not no revoluting for black people, no freedom, no peace. They need unity, precision and discipline” (id. p.100).

The twenty-two minute piece opens with a long, portentously held space chord declaimed by the entire ensemble but then immediately gives way to a series of small sub-group and solo episodes whose entrances and exits are cued by Ra at the piano; his own ruminations vary from lushly harmonic voicings that vaguely hint at some forgotten jazz standard to interlocking atonal arpeggios that foreshadow Cecil Taylor’s work a couple years later. At one point, a trombone choir improvises antiphonally amidst pealing trumpet and honking baritone sax. The next minute, Marshall Allen solos on his snake-charming oboe. Heat and energy levels increase as John Gilmore’s squalling tenor saxophone rides waves of skittering percussion and roiling piano figures but then subsides, leaving a stuttering trombone to solo before the return of massed space chords that herald the climaxing ensemble improvisations. With a flourish, the piece decisively ends. While lacking any overt themes or chord progressions beyond the thickly voiced space chords, “Other Planes of There” is organically structured, contemplative, and at times sounds more like modern chamber music than the unrelenting “energy music” that was/is propagated by many proponents of “free jazz.” For Sun Ra, meaningful freedom meant the imposition of severe limits.

 (continue reading this excellent review at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sunday blog)

Other Planes of There (1964) presents Sun Ra (piano) and his Solar Arkestra once again pushing the boundaries on five Ra originals. The exceedingly experimental works are marked by the performers as much as they are by the compositions. The opening title track is an expansive suite of sounds adhering only to the boundless limits of the combo's sonic canvas. Each soloist is given ample room to propel the piece between the inspired Arkestra interjections, which in turn clears the way for the next one. This isn't exactly call-and-response, however there are correlations between the respective and (at times) disparate juxtapositions. John Gilmore's (tenor sax) maniacal wails are matched by Marshall Allen (oboe) and Danny Davis (alto sax) -- the latter of whom quickly establishes the cut's moody and schizophrenic nature. By contrast, "Sound Spectra/Spec Sket" commences with the percussive pairing of Roger Blank (drums) and Lex Humphries (drums) asserting unified rhythmic patterns that are countered by a compact melody from Walter Miller (trumpet). His regal nuances are tentatively met by Ronnie Boykins (bass) and then Ra, who weave their lines considerately, rather than in a flurry of impassioned abandon. "Sketch" bops freely as Gilmore forges a seemingly straight-ahead tune, until Ra's frenzied and ardent runs overpoweringly steer the number further out. Pat Patrick's (baritone sax) sublime contributions are at the center of "Pleasure," smouldering with a measured and dreamy sense of portents. The long player concludes in much the same way that it began, sporting a full ensemble blowout on "Spiral Galaxy." Granted, the selection is certainly not as abrasive and demanding as later efforts, although there is strident involvement from everyone within the dense arrangement. The brass and reed sections provide emphasis behind an off-kilter and loping waltz backdrop. All the more impressive is how well the material has held up over the decades. Even to seasoned ears, the music is pungent and uninhibited, making Other Planes of There a highly recommended collection.

AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

111. [97] Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra

Sun Ra (p.); Walter Miller (tp -1, 2); Ali Hassan (tb -1); Teddy Nance (tb -1); Bernard Pettaway (tb -1); Marshall Allen (as, ob -1, fl -4); Danny Davis (as -1, fl -4); John Gilmore (ts -1, 3); Pat Patrick (bars -1, 4); Ronnie Boykins (b); Roger Blank (d); Lex Humphries (d).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, early 1964

Other Planes of There (Ra) -1
Sound Spectra (Ra) -2
Sketch (Ra) -3
Pleasure (Ra) -4

112. [98] Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra

Sun Ra (p.); Walter Miller (tp); Ali Hassan (tb); Teddy Nance (tb); Bernard Pettaway (btb); Marshall Allen (ob, perc); Danny Davis (fl, perc); John Gilmore (bcl, perc); Pat Patrick (fl, perc); Ronnie Boykins (b);  Roger Blank (d); Lex Humphries (d).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, early 1964

Spiral Galaxy (Ra)

From The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 2nd ed.

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