Sun Ra - We Travel the Spaceways / Bad and Beautiful

We Travel the Spaceways was recorded at a handful of sessions in Chicago from 1956-1959, possibly 1960. Although several of the tunes also appear on other '50s era recordings, as usual, personnel and arrangements differ from album to album. Many of the tunes are quite bluesy, with tympani, bells, and percussion adding an exotic flair, but the big event here is the appearance of the "space chant," which would become an Arkestra calling card for decades to come. The band was starting to shed its bop tendencies in favor of a more personalized sound, but aside from the novelty aspect of the space chants, nothing on this album gets too far out. The three sessions represented here demonstrate the rapid evolution of the Chicago Arkestra from an interesting bop-influenced ensemble to the singular antics of the world's first space age jazz outfit. 

Bad and Beautiful is probably the first recording made after the Arkestra settled in New York in 1961. Not everyone in the Chicago band wanted to make the move, and since they hadn't been in New York long enough to recruit new musicians, Bad and Beautiful features an Arkestra that's been stripped down to a sextet of Ra, Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, Pat Patrick (who had already moved to NY), Ronnie Boykins, and Tommy "Bugs" Hunter. Aside from "Exotic Two," the tunes are split between standards (apparently the last ones the group would record until the '70s) and blues originals, but there are indications of the direction the Arkestra would take throughout the '60s. "Search Light Blues" has some interesting percussion accents finding their way into the arrangement, and "Exotic Two" alludes more clearly to the percussion-heavy sound that dominated many of the '60s recordings. Sun Ra plays piano exclusively on this recording, and Gilmore gets lots of room to shine. A significant transitional LP, this is probably the last "inside" record the Arkestra would record as they forged new sonic paths into the mid-'60s.

Much like Evidence's Fate in a Pleasant Mood/When Sun Comes Out two-fer, We Travel the Spaceways/Bad and Beautiful also features one album from the Chicago period and one from the New York period. The difference is that this New York session (Bad and Beautiful) is probably the first recording made in New York, and the overall sound is more closely tied to the Chicago sound than the later New York material, where rhythm and percussion dominated any melodic elements. The late Chicago period had the Arkestra still swinging, but moving beyond their swing and bop origins into more uncharted territory. We Travel the Spaceways marks the first appearance of the Space Chant, songs that would practically define the Arkestra in later decades. The pairing of We Travel the Spaceways and Bad and Beautiful captures an important transitional phase for the Arkestra, and makes a good starting point for the novice interested in Sun Ra. 

AMG Reviews by Sean Westergaard

We Travel the Spaceways

34. [21] Sun Ra Arkestra

We Travel the Spaceways

Sun Ra (p.); Art Hoyle (tp); Julian Priester (tb); James Scales (as); John Gilmore (bells); Pat Patrick (bars); Wilburn Green (eb); Robert Barry (d).

RCA Studios, Chicago, April-May 1956

New Horizon (Ra)

Saturn HK 5445 (released around 1966) was an LP entitled We Travel the Spaceways.  It may also have circulated under the serial number ESR 5445.  In 1967, it was given the catalog number 409.  All items from this album were reissued in 1992 on Evidence 22038 [CD].  It is sometimes claimed that this track is an alternate take from the July 12, 1956, Transition session at Universal Studios, but the absence of this take on the outtake pressing from that session and the less-than-perfect recording balance induce one of the Saturn sessions from RCA Studios.  So does the earlier copyright date ("New Horizons" was copyrighted on April 24, 1956; most of the material from the Sun Song session were copyrighted in a batch on July 17).  The presence of Scales on this track also suggests that it was not one of the February recordings.


63. [47] Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra

We Travel the Spaceways

Sun Ra (p.); Walter Strickland (tp); Nate Pryor (tb); Marshall Allen (as); John Gilmore (ts); Pat Patrick (bars); Ronnie Boykins (b); Robert Barry (d).

Rehearsal, Chicago, 1959

Eve (Ra)

Walter Strickland is identified on the Saturn jacket.  This track was first issued on the LP We Travel the Spaceways (Saturn HK 5445) around 1966….



68. [53] Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra

We Travel the Spaceways

Sun Ra (cosmic tone org); Phil Cohran (violin-uke, voc); John Gilmore (cosmic bells, voc); Ronnie Boykins (b, voc); prob. William Cohran (d); prob. Marshall Allen (perc).

Rehearsal, Chicago, 1960

Interplanetary Music (Ra)

Phil Cohran's violin-uke was misidentified on the Saturn jacket as a "space harp" (which was Ra's name for Cohran's amplified thumb piano; cohran called it a Frankiphone)….


70. [55] Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra

We Travel the Spaceways

Sun Ra (p.); Phil Cohran (tp); Marshall Allen (as); John Gilmore (ts); Ronald Wilson (bars); Ronnie Boykins (b); John Hardy (d).

Rehearsal, Chicago, 1960

Tapestry from an Asteroid (Ra)

Phil Cohran confirms his presence here and says the piece was written for him.  Pat Patrick was in New York in 1960; Cohran says that the full sound indicates that Ronald Wilson is probably present on baritone sax, and that Hardy was the drummer….

72. [61] Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra

Fate in a Pleasant Mood /
Holiday for Soul Dance /
Angels and Demons at Play /
We Travel the Spaceways /
Rocket Number Nine Take Off for the Planet Venus
(Interstellar Low Ways) /
The Singles

Sun Ra (bells, perc, gong -1, p -2); Phil Cohran (violin-uke -3, cnt -4, perc, voc); Nate Pryor (tb, bells -5); John Gilmore (ts -6; cl -7, perc, voc); Marshall Allen (as -8, fl -9, bells voc); Ronnie Boykins (space gong -10, b, voc); Jon Hardy (d, perc, gong).

RCA Studios, Chicago,
around June 17, 1960

[many many songs not on We Travel the Spaceways] 

Velvet (ra) -2, 4, 5, 6, 8

According to Phil Cohran, this session was an all-day marathon at which 30 to 40 tunes were recorded.  All tracks were identified by Cohran as coming from this session or have a similar ambiance to those he identified.  Cohran places this session at Hall Recording Co. (but see below).  Cohran has said that he copyrighted "Dorothy's Dance" "within a week" after the session; "Dorothy's Dance" was registered on June 24, 1960.  Sun Ra followed Cohran to the Library of Congress with a suite (consisting of "Space Loneliness," "Fate in a Pleasant Mood," "Lights on a Satellite," and "State Street") on July 8, and "The Blue Set" on July 21 (James Wolf).

Alton Abraham says that the studio at Hall Recording Co. was too small for the Arkestra and that he normally used it for mastering only.  This was the smallest Arkestra to make a studio recording during the Chicago period; however.  Abraham's suggestion that the session was done at RCA Studios does seem more plausible.  The actual recording order is unknown, except that "Velvet" was the last track of the day.  Personnel courtesy of Phil Cohran; the drummer, Jon Hardy, was not mentioned on any of the Saturn record jackets, though his name appears in the 1967 catalog in connection with We Travel the Spaceways….


75. [64] Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra

Fate in a Pleasant Mood /
Interstellar Low Ways /
We Travel the Spaceways

Sun Ra (p.); George Hudson (tp); Marshall Allen (as, bells, flying saucer, voc); John Gilmore (ts, perc, voc); Ronnie Boykins (b, perc, voc); Jon Hardy (d).

Rehearsals, Chicago,
around October 1960

Distant Stars (Ra-Boykins)
Onward (Ra)
Space Aura (Ra)
We Travel the Spaceways (Ra) [ens voc]
Space Loneliness (Ra)

George Hudson began working with Sun Ra in late 1960 and was his main trumpet player from Phil Cohran's departure in January 1961 until the Arkestra left Chicago.  His style is immediately recognizable on the first three tracks, and Phil Cohran identified him on the other two ("Space Loneliness" is attributed to Walter Strickland and "We Travel" to Phil Cohran on the Saturn jacket).  The bizarre whirring heard at the end of "We Travel the Spaceways" comes from a toy robot with flashing lights; John Gilmore told John Corbett that around this time the Arkestra would release the "robots" into the audience during their performances.  The band also used mechanical "flying saucers" as props.  Edward Skinner (who later changed his name to Luqman Ali) was incorrectly credited as the drummer in Jon Hardy's place on a number of Saturn issues.  It is known, however, that he and Hudson often worked together, and it is possible that Skinner is on "Distant Stars" or "Onward."


77. [66] Mr. Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Bad and Beautiful /
Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow

Sun Ra (p.); Marshall Allen (fl -1, perc -2); John Gilmore (ts -3, perc -4); Pat Patrick (bars -5, perc -6); Ronnie Boykins (b); John Ore (b -7); Tommy Hunter (d).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC,
November-December 1961

unidentified title 2, 3, 5 [inc]
unidentified title [p, b; inc]
The Bad and the Beautiful
(Previn-Raksin) 1, 3, 5
Ankh (Ra) 3,5
Just in Time (Styne-Comden-Green) 3
Search Light Blues (Ra) 2, 3, 6
Exotic Two (Ra) 2, 4, 6
On the Blue Side (Ra) 5
And This Is My Beloved
(Borodin-Wright-Forrest) 1, 3, 5
Lights on a Satellite (Ra) 3, 5, 7
Kosmos in Blue (Ra) 3, 7

Although all but the last two tracks were sold to Black Lion in December 1971, they were never issued on that label.  Saturn LP 532, Bad and Beautiful, was released in 1972.  All tracks were reissued on Impulse ASD-9276 in 1974 and on Evidence 22038 [CD] in 1992.  Julian Vein (the source for the track-by-track breakdowns) points out that the piano introduction to "The Bad and the Beautiful" has been edited out of all issues.  This was done in early 1972 by Richard Wilkinson while preparing the tape for issue on Saturn: "I took out the intro because the tape was frayed.  Sun Ra complained for years."….

Date and location from Phil Schaap.  The Choreographers Workshop, managed by the Variety Arts Company, was located at 414 West 51st Street in New York City.  After their arrival in New York, the Arkestra hooked up with Pat Patrick and drummer Tommy Hunter, who was working at the Workshop at the time.  The Arkestra used the practice rooms on the nights and weekends for three years or more (until they moved all their rehearsals to a room at the Sun Studio on East 3rd Street).  John Gilmore has stated that the sessions at the Workshop began after the Savoy session; Tommy Hunter (who recorded the sessions) confirms 1961 as the date and says that he was present on the tracks with two bassists (not C. Scoby Stroman as stated on the Saturn jacket).  These sessions were made in a room on the third or fourth floor, where the acoustics and the piano were not to Ra's liking. 

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recording 2nd ed.

Search Light Blues

By 1961, Mr. Sun Ra and a diminished Arkestra had inadvertently relocated from Chicago to New York City and, although gig opportunities were slim, Tommy Hunter had rejoined the band on percussion. Hunter subsequently purchased an Ampex 601 reel-to-reel tape recorder at a pawn shop in order to record the Arkestra’s frequent rehearsals. Hunter was also fortuitously employed, first at Columbus Rehearsal Studio on 8th Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets and later at the Choreographer’s Workshop at 414 West 51st Street. Thanks to Hunter, the Arkestra was able to rehearse and record rent-free on nights and weekends for the next three years (see Szwed, pp.186-187). Ra had frequently recorded rehearsals back in Chicago, but 1961 would mark the beginning of a particularly fruitful period.

Bad and Beautiful is the very first of a long series of wonderful Saturn records made at the Choreographer’s Workshop in the 1960s. This particular session was recorded in a room on the third or fourth floor where the acoustics and the piano were “not to Ra’s liking” (Campbell, 1st ed., p. 24). Sonny apparently preferred the basement where there was a good piano and better acoustics (Szwed, p.187). Indeed there is a noticeably hissy and tinny quality to the sound. But there is also that pleasantly reverberant atmosphere that characterizes all of the Choreographer’s Workshop records: They have that Saturn Sound. Along with Ra and Hunter, the sextet includes Marshall Allen on alto sax and flute, John Gilmore on tenor sax, Pat Patrick on baritone sax, Ronnie Boykins on bass. They sound supremely relaxed, languidly exploring hoary standards and show tunes along with some rather conventional Ra originals. Gilmore is in his usual fine form throughout but his oh-so-smooth solo on “Search Light Blues” is truly deep and soulful. Pat Patrick plays the unwieldy baritone saxophone with astounding grace on the riff-based “Ankh” and on the gently swinging “On the Blue Side.” But then “Exotic Two” points to the future with each Arkestra member banging away on percussion instruments in dense poly-rhythms while Ra punches out stiff chord sequences on the piano. (Small percussion instruments can be heard chattering away on “Search Light Blues” as well.) The album closes with a languorous ensemble arrangement of “And This Is My Beloved.” In all, Bad and Beautiful is a transitional, historically important album and its subdued atmosphere and sophisticated musicianship also makes for a simply pleasant Sun Ra Sunday.

(from NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays)

illustration by Edu Camacho

Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra
We Travel the Spaceways / Bad and Beautiful
Evidence ECD 22038-2 (1992) [CD]

1.  We Travel The Spaceways - Interplanetary Music   2:44
2.  Eve   3:11
3.  We Travel the Spaceways   3:25
4.  Tapestry from an Asteroid   2:11
5.  Space Loneliness   4:51
6.  New Horizons   3:04
7.  Velvet   4:38
8.  Bad And Beautiful - The Bad and the Beautiful   2:49
9.  Ankh   5:14
10. Just in Time   3:52
11. Search Light Blues   5:41
12. Exotic Two   4:51
13. On the Blue Side   5:32
14. And This is My Beloved   3:16

-FLAC-

RS

HF

or

-320-

RS

HF

Sun Ra and his Arkestra
Bad and Beautiful
180g Saturn ESR532 (Reissue)

1. Bad And The Beautiful   2:48
2. Ankh   5:12
3. Just In Time   3:50
4. Search Light Blues   5:40

5. Exotic Two   4:50
6. On The Blue Side   5:31
7. And This Is My Beloved   3:18

-FLAC-

RS

HF

or

-320-

RS

HF