Sun Ra - Live at Judson Hall featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold

With little paying work for the Arkestra, John Gilmore quit the band in August 1964 to tour the world with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. This could have been a crushing blow to Sun Ra, if not for his involvement in the short-lived Jazz Composers Guild and its predecessors. Trumpeter/composer Bill Dixon had been putting on performances at the Cellar Café on West 91st Street and these efforts developed into the legendary “October Revolution in Jazz.” These concerts drew large crowds to hear the cream of the “New Thing,” including Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, Jimmy Giuffre, Andrew Hill, Steve Lacy, and others who would go on to define the cutting edge of avant garde jazz. Shortly thereafter, Dixon and Taylor decided to form a cooperative called the Jazz Composers Guild which would promote the new music while seeking an economic alternative to the exploitive nightclub system. Sun Ra and the Arkestra were quick to join and two months later, the Guild mounted series of concerts at Judson Hall called “Four Nights in December,” the last of which featured Sun Ra’s Arkestra. Portions of that concert are presented on this recently re-issued CD on ESP-Disk.

Sonny had known Farrell “Little Rock” Sanders since 1962, when Sanders was working as a waiter at the Gene Harris Playhouse (where the Arkestra was playing to miniscule audiences). Ra took him in and gave him some clothes and suggested he take on the name, “Pharoah.” By the time Gilmore split, Sanders was ready to join the band and you can hear that he’s already developed the blisteringly intense sound quality that would make him famous with John Coltrane’s band. Not much is known about Black Harold a/k/a Harold Murray a/k/a Sir Harold a/k/a Brother Atu a/k/a Atu Murray, etc. except that he played flute and a big, hand-carved drum with Sun Ra during this brief period. This recording is the only known document of Pharoah’s and Black Harold’s tenure with the Arkestra.

The rest of the personnel for this concert are kind of a mystery. The liner notes to this new CD give the following: Sun Ra: piano, celeste; Pharoah Sanders: tenor sax; Black Harold (Harold Murray): flute, log drum; Al Evans: trumpet; Teddy Nance: trombone; Marshall Allen: alto sax; Pat Patrick: baritone sax; Alan Silva: bass; Ronnie Boykins: bass; Cliff Jarvis: drums; Jimmhi Johnson: drums; and Art Jenkins: space voice. Prof. Campbell (2d ed.) adds Chris Capers on trumpet; Bernard Pettaway on trombone; Robert Northern on French horn; Danny Davis on alto sax, flute, and percussion; and Robert Cummings on bass clarinet but he omits Boykins. It is definitely a largish Arkestra, though they rarely all play at the same time, so it’s hard to tell. I do hear Cummings’s bass clarinet and, after repeated listening, I believe there are two bassists on this gig.

The CD starts out with nearly forty-five minutes of previously unissued material from this New Year’s Eve concert recorded in stereo. The brief “Cosmic Interpretation” opens the proceedings with some frenetic solo piano that outlines a vague tonal center. Ra then moves to the chiming celeste while the arco bass gets increasingly busy. Solo bass plays a jagged ostinato figure to introduce “The Other World” where Pharoah is well into his fire-breathing modus operandi. The first several minutes features some intense “New Thing” styled group improvisation. Pat Patrick takes brilliant accapella baritone sax solo, until trumpet joins in for a duet. After a less-than-convincing return to the pummeling free-jazz feel, things just sort of peter out at about the six minute mark yielding an incredibly lengthy, and rather pointless drum solo. At about the nineteen minute mark (!), trombone leads the horns back in for some honking and shrieking to introduce the space chant, “The Second Stop is Jupiter,” while the bass returns to the jagged ostinato figure. Some one emphatically declaims: “All out for Jupiter!” and the cacophonous horns return with trombone once again leading the way. After a while, all drop out for, yes, more drums! Thankfully, the track fades out after only another minute or so.

“The Now Tomorrow” begins with a lovely setting for piano and flutes in bittersweet harmony. Bowed bass enters and then things start to get weird when Marshall Allen takes a labyrinthine turn on oboe along with what sounds like a second oboe or soprano saxophone joining in along the way. And perhaps there are two basses sawing away here? I think so! Ra enters with rumbling piano to a smattering of applause. Ra plays intricate, contrasting figures on piano and celeste simultaneously until the horns (including bass clarinet) play fragments of the original harmonies to end. This is a very interesting piece of music.

(continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays)

113. [99]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold

Sun Ra (p, e-celeste); Al Evans (tp, flg); Chris Capers (tp); Teddy Nance (tb); Bernard Pettaway (tb); Robert Northern (Fr hn); Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); Danny Davis (as, fl, perc); Pharoah Sanders (ts); Robert Cummings (bcl, perc); Pat Patrick (bars, perc); Black Harold [Harold Murphy] (fl); Alan Silva (b, clo); Clifford Jarvis (d); Art Jenkins (space voice, perc).

Judson Hall, NYC, December 31, 1964

Gods on a Safari (Ra) [AJ space voice]
The World Shadow [The Shadow World]
(incl. Rocket Number Nine) (Ra) [ens voc]
The Voice of Pan (Ra)
Dawn over Israel
(incl. Space Mates) (Ra)
Water Lilies on Mars (Ra) [ens voc]
Other People's Worlds (Ra)
unidentified titles

All of the music from the Four Days in December series was recorded by the Jazz Composers Guild for its own label; a December 1964 announcement in Down Beat indicates that a sampler LP was planned as the first release.  The Jazz Composers Guild broke apart early in 1965, however, so this never came to pass.  Later there were plans (again abortive) to issue the concerts on Fontana.  Saturn JHNY 165, Featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold, was issued in 1976.

Ahmed Abdullah (and the first edition of this discography) gave the location and date as Cellar Café, New York City, June 15, 1964, but this cannot be right because John Gilmore was still in the Arkestra at that time.  The album serial number was clearly meant to indicate a concert at Judson Hall, New York City, in January 1965, and a copy in Alden Kimbrough's possession bears the title Live at Judson Hall written on the label for Side A, and Black Harold's is written on Side B.  The 1/65 date seems to be a slightly inaccurate reference to the Four Days in December concerts.  1968 is incorrectly given as the date in some discographies.

Basic personnel from a list given by members of the Arkestra to Bob Rusch.  They forgot about Robert Northern, however.  (Bruyninkx took up this list and mistakenly put Capers, whose instrument wasn't mentioned, into the reed section!)  A review of Four Days in December by Don Heckman (Down Beat, February 11, 1965) gave a slightly different personnel list which referred to Pharoah as "Ferrell Saunders," added Ronnie Boykins (b) and Jimmy Johnson (d), and subtracted Cummings (bcl) and Northern (Fr hn).  Most likely, Heckman was relying on a printed program (always dangerous with the Arkestra -- there is no audible evidence that Ronnie Boykins was there, whereas Cummings and Northern definitely were).  Heckman mentioned the titles "Other People's Worlds" and "Water Lilies on Mars" was sung -- which means it was not included on the Saturn LP!  The Arkestra and the New York Art Quartet split the evening; the concert began no earlier than 8pm and finished at midnight.  Most likely, then, some material from the Arkestra's set remains unissued.

British discographer Mike Hames also mentioned a "Space Mates" from this session, but this was included on the LP (thanks to Julian Vein for this information).  In the first edition of this discography, the Heckman and Hames information was thought to describe a different recording and was listed as a separate session.

According to John Szwed, Black Harold (or, as he was known in 1964 and identified by Heckman, Sir Harold) was formerly known as Harold Murray.  Harold also played a large drum with the Arkestra (considerably larger than Jacson's Ancient Egyptian Infinity Drum; regrettably, it does not appear on any known recordings).  Harold also recorded in 1968 (as Sir Harold) with Galt MacDermot and (as Black Harold) with Big Black.  According to Donald Leigh, he later changed his name to Brother Atu.  Recently he has appeared as Atu Murray.  Obviously a believer in having many names…

from The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Live at Judson Hall featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold
CD  ESP 4054

1.  Cosmic Interpretation   1:58
2.  The Other World   19:53
3.  The Second Stop is Jupiter   2:19
4.  The Now Tomorrow   9:56
5.  Discipline 9   11:32
6.  Gods On A Safari   2:56
7.  The World Shadow   7:09
8.  Rocket Number 9   3:57
9.  The Voice of Pan   5:17
10. Dawn Over Israel   3:53
11. Space Mates   2:49

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