Sun Ra - Sound Sun Pleasure!! (1970)

The first half-dozen cuts on Sound Sun Pleasure (1970) are thought to have been documented between 1958 and 1960, during Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra's residency in Chicago. Although Ra's arrangements are as intricate and involved as any from the era, the song list draws heavily upon standards. That said, it might be recommended as a starting point for parties not acclimated to the artist's later and exceedingly aggressive free and avant-garde leanings. Hatty Randolph (vocals) joins the combo for a pair of refined vocals on the covers of "'Round Midnight" and "Back in Your Own Backyard." The Arkestra complement Randolph's full-bodied delivery with such finesse, it is a wonder there isn't evidence of more frequent collaborations like this. She adds a bluesy melancholia that nicely offsets the instrumentation. "You Never Told Me That You Care" -- co-written by Ra and Hobart Dotson (trumpet) -- stunningly demonstrates Ra's unmatched scoring and superlative sense of melody. The sweeping and languid tempo allows the tune to unravel organically. "Enlightenment" -- another co-composition by the pair -- is slightly more indicative of Ra's complex approach, as well as the style that would inform his later work, noted by the band's stridency around the comparatively progressive harmonics. When Sound Sun Pleasure was issued on compact disc in 1992, an additional seven selections were included. Chronologically, they are among the earliest known from Sun Ra, recorded at various times and locations between 1953 and 1956, yielding understandably sporadic sound quality. "Deep Purple" -- from a session held in Ra's apartment -- features contributions by Stuff Smith, while Wilbur Ware (bass) duets on an emotive "Can This Be Love." Arthur Hoyle (trumpet) makes one of his first Arkestra appearances on the bouncy post-bop original "Dreams Come True" that also sports a rare Clyde Williams vocal. 

AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

5. [5]  Sonny Blount and Stuff Smith

Herman "Sonny" Blount (p. Solovox); Stuff Smith (vln).

Sonny Blount's apartment, Chicago,
between November 1948 and mid-1949

Deep Purple (DeRose-Parish)

Saturn 485 (released in 1973) was an LP titled Deep Purple (on some copies, Dreams Come True).  The artists on this collection were billed as "Sun Ra and his Arkestra featuring Stuff Smith on Violin."  All of Side A of this LP was reissued on Evidence 22014, Sound Sun Pleasure!!, a CD from 1992.

The Solovox was an early electronic keyboard instrument (already in Sonny's possession as early as 1941; it can be seen attached to his piano in a photograph that was reprinted in John F. Szwed's book Space Is the Place).  When asked for a session date, members of the Arkestra told Bob Rusch "pre-1953," which meant before John Gilmore joined the band (an event that actually took place in 1954); previous discographies have generally said 1953.  However, Anthony Barnett, author of Desert Sands: The Recordings and Performances of Stuff Smith, says that Smith probably left Chicago by the end of 1952, and had relocated to New York by February 1953 at the latest.  Tommy Hunter recalls recording this get-together (supposedly, just one tune because Sonny was running out of tape) in 1948 or 1949.  Sonny Blount had traveled to Cleveland earlier in 1948 to purchase an early model recorder that used paper tapes.

From May 19, 1947 (after the departure of Fletcher Henderson), till the Club De Lisa closed in the spring of 1958, the house band was led by Theodore "Red" Saunders (who had previously held down the job with a smaller unit from late 1937 until June 1945).  Saunders (1912-1981) was a spectacular Swing drummer, much enamored of the Count Basie sound of the late 1930s (Basie was, in fact, a personal friend).  The Saunders outfit was a versatile aggregation which was expected to back guest acts and provide functional music for floor shows.  For a detailed discography of Red Saunders, see http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/saunders.html.

Sonny Blount led the off-night band at the De Lisa for a number of years, functioned as a rehearsal pianist for acts that appeared there, and reportedly wrote arrangements for the Saunders band.  Tommy Hunter confirms that Sonny rewrote Saunders' arrangements on a regular basis.  Some believe that Sunny sat in with Saunders on piano, though Hunter denies this.

Sun Ra never spoke of the arrangements he wrote for Saunders in interviews, so his involvement has had to be identified by ear alone.  Nonetheless, it seems clear that he contributed a good deal to the recordings made by Saunders between 1949 and 1954.  In the earlier years, his job was most often to retouch arrangements by others, some of whom, like Johnny Pate, were no slouches at arranging to begin with.  Toward the end of his involvement with the Saunders band, Sunny contributed original arrangements in his own evolving style (as is apparent on several of Red's sessions from 1953).



24. [13]  Sun Ra

Sun Ra (p.); Wilbur Ware (b -1).

Sun Ra's apartment, Chicago,
around 1955

Piano Interlude (Ra)
Can This Be Love? (Smith-James) -1

According to Julian Vein, these two tracks were sold to Black Lion/Freedom in 1971, along with what is now The Invisible Shield, side B, but were not issued at the time. 

38. [24]  Sun Ra and the Arkestra
Sound of Joy/
Sun Ra Visits Planet Earth/
Deep Purple

Sun Ra (p, Wurlitzer ep, announcement); Art Hoyle (tp, perc); Pat Patrick (as, bars, perc); John Gilmore (ts, perc); Charles Davis (bars,  perc); Victor Sproles (b); William Cochran (d); Jim Herndon (tymp); Clyde Williams (voc).

Unidentified studio, Chicago,
November 1, 1956

Dreams Come True (Ra-Mayo)

Also reissued on in 1983 on the Saturn anthology LP, Just Friends (Saturn XI).  Hoyle is listed as "Arthur Horn" on the jacket of Saturn 485; Robert Barry is incorrectly given there as the drummer.

All tunes from the session were finally united on one disk in 1994 as Delmark DD-414 (a CD again titled Sound of Joy).  On the Delmark CD, the 6-second piano introduction to "Dreams Come True" is included for the first time (it was edited out of the other issues).

41. [27]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra
Deep Purple

Sun Ra (p.); Victor Sproles (b); Tito (cga); Hattie Randolph (voc).

Budland, Chicago, early 1957

Don't Blame Me (McHugh-Fields)
'S Wonderful (Gershwin-Gershwin)
Lover Come Back to Me (Romberg-Hammerstein)

Hattie Randolph says these tracks were made live at Budland (Cadillac Bob's club in the basement of the Pershing Hotel -- formerly Birdland, before that the Beige Room) after Art Hoyle left the band.  The bassist is not Ronnie Boykins; Victor Sproles was credited on the Saturn LP jacket.  Tito is the only known conga player to have worked with Ra during this period.  Initially released in 1973 on Side A of Saturn LP 485, Deep Purple (some copies titled Dreams Come True).  All tracks from Side A reissued on Evidence 22014 [CD, 1992].

According to Leroy Cooper (who played baritone sax briefly with Sun Ra in 1957), Ra at the time was arranging for singer Lorenz Alexandria (see As Serious as Your Life by Val Wilmer).  Through Ronald Wilson, who was also a member of the Arkestra for a time, played on her first LP for King Records, we have no evidence of Ra arrangements on Alexandria's recordings from this period (she recorded for the King label in Chicago twice in 1957 and again in 1959, but it appears that pianist King Fleming was responsible for all arrangements).

Hattie Randolph recalled a version of "Saturn" featuring her brother Lucious on trumpet.  Although such a thing could have been recorded rather easily, none of the three known versions of "Saturn" from the Chicago period includes Lucious Randolph.  And there has been no confirmation of such a release on the Saturn label.

53. [38]  Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra 

Sound Sun Pleasure!!

Sun Ra (celeste -1, p); Hobart Dotson (tp); James Spaulding (as); Marshall Allen (as, fl); John Gilmore (ts, cl); Pat Patrick (bars, as, fl); Charles Davis (bars); Ronnie Boykins (b); Robert Barry (d); Hattie Randolph (voc -2).

Studio Recording, Chicago, late 1958

'Round Midnight (Hanighen-Monk-Williams) -2
You Never Told Me That You Care (Dotson)
Hour of Parting (Schiffer-Spoliansky)
Back in Your Own Backyard (Jolson-Rose-Dreyer) -1, 2
I Could Have Danced All Night (Lerner-Loewe)

Alton Abraham has said that "'Round Midnight" and "Back in Your Own Backyard" were initially released on a Saturn Single; further information unknown.  Otherwise, this material was first issued on the LP Sound Sun Pleasure!! (Saturn SR 512) in 1970.  All tracks from that LP were reissued in 1992 on Evidence 22014 [CD].  "Back in Your Own Backyard" was also reissued in 1983 on the Saturn anthology LP, Just Friends (Saturn XI).  "'Round Midnight" is included in the 1997 Japanese Sun Ra sampler, Sun Ra Came Down to the Earth, on Paddle Wheel KICJ 315.

The personnel list for the Saturn issue was a ball of confusion: 15 performers were listed, mostly from the late 1960s.  The presence of Hobart Dotson nails down the date firmly, though according to Hattie Randolph, this was not the same session as Jazz in Silhouette; she also recalls Robert Barry as the drummer on the date.  According to Lucious Randolph, "You Never Told Me That You Care" was wholly written and arranged by Hobart Dotson.  Allan Chase's master's thesis gives a more detailed analysis of the scoring on each piece.

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Sound Sun Pleasure!!
Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra
Evidence ECD 22014-2 [CD]

1.  'Round Midnight   3:55
2.  You Never Told Me That You Care   5:37
3.  Hour Of Parting   4:53
4.  Back In Our Own Backyard   2:07
5.  Enlightenment   5:09
6.  I Could Have Danced All Night   3:11
7.  Deep Purple   4:03
8.  Piano Interlude   1:56
9.  Can This Be Love   6:01
10. Dreams Come True   3:08
11. Don't Blame Me   2:53
12. 'S Wonderful   2:18
13. Lover Come Back To Me   2:49

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Many Thanks to I-) for sharing pics found 'round the web