Sun Ra and his All-Star Inventions - November 1991

In November, 1991, Sun Ra played a string of gigs at the Village Vanguard.  Originally, the band was intended to be listed under John Gilmore's name but at the last minute was renamed Sun Ra and his All-Star Inventions.  Recordings from November 13th were released by Rounder in 1992 under the title Sun Ra Sextet At The Village Vanguard.  Thanks to the kindness of our friend, Ritzbird, we can all enjoy two more nights from this run, November 15th and 17th.

If one takes away what he knows, that is the health problems of both Gilmore and Ra, the slowing down of energy due to the passing of time, if one doesn't expect the well known exciting performances of the five decades before, well this is a masterpiece. Everything is cut to the core, the instruments have become voices more than they ever were, and we can feel an intensity that very few artists can achieve after many years of dedication.

Roberto T's reflections on the Rounder Release, Sun Ra Sextet at the Village Vanguard

728. [472]  Sun Ra and his All-Star Inventions

Sun Ra (Yamaha SY22 syn; Yamaha SY77 syn); John Gilmore (ts, voc, announcement); Chris Anderson (p.); Bruce Edwards (eg); John Ore (b); Buster Smith (d, announcement); June Tyson (voc - 1st set only); Jothan Callins (flg - 2nd and 3rd sets only).

The Village Vanguard, NYC,
November 15, 1991

1st set:
Friendly Galaxy (Ra)
unidentified ballad [p with syn]
The Shadow World (Ra)
Ankhnaton (Ra)
Love in Outer Space (Ra)
unidentified ballad [p with syn]
Space Aura (Ra)
Theme of the Stargazers (Ra) [JG, JT voc]

2nd Set:
Images (Ra)/
Deep Purple (DeRose-Parish)
Retrospect (Ra)
What's New? (Burke-Haggart)
Over the Rainbow (Arlen-Harburg) [syn, p only]/
Theme of the Stargazers (Ra) [JG voc; ens voc]

3rd Set:
Autumn in New York (Duke-Harburg)
Carefree (Ra)
Out of Nowhere (Green-Heyman)

There is an audience tape, slightly under 90 minutes, of the first set.  A second audience tape includes all three sets.  Date and location from Michael Fitzgerald and Charles Blass; tunes for the first set identified by Fitzgerald and ct; tunes from the second and third sets identified by ct.  According to ct, the two ballads were improvisations.

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

730. [474] Sun Ra and his All-Star Inventions

Sun Ra (Yamaha SY22 syn; Yamaha SY77 syn); John Gilmore (ts, voc, announcement); Chris Anderson (p.); Bruce Edwards (eg); John Ore (b); Buster Smith (d, announcement).

The Village Vanguard, NYC,
November 17, 1991

1st set:
unidentified titles

2nd set:
unidentified titles
Space Aura (Ra) [inc]
Theme of the Stargazers (Ra) [syn only]

3rd set:
Carefree (Ra)
Lights on a Satellite (Ra)
Theme of the Stargazers (Ra) [JG voc]
We Travel the Spaceways (Ra) [JG voc]

According to Charles Blass, there are audience tapes of all three sets (approximately 180 minutes in all).  The second set (from "Space Aura" onward) and third set take up one 90-minute cassette.  (Or are there just two sets?  This was a Sunday night at the Vanguard!)  Tunes identified by ct.  June Tyson may have made a cameo appearance on "We Travel the Spaceways."
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Sun Ra and his All-Star Inventions
The Village Vanguard, NYC,
November 15, 1991

1.  Friendly Galaxy   10:03
2.  ballad/Shadow World   15:43
3.  Ankhnaton   11:04
4.  Love in Outer Space   9:06
5.  ballad   10:47
6.  Space Aura   9:56
7.  Theme of the Stargazers   3:28
8.  Images   1:33
9.  Deep Purple (tape flip)   13:42
10. Retrospect   16:45
11. What's New (tape flip)   24:22
12. Over the Rainbow   1:18
13. Theme of the Stargazers   4:33
14. Autumn in New York   13:35
15. Carefree   19:07
16. Out of Nowhere (tape flip)   9:45

New Links!

-FLAC-

RS1 + RS2 + RS3 + RS4 + RS5 + RS6

HF1 + HF2 + HF3

or

-320-

RS1 + RS2

HF

Sun Ra and his All-Star Inventions
The Village Vanguard, NYC,
November 17, 1991
MP3 320 kbps

Sun Ra Village Vanguard 17 11 1991 disc 1   1:03:17
     Friendly Galaxy (tape flip)   (0:00 - 29:00)
     Autumn in New York   (29:00 - 43:17)
     Space Aura / piano coda   (43:17 - end)

Sun Ra Village Vanguard 17 11 1991 disc 2   1:08:13
     Carefree (tape flip)  (0:00 - 38:00)
     Lights on a Satellite  (38:00 - 51:35)
     Theme of the Stargazers / We Travel the Spaceways  (51:35 - end)

-320-

RS1 + RS2

HF

I-) broke down the track listing even further for us:

set 1
00:00  synth and piano intro >

02:15  Friendly Galaxy (has tape flip) >
28:49  applause >
29:03  synth and piano intro >
32:19  Autumn In New York >
43:16  applause >
43:18  Space Aura / piano coda >
55:30  bowed bass solo >
58:50  group >
59:13  sax solo (seems to cut in suddenly?) > drums > sax >
62:31  applause >
62:32  synth intro of Theme of the Stargazers >
63:05  applause and announcement

length = 63:17


set 2
00:00  synth intro >
01:46  Carefree (tape flip?) >
33:15  drums >
34:38  group
37:47  applause
38:00  synth intro >
38:51  Lights On a Satellite (40:58 = dead air) >
51:28  applause
51:36  synth intro >
52:07  Theme of the Stargazers >
56:56  vocals (john gilmore)
57:55  group and closing vocals
58:43  applause and announcements >
59:36  synth intro >
60:14  We Travel the Spaceways (with vocals)
67:46  applause and announcements

length = 68:13