Sun Ra - Out There a Minute (1989)

In today’s instantaneous-information and media-saturated age, it might be difficult to imagine what a revelation it was when Out There a Minute appeared in 1989. Billed as “Sun Ra’s personal selection of rare Arkestra recordings from the late 1960s,” this CD allowed a glimpse into the darkest recesses of Ra’s most obscure period. But in typical Saturnal fashion, the packaging was devoid of liner notes beyond some cryptic Ra poetry leaving any definitive information as to dates and personnel merely inferred or totally unknown. That is until the efforts of Prof. Robert L. Campbell to compile a definitive Sun Ra discography began to circulate on the nascent internet. Thanks to Prof. Campbell (and the small but avid cyber-community of Ra fanatics), one could in the coming years finally piece together the murky history of Sun Ra’s Arkestra and gain an understanding of the material that appears on Out There a Minute. The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra was subsequently published by Cadence Jazz Books in 1994 and a greatly enlarged second edition (which I still need to purchase) was published in 2000.

So, it turns out that Out There a Minute contains several tracks that were later issued on CD in their proper album context on Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, When Angels Speak of Love (Evidence ECD 22216), and Night of the Purple Moon (Atavistic ALP 264) along with two tracks from the still-out-of-print Continuation LP from 1968. I will not consider any of these tracks here except to say that Atavistic needs to reissue Continuation pronto. The remainder of the CD consists of never released recordings, some of which derive from the Choreographer’s Workshop era and therefore fits chronologically into our discussion of these crucial early/mid-sixties sessions.

“Somewhere in Space,” “Dark Clouds with Silver Linings,” and “Journey Outward” were all recorded in 1962 and demonstrate Ra’s evolution from the more swing-based traditionalism of the Chicago era to the experimental, avant-garde music that first appeared on Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow and was perfected on Secrets of the Sun. “Somewhere in Space” is a lumbering two-chord march featuring Art Jenkins on “space voice,” actually wordless, improvisatory singing through an inverted ram’s horn (see Szwed pp.192-193 for the whole story). After a while, the horns enter with a simple, but affecting batch of riffs before each picking up small percussion instruments in support of a string of rather meandering solos: Pat Patrick on baritone saxophone, John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on flute. “Dark Clouds With Silver Linings” is a more conventional Ra original with a mid-tempo blues structure but with some typically unexpected harmonic twists. Gilmore states the melody and his tenor solos glide effortlessly through the weirdly bop-ish changes. Meanwhile, Ra explores some interesting two-handed counterpoint along with his stabbed comping. The ensemble sounds a little unsure of itself when it enters with the restatement of the theme, which yields some mild inadvertent dissonance before the close. “Journey Outwards” appears to be another early example of the conducted improvisations that would characterize this period’s most important work. It opens with Gilmore on mellifluous bass clarinet over softly mumbling drums. Then Gilmore drops out as the percussion builds into a polyrhythmic African groove. Al Evans enters with some mellow, richly melodic flugelhorn statements and Ra joins in with some angular piano figures before fading out. Very nice.

The title track, “Out There a Minute,” remains somewhat of a discographical mystery. According to Prof. Campbell, it could have been recorded at any time between 1962 and 1964, but to my ears it sounds very similar to the hissy, distant quality and subtly swinging combo feel of 1961’s Bad & Beautiful. In any event, it’s another patented off-kilter blues with some slippery piano work from Ra and a spirited Patrick solo on baritone saxophone. “Other Worlds” jumps ahead to the Magic City (Evidence ECD 22069) sessions of spring 1965, with a larger Arkestra and more aggressively avant-garde approach, but probably not recorded at the Choreographer’s Workshop (for one thing, it’s in stereo). Ra plays a quietly intense introduction on simultaneous piano and bell-like celeste before the Arkestra bursts in with a hard-driving atonal workout. Throughout the piece, Ra’s piano attack is every bit as ferocious as Cecil Taylor’s and the entire 11-piece Arkestra blows hot and heavy, tossing lines around with seemingly wild abandon. But repeated listens reveal a tightly controlled compositional integrity that packs the whollop of John Coltrane’s “Ascension” into a mere four minutes and forty-eight seconds. Incredible stuff. “Jazz and Romantic Sounds” probably dates from about 1969 given Ra’s electronic organ. Also, Gilmore is notably absent, but Marshall Allen and Danny Davis duke it out on alto saxophones while Ra conjures up the “space-age barbeque music” vibe similar to My Brother the Wind Vol. 2.

These never-before-released tracks make Out There a Minute a must-have proposition for the hardcore Sun Ra fan while the whole disc is full of prime cuts and a suitable introduction for the novice. Sadly, the CD is now out print although its widespread distribution means it’s readily available in the secondary market and well worth the effort to track it down. Essential.

Read the entire review at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays

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."

The last two tracks were first issued in 1965 on Saturn LP 9956, Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, on which the band was billed as "Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra."  This LP was given the catalog number 404 in 1967.  The same two tracks were reissued in 1989 on Blast First BFFP 42 [LP and CD] in Britain, on Restless 71427 [CD], and on Torso 31332 [LP] in the Netherlands.  All tracks from the Saturn album were reissued in 1992 on Evidence 22036 [CD].  "Kosmos in Blue" was abridged on the Saturn release; uncut on Blast First (where it is retitled "Starships and Solar Boats") and Evidence.

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.


90. [78]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Out There a Minute

Sun Ra (p.); Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); John Gilmore (ts, perc); Pat Patrick (bars, fl, perc); Ronnie Boykins (b); C. Scoby Stroman (d); Art Jenkins (space voice, perc); Tommy Hunter (perc).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1962

Somewhere in Space (Ra)

Stylistically, this track dates from the same period as Secrets of the Sun.  It may even have come from the same session as "Solar Differentials."


91. [79]  Sun Ra (p.); John Gilmore (ts); Marshall Allen (as); Pat Patrick (bars); Ronnie Boykins (b); C. Scoby Stroman or Tommy Hunter (d).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1962

Dark Clouds with Silver Linings (Ra)

92. [80]  Sun Ra (p.); Al Evans (flg); John Gilmore (bcl); Marshall Allen (mor); prob. Pat Patrick ((bgo); prob. Ronnie Boykins (perc); prob. Tommy Hunter (perc).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1962

Journey Outward (Ra)

93. [81]  Sun Ra (p.); Marshall Allen (as, fl); Danny Davis (as, fl); John Gilmore (ts); Pat Patrick (bars); Ronnie Boykins (b, announcement); Clifford Jarvis (d).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC,
late 1962 to early 1964

Out There a Minute (Ra)

These tracks were first issued in 1989 in Britain on Blast First BFFP 42 [LP and CD], Out There a Minute.  Also on Restless 71427 [CD] in the U.S. and Torso 33132 in the Netherlands.

"Out There a Minute" was also included on a 7" EP Blast First sampler that was packaged with an issue of Chemical Imbalance magazine, and in Blast First BFDJ1-10, a collection of 10 7" 45-rpm singles released in October 1989 and titled Devil's Jukebox.  In this singles collection "Out There a Minute" is on the A side of BFDJ7; the B side is "Third Movement" by Glenn Branca.  Other titles in this set by Head of David, Dinosaur Jr., Band of Susans, The Butthole Surfers, etc. (thanks to Henry Weld for this information).  In 1996, "Out There a Minute" was included in a special CD that collected past offerings from Chemical Imbalance.

Digital samples from the performances on Out There a Minute were used on Blast First BFFP 105, an anthology CD sold by mail order only through Wire magazine in 1994.  The title was Deconstruct, and the CD was advertised as "The Blast First back catalogue folded, spindled and mutilated by Christian Marclay, Disco Inferno, Poss/Stenger, Stock, Hausen & Walkman, Bruce Gilbert, Philip Jeck, John Oswald [the last being the impresario of Plunderphonics]."  Thanks to ct. for information.

108. [94]  Sun Ra (p.); Walter Miller (tp); Marshall Allen (as,  perc); Danny Davis (as, perc); John Gilmore (ts -1, perc); Pat Patrick (bars); Robert Cummings (bcl -1); Ronnie Boykins (b); Tommy Hunter (perc, reverb -1, 3).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1963

When Angels Speak of Love (Ra)
Next Stop Mars (Ra) [ens voc] -1

Saturn LP 1966, When Angels Speak of Love, was released (in mono) in 1966.  All known copies have a red portrait of Sun Ra pulled sideways in a copier to create streaks.  The first edition had this portrait on a gold cover, and a black liner with notes by Natel Juni and a personnel list (thanks to Gilbert Hsiao and Len Bukowski for information on this edition).  The second edition used the same portrait on a white cover but left the back blank.  A cover with a black ameboid figure was advertised in the 1967 Saturn catalog, but no copies with this jacket have yet turned up.  All copies of the album have the red Saturn label, which supports the 1966 release date.  In 1967 the album was given the catalog number 405.  It is not known how many Saturn LPs were pressed, but two lots of 75, for a total of 150, is a good guess.  In 1971 the master tape for at least one side of this album was sold to Black Lion, but it was never issued by that label (according to Julian Vein).  At least side B was originally recorded in stereo.

The two tracks from the second session were reissued (in stereo) on Blast First BFFP 42 [CD] and Restless 71427 [CD] in 1989.  The last 4:40 of "Next Stop Mars" has been edited out on these reissues; Blast First BFFP 42 [LP] and Torso 33132 include only "When Angels Speak of Love."


115. [102]  Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra

Sun Ra (p, e-celeste, bass marimba, tymp -1, sun harp, dragon drum -2, 3); Teddy Nance (tb); Bernard Pettaway (btb); Marshall Allen (as, picc, perc); Danny Davis (as -1, 3); John Gilmore (ts -1, perc -2, 3); Pat Patrick (bars -1; tymp -2); Robert Cummings (bcl -1; perc -2, 3); Ronnie Boykins (b); Jimmy Johnson (d).

New York City, April-May 1965

The Shadow World (Ra) -1
Other Worlds (Ra) -1
Abstract Eye (Ra) -2
Abstract "I" (Ra) -3

Three of these tracks were originally issued on Side B of Saturn LPB 711, The Magic City, in 1966.  In 1967 it was given the catalog number 403.  Later issues on Thoth Intergalactic LPB 711 (black label, c. 1969) and El Saturn LP 403 (1970s).  All titles reissued in 1973 on Impulse AS-9243 and on Evidence 22069 [CD] in 1993.

According to James Jacson, "The Shadow World," "Abstract Eye" and "Abstract 'I'" were recorded at Olatunji's loft in New York City.  However, the Evidence reissue reveals that "The Shadow World" was recorded in mono and the two "Abstracts" in stereo, suggesting at least two different sessions.  A 12" pressing from Variety Recording Services has recently come to light.  According to John Szwed, one side consists of "The Shadow World" and what were then labeled "Abstract Experiment Take 1" and "Abstract Experiment Take 2."  The B side contains three tracks labeled "The Other People's World"; these have not yet been checked.  According to Seth Tisue, Impulse 1973, Impulsivity, was a 2-LP sampler that was circulated to radio stations in 1973.  "Abstract 'I'" was also included in a Sun Ra sampler derived from Evidence and released in 1997 on Japanese Paddle Wheel KICJ 315.

"Other Worlds" has the same personnel and the same sonic ambience as "The Shadow World" (except that it is recorded in stereo).  It was first released in 1989 on Blast First BFFP 42 (UK, LP and CD), Torso 33132 (Netherlands), and Restless 71427 [CD], all titled Out There a Minute.


151. [134]  Sun Ra (p innards, sun harp, gong -1; p -2); Marshall Allen (picc -1, Jupiterian fl -2); Danny Davis (strings -1, fl -2); Robert Cummings (bcl -2); prob. John Gilmore (bells -1); poss. Tommy Hunter (scraper, perc -1; reverb).

Sun Studio, NYC, 1968

Earth Primitive Earth (Ra) -1
New Planet (Ra) -2

Both tracks also released in 1989 on British LP and CD Blast First BFFP 42, Out There a Minute, and on Restless 71427 [CD] and Torso 33132 [LP].  On these releases, the titles were changed from "Earth Primitive Earth" to "Cosmo Enticement" (this was also edited and is shorter on the Blast First releases than on Saturn) and from "New Planet" to "Song of Tree and Forest" (slightly edited on Blast First).

"Cosmo Enticement" also appeared under that title on David Toop's "ambient" compilation Ocean of Sound, a two-CD set released by Virgin in 1995.  Other tracks on this anthology include an excerpt from Peter Brötzmann's "Machine Gun," along with pieces by Brian Eno, David Toop with John Zorn, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, Erik Satie, an others (Pete Gianakopoulos).

Hunter is not credited on the Saturn jacket but his trademark reverb indicates that he was at least engineering the session.  Continuation is normally dated 1968-1969, but on stylistic grounds an earlier date is possible for these tracks.


159. [138]  Sun Ra Arkestra

Out There a Minute

Sun Ra (Farfisa org); Marshall Allen (as solo); Danny Davis (as); Pat Patrick (bars); Clifford Jarvis (d).

Early 1970

Jazz and Romantic Sounds (Ra)

Stylistically this piece resembles those from My Brother the Wind II; personnel identified by rlc.


163. [145]  Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Astro-Solar Infinity Arkestra

The Night of the Purple Moon

Sun Ra (Rocksochord -1; two Mini-Moogs, Rocksichord -2); John Gilmore (ts -3; d -4); Danny Davis (d -3; as -5; fl -6; acl -7; bgo -8); Stafford James (eb except -2).

Variety Recording Studio, NYC, mid-1970

Sun-Earth Rock (Ra) -1, 4, 5
The All of Everything (Ra) -1, 4, 6
Impromptu Festival (Ra) -1, 3
Blue Soul (Ra) -2
Narrative (Ra) -2
Outside the Time Zone (Ra) -2
The Night of the Purple Moon (Ra) -1, 4, 7
A Birds-Eye View of Man's World (Ra) -1, 4, 7
21st Century Romance (Ra) -1, 4, 6
Dance of the Living Image (Ra) -1, 4, 8
Love in Outer Space (Ra) -1, 4, 7, 8
Love in Outer Space [alt.] (Ra) -1, 4, 7, 8

Thoth Intergalactic IR 1972, The Night of the Purple Moon, was released before August 1970 (Victor Schonfield); it had a blue-and-white Thoth label.  The same album also appeared as Saturn LP 522.  Location from Richard Wilkinson.  Personnel from the Saturn jacket, with minor corrections.  According to Michael Fitzgerald, the RMI Rocksichord was first sold in 1970.

The alternate version of "Love in Outer Space" was issued in 1989 on Blast First BFFP 42 (British LP and CD), on Restless 71427 [CD], and on Torso 33132 (Dutch LP), all titled Out There a Minute.  Seth Markow points out that the Blast First version of "Love in Outer Space" differs in pitch from the version listed on the Saturn LP, which seems flat; barring a change in the tuning of the Rocksichord during the session, that suggests that the Saturn needs a speed correction.

According to Richard Wilkinson, this session was made after the two My Brother the Wind sessions.  T.S. Mims Jr. provided financial backing and recruited Stafford James for the occasion.

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Sun Ra
Out There A Minute
Restless/Blast First 7 71427-2

1.  Love In Outer Space [alternate of the version on NIGHT OF THE PURPLE MOON]   5:02
2.  Somewhere In Space [Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1962]   8:08
3.  Dark Clouds With Silver Linings [Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1962]   4:53
4.  Jazz And Romantic Sounds [early 1970]   4:41
5.  When Angels Speak Of Love [from WHEN ANGELS SPEAK OF LOVE]   4:25
6.  Cosmo Enticement [edited version of Earth Primitive Earth from CONTINUATION]   3:06
7.  Song Of Tree And Forest [slightly edited version of New Planet from CONTINUATION]   3:08
8.  Other Worlds [NYC, 04/05.1965]   4:51
9.  Journey Outward [Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1962]   4:23
10. Lights Of A Satellite [from ART FORMS OF DIMENSIONS TOMORROW]   3:03
11. Starships And Solar Boats [Kosmos In Blue from ART FORMS OF DIMENSIONS TOMORROW]   7:32
12. Out There A Minute [Choreographers Workshop, NYC, late 1962–early 1964]   3:24
13. Next Stop Mars [edited version of the track on from WHEN ANGELS SPEAK OF LOVE]   12:00

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Many Thanks to Mads for offering scans of his European CD.
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