Sun Ra - Music from Tomorrows World 1960 (2002)

Driving down Cottage Grove you couldn't miss it, right next to the bank, with glass-brick facade and a sign out front: Wonder Inn.  South of the southeast corner of 75th Street, the club was just a dozen blocks from the busiest jazz intersection on Chicago's south side, 63rd and Cottage.  Advertising for goings on at the Wonder Inn was done mostly word-of-mouth, perhaps augmented by a small ad in the Chicago Defender like the one in late July, 1960, that announced: "Sun Ra and his recording band."

The Wonder Inn was a long tavern, a straight shot back to the restrooms at the rear with a bar stretching along one side and tables on the other.  An odd, baroquely decorated canopy arched over the cramped stage, classic Chicago pressed-tin ceiling above it.  There was music nightly from 10 PM to 4 AM, and for a very long stretch - nobody's sure precisely how long - the house band was Sun Ra and his Arkestra, in a rather economical six-piece incarnation of the ensemble featuring tenor saxophonist John Gilmore, cornetist Phil Cohran plus occasional vocals by Ricky Murray.  For Ra, this was probably the most consistent gig presenting his band since his mid-50s stint at Birdland/Budland.  During much of the run, the group played seven nights a week, rehearsing six hours during the day (first in a big heated space at 47th and Lake Park, then in a converted studio on South Chicago and 75th), then performing six hours per night.  "The music was everything, it was what we lived for," says Cohran.  "That's where I learned the importance of that concept, to dedicate myself to one thing.  And for us, music was the only place we could be happy, unmitigatedly happy."
from the CD notes by John Corbett, Chicago, August 2002

Historical document or musical revelation? Music from Tomorrow’s World, the latest release in Atavistic’s Unheard Music Series, again poses this seemingly eternal, yet pertinent, question. Should live recordings be made available to the listening public, even if the sound quality distorts and obscures the musical content? Many would say no, but in the case of Sun Ra the parameters of the debate change, and for this album the musical content comes across as vivid and exciting—with a little patient listening, of course.

This album catches Ra and his Arkestra live in 1960 during their Chicago tenure. The tunes are grouped into two different sessions. The first session was taken from Ra’s stay at the Wonder Inn, while the second is from an unknown venue called here “Majestic Hall”.

The Wonder Inn cuts capture the Arkestra in transition, and consequently displays many facets of their musical personality. They play three Ra originals and four standards, two of which feature vocals by Ricky Murray. On “Angels and Demons at Play” and “Spontaneous Simplicity” one can almost hear the Arkestra mutating from progressive big band to the bustling, percussion-heavy unit they would evolve into later in the 60s. Both pieces feature Ronnie Boykin’s percussive bass pulses and an exotic variety of percussion textures. Almost more exciting, we get to hear tenor saxophonist John Gilmore stretch out over the funky swing of “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and the bop harmony of “How High the Moon”.

The Majestic Hall sessions contain more distortion than atmosphere, but through the hiss one can still discern Ra’s lush, swinging arrangements and the Arkestra’s deft, disciplined playing. This session contains four unidentified pieces, dubbed here “Majestic 1-4”. “Majestic 1”, a ballad penned by the under-recognized trumpeter Hobart Dotson, drifts along on lost melancholy. Baritone saxophonist Ronald Wilson phrases a gentle, loving solo off the melody. “Majestic 2” shows the flipside of the Arkestra as they burn their way through an energetic, jumping chart. Gilmore shines again, and Wilson reels off a ripping baritone-sax solo. These tracks show that the Arkestra was not only an important innovator, but simply put, one of the most vital big bands jazz has seen.

Music from Tomorrow’s World definitely works as both historical document and musical revelation. The atmosphere of the Wonder Inn clearly manifests itself-cash registers ring, conversations continue and the crowd exhorts the Arkestra forward-but instead of detracting from the music, it adds to the feeling that we are getting a picture from another time, the essence of a forgotten moment recaptured from the past in an audio postcard. And as for the distortion on the Majestic Hall tracks, the previously unheard compositions overcome any technical qualms.
-AllAboutJazz review by Matthew Wuethrich

          Credits via Discogs:

              Alto Saxophone – Gene Easton (tracks: 8 to 17)
              Alto Saxophone, Flute – Marshall Allen
              Artwork [Cover] – Claude Dangerfield
              Baritone Saxophone – Ronald Wilson (tracks: 8 to 17)
              Bass – Ronnie Boykins
              Cornet – Phil Cohran (tracks: 8 to 17)
              Drums – Jon L. Hardy* (tracks: 1 to 7), Robert Barry (2) (tracks: 8 to 17)
              Electric Piano, Percussion – Sun Ra (tracks: 1 to 7)
              Mastered By [Transferred, Restored By] – John McCortney
              Piano – Sun Ra
              Reissue Producer [Production Assistance] – Terri Kapsalis
              Reissue Producer, Liner Notes – John Corbett
              Tenor Saxophone – John Gilmore
              Trumpet – George Hudson (tracks: 1 to 7)
              Vocals – Ricky Murray (tracks: 1 to 7)
              Written-By – Ra* (tracks: 1 to 3, 9, 11 to 14, 16, 17)

Music From Tomorrow's World

Sun Ra and his Arkestra
Chicago 1960

1.  Angels & Demons At Play   3:24
2.  Spontaneous Simplicity   3:12
3.  Space Aura       3:28
4.  S'Wonderful   3:35
5.  It Ain't Necessarily So   4:42
6.  How High The Moon   6:28
7.  China Gate   4:01

8.  Majestic 1   4:30
9.  Ankhnaton       3:56
10. Posession   6:27
11. Tapestry From An Asteroid   2:06
12. Majestic 2   6:05
13. Majestic 3   3:06
14. Majestic 4   6:24
15. Velvet   4:36
16. A Call For All Demons   2:05
17. Interstellar Lo-Way [Introduction]   0:28

Tracks 1-7 - Live at Wonder Inn  Chicago, IL
Tracks 8-17 - The Majestic Hall Session  Chicago, IL

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