Sun Ra - My Brother the Wind (1971)

Should I mention that this album has never been issued on CD?

The advent of the transistor enabled Robert Moog (1934-2005) to develop the first modular synthesizer in the early nineteen-sixties and by late-1969, a truly portable synthesizer, the now legendary Minimoog, was already in development. Sun Ra was naturally intrigued by the instrument, with its cutting edge technology and ability to make truly otherworldly sounds. But in a 1970 Down Beat interview, Ra emphasized that synthesizers were not just weird noise machines or souped-up organs:

The Moog synthesizer in its potential and application to and for the future is tremendous in scope, particularly for those who are creative naturals. It most certainly is worthy of a place in music. There are many effects on it which at present are not upon any other instrument. On one of my compositions, “My Brother the Wind,” the Moog is a perfect projective voice. Of course, like other electronic keyboard instruments, it will require a different technical approach, touch and otherwise in most efforts of behavior. It is a challenge to the music scene…The main point concerning the synthesizer is the same as in all other instruments, that is, its capacity for the projection of feeling. This will not be determined in a large degree just by the instrument itself, but as always in music, by the musician who plays the instrument (quoted in Szwed, p.277)

Indeed, Ra’s approach to the Moog synthesizer was altogether different than the instrument’s later popularizers. In late 1969, and with the financial support of T.S. Mims, Jr., Ra obtained two prototype models (in order to achieve two-voice polyphony from the monophonic instruments) and booked time at Variety Recording Studio in New York City. He brought along only Gilmore (who mostly plays drums), Marshall Allen, and Danny Davis for the occasion. In addition, pianist/synthesist, Gershon Kingsley, was hired to program the synthesizer according to Ra’s wishes. According to Mims, “It was a duel between Kingsley programming and Sun Ra playing” (quoted in Campbell, 2nd ed., p.152).

The title track consists of two wildly contrasting Moog voices: a breathy whistle in the high register and a thick, reedy interval in the bass with Gilmore supplying some credible free drums. Ra’s two-hand independence and control of the highly differentiated textures is really quite remarkable. “Intergalactic II” pits the boing-boing-ing Moogs against braying horns. Gilmore turns in another typically riveting solo before hopping back on the drums to propel a dual alto sax extravaganza. Hypnotic synthesizer interludes set up some misty textures for the horns at the end. “To Nature’s God” features resonant, bell-like sounds on one Moog while the other rumbles around with a rounded, woody bass tone. Meanwhile, Allen and Davis twirl around on piccolo and flute and Gilmore lays down lurching, asymmetrical funk beats.

(Continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays)

My Brother the Wind is actually more a companion piece to Night of the Purple Moon than its Vol. 2 namesake. My Brother the Wind, Vol. 2 is split between Ra's solo Moog workouts and full Arkestra proceedings, while My Brother the Wind shares the same lineup as Night of the Purple Moon, with Marshall Allen's alto, piccolo, and flute substituting for Stafford James' electric bass. Ra plays two Mini-Moogs instead of Mini-Moog and Rocksichord, with Danny Davis on alto and clarinet and John Gilmore on drums. But while the focus on Night of the Purple Moon was on composed numbers, My Brother the Wind is a much freer session. 

 The title cut is just Ra on his two Mini-Moogs and Gilmore on drums. One Moog has a bass type setting, while the other sounds something like whistling white noise (wind?). "Intergalaxtic II" is a full freakout session, with both altos going crazy in the right channel, Gilmore's drums in the left channel, and the Mini-Moogs in the center. "To Nature's God" is just Ra and Gilmore again. "The Code of Interdependence" has Ra really putting the Moogs through their paces, although Gilmore also gets some tenor space (with Danny Davis moving to the drums, presumably). If you're into the "out" side of Sun Ra, and like his singular and unorthodox Moog playing, try to find a copy of My Brother the Wind.

AMG Review by Sean Westergaard

156. [144]  Sun Ra and his Astro-Solar Arkestra

My Brother The Wind

Sun Ra (two prototype Mini-Moog sins); John Gilmore (d; ts, d -2); Marshall Allen (picc -3; as -2, 4); Danny Davis (as -2; acl -4); Gershon Kingsley (syn programming).

Variety Recording Studios, NYC,
late 1969

My Brother the Wind (Ra) -1
Intergalactic II (Ra) -2
To Nature's God (Ra) -3
The Code of Interdependence (Ra) -4

Saturn LP 521, My Brother the Wind, was released before May 1970 (date from Stephen Ramirez).  It also circulated as Saturn ESR 521 and Saturn ESR 1970.  Date and location from Richard Wilkinson.  Personnel from the Saturn jacket, with minor corrections by rlc, and further refinements by Seth Markow.  T.S. Mims Jr. provided financial backing for the session and was listed as producer.  According to Richard Wilkinson, this session was made before My Brother the Wind II and featured Ra's very first encounter with the synthesizer.  Wilkinson gives 1970 as the date; Mims says 1969.  According to Mims, the synthesizers were  prototypes (predating Sunny's early-model Mini-Moog), and were being programmed by Gershon Kingsley as the session went along:  "It was a duel between Kingsley programming and Sun Ra playing."

According to Jerry Gordon, there is a false start on the master tape from this session, and the first two tracks appear in opposite order from the LP.  In addition, "The Code of Interdependence" was deliberately speeded up when the LP was mastered, and the LP was mastered out of phase on this track. 

from Campbell/Trent The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

 

My Brother the Wind (180g reissue LP rip)

1. My Brother The Wind   2:45
2. Intergalactic II   8:50
3. To Nature's God   4:33

4. The Code of Interdependence   16:34

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Sun Ra - My Brother the Wind Volume II (1971)

When Evidence reissued this classic Sun Ra release in 1992, they rearranged the songs and separated the solo Mini-Moog experiments from the 'traditional' band numbers.  Personally, I prefer the original running order because I can hear more connections between the abstract Mini-Moog pieces and the other songs.   You can decide for yourself - today I'm offering a CD rip in addition to a rip of Saturn's 180g LP reissue.   Fans of NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays can find Rodger Coleman's typically insightful albeit brief review of the album here.

Saturn LP 523, My Brother the Wind Volume II, was released in 1971.  Some copies carry the serial number SRA 2000; some are titled Otherness.  All titles from the original release reissued in 1992 on Evidence 22040 [CD].  Evidence includes the final 2:30 of "Walking on the Moon," which was edited out of all Saturn issues by Richard Wilkinson because of poor sound engineering.  "The engineer didn't get along withSun Ra and messed up some of the tracks," resulting in his being fired, according to Wilkinson.  (The extra verses of "Walkin' on the Moon" were used in live performances during this period.)

"Otherness Blue," "Pleasant Twilight," and "Walking on the Moon" were also reissued on Saturn XI, the Saturn anthology LP titled Just Friends, in 1983.  "Otherness Blue" was also included in a 1997 Sun Ra CD sampler on Japanese Paddle Wheel KICJ 315, Sun Ra Came Down to the Earth.

Most Saturn copies of My Brother the Wind Volume II are hybrids which delete the original Side A (including "Somewhere Else" and "Contrast" from this session) and replace it with Side A of Outer Spaceways Incorporated.  Some of these hybrids carry the serial number 5221 instead of 523.  Still others are identified as Saturn LP 522 (!) on the jacket (thanks to Peter Roberts for a description of this variant, which was on sale briefly in the late 1970s).  Discographies frequently list an Impulse reissue, AS-9289, but this was never released.

Personnel from the Saturn jacket.  "Walking on the Moon" refers to the feats of Neil Armstrong and so must date from July 1969 or later.  Current date and location from Richard Wilkinson, who is firm about 1970 (the first edition of this discography gave late 1969 as the date).  Information about the rejected track from Jerry Gordon.  Gordon says that the LP was for sale in summer 1970.

157. [139]  Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra

My Brother the Wind Volume II

Sun Ra (intergalactic [Farfisa] org); Kwami Hadi (tp); Akh Tal Ebah (tp, mell); Marshall Allen (as [solo], fl, picc); Danny Davis (as, acl, fl); John Gilmore (ts, perc); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl); Pat Patrick (bs [all solos], fl); James Jacson (ob, perc); Alejandro [Alex] Blake (b); Clifford Jarvis (d); Lex Humphries (d); Nimrod Hunt (hand drums); William Brister [Rashid Salim] (perc); Robert Cummings (perc); June Tyson (voc).

Variety Recording Studio,
NYC, early 1970

unidentified title
Somewhere Else (Ra)
Contrast (Ra)
Otherness Blue (Ra)
Somebody Else's World (Ra) [JT, ens voc]
Pleasant Twilight (Ra)
Walking on the Moon (Ra) [JT voc]

158. [140]  Sun Ra

Sun Ra (Mini-Moog syn)

Same session

The Wind Speaks (Ra)
Sun Thoughts (Ra)
Journey to the Stars (Ra)
World of the Myth "I" (Ra)
The Design--Cosmos II (Ra)

According to John Gilmore, Sun Ra's was a custom model and was probably delivered some months before general availability. 

from Campbell/Trent The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

My Brother the Wind Volume II (CD rip)

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1.  Otherness Blue   4:52
2.  Somebody Else's World   4:04
3.  Pleasant Twilight   3:38
4.  Walking On The Moon   6:18
5.  Somewhere Else   4:35
6.  Contrast   2:56
7.  The Wind Speaks   3:55
8.  Sun Thoughts   2:38
9.  Journey To The Stars   2:58
10. World Of The Myth "I"   1:37
11. The Design-Cosmos II   2:22

My Brother the Wind Volume II (180g reissue LP rip)

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1.  Somewhere Else   4:32
2.  Contrast   2:55
3.  The Wind Speaks   3:53
4.  Sun Thoughts   2:38
5.  Journey To The Stars   2:57
6.  World Of The Myth "I"   1:36
7.  The Design-Cosmos II   2:23

8.  Otherness Blue   4:49
9.  Somebody Else's World   4:03
10. Pleasant Twilight   3:37
11. Walking On The Moon   6:13

Sun Ra - The Antique Blacks (1974)

On August 9, 1974, Richard M. Nixon resigned as President of the United States. I imagine this extraordinary event was on Sun Ra’s mind when, a week later, he assembled a small Arkestra for a live radio broadcast at Temple University in Philadelphia on August 17. While not making any direct references to Nixon, Ra took the opportunity to sermonize at length and he felt strongly enough about the performance to edit the recording for an LP entitled, The Antique Blacks, released on his own Saturn label later in the year (Saturn 81774). Ra clearly felt he had to get his message out. In actuality, this record was pressed in vanishingly small editions, sometimes re-titled, Interplanetary Concepts or There Is A Change In The Air and with various covers, including a generic “Acropolis” sleeve (see Campbell & Trent, pp.212-213). Like the mystical texts in his personal library, The Antique Blacks was probably made available to only initiates or persons Ra felt could decode his deeper, spiritual meanings. The ever-resourceful Art Yard label has reissued the album on CD [and LP! -yotte] with a bonus track recorded at the same session—but beware: Ra’s philosophizing is as inscrutable as ever, making this a strange and difficult listen for the casual fan. Keep in mind: it was a different era.

The record starts out easy enough with “Song No.1,” a gently rollicking space groove propelled by burbling percussion (including Clifford Jarvis on trap drums and Atakatune on congas) and Sonny’s reedy Rocksichord comping. This is one of my favorite “genres” of Sun Ra’s music (think “Love In Outer Space”) and this is particularly fine example. John Gilmore is up first with a terse but beautifully melodic tenor sax solo: starting with burnished low-register figures and then flying into the highest registers, he gracefully returns to earth with a variation on the theme he’d extemporaneously established. Yes, it’s another brilliant Gilmore solo! Ra is up next and then—what’s this?—who’s playing the screaming electric guitar? That’s a good question. The liner notes to the Art Yard CD say it’s the mysterious “Sly” while Campbell & Trent insist it’s a 15-year-old Dale Williams (p.313). Whoever it is plays with a rocked-out, psychedelicized abandon which works well enough in this setting, despite a severe intonation problem. Then Akh Tal Ebah enters with one of his smeared, expressionistic trumpet solos. Kwame Hadi is absent at this session, giving Ebah a rare opportunity to stretch out. While Ebah doesn’t hit every note with refined precision (like Hadi), his melodic ideas are unique and interesting. Gilmore enters with a tasteful counter-melody and, after some more buzzy comping from Ra, the “Song No.1” comes to an end. Very nice.

Much of the rest of the album appears to be taken from a long, continuous piece, but chopped up and re-arranged for release. Ra outlines a simple ascending bassline in waltz-time then pauses to make his declamations, the Arkestra periodically entering with pulsating space chords, ensemble freakouts or out-jazz solos. Gilmore is joined by Marshall Allen and Davis for a full-blown saxophone battle on “There Is a Change in the Air” and Williams/Sly sounds a little like Sonny Sharrock with his gonzo, metallic attack. On “The Ridiculous ‘I’ and the Cosmos Me,” Gilmore delivers one of his trademarked a cappella blowouts and James Jacson takes a positively ripping solo on the otherwise unwieldy bassoon. For the most part, Ra sticks to Rocksichording incongruous harmonies and skittering runs, except at the end where we get some spaceship synthesizer. But, most of the time, Sonny is preaching it, hot and heavy. 

(continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays)

218. [190]  Sun Ra

Sun Ra (Rocksichord, Mini-Moog syn, declamation); Akh Tal Ebah (tp, voc); Marshall Allen (as); Danny Davis (as); John Gilmore (ts, voc, perc); prob. James Jacson (bsn, Inf-d); Dale Williams (eg); Clifford Jarvis (d); poss. Atakatune (cga).

Radio Broadcast, Philadelphia,
August 17, 1974

Saturn LP 81774, The Antique Blacks, was issued in 1974 on the Philadelphia label.  It has also been titled Interplanetary Concepts and There is Change in the Air.  Thanks to Mark Webber for the track listing for this rare album.  Personnel identified by rlc.  John Gilmore said that an electric guitarist whose name he remembered as Sly was in the Arkestra around this time, and the guitarist was so identified in the first edition.  However, Dale Williams says that he made this record -- when he was 15 years old!  Williams gives a Philadelphia radio station (probably the Temple University station) as the location.

The Antique Blacks has been sold in various covers, including a generic "Acropolis" sleeve (Peter Roberts).

from The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.  Campbell/Trent

Click to Enlarge

The Antique Blacks (1974)
Art Yard 180g LP rip (2010)

1. Song No. 1   8:47
2. There is Change in the Air   10:50
3. The Antique Blacks   3:38
4. This Song is Dedicated to Nature's God   3:52
5. The Ridiculous "I" and the Cosmos Me   4:38
6. Would I For All That Were   2:51
7. Space is the Place   8:06

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New links in Comments

8. You Thought You Could Build A World Without Us   9:11

(Bonus track from CD Reissue)

(download Bonus Track)

Space Is The Place

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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Sun Ra & Salah Ragab - Sun Rise in Egypt Vols. 1 - 3 (1984)

A really rare slice of work from Sun Ra's 80s output. A live set that reunites the Arkestra with drummer Salah Ragab, one of the group's key supporters in Egypt.  These CDs are all previously unreleased recordings, sourced from Salah Ragab's master tapes. It was previously only available for sale by contacting Salah Ragab personally and ordering it through the mail. Very interesting recordings that could originally be purchased directly from Salah Ragab at the email address salahragabjazz@yahoo.com.  I don't know if they are still currently available via Ragab's estate.

Following are the only entries in Campbell/Trent The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 2nd ed. regarding the Arkestra's 1984 visit to Egypt.  Sun Rise in Egypt was not available when 'The Earthly Recordings' was published.


407. [304]  Sun Ra Arkestra
(Sun Ra (p, org, syn, voc); Ronnie Brown (tp, flg, tambourine); Marshall Allen (as, cl, fl, ob, kora, EVI); Eloe Omoe (as, bcl, cacl, fl, EVI); John Gilmore (ts, cl, timb, EVI, voc); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, as, fl, bgo, EVI); James Jacson (bsn, fl, ob, Inf-d, EVI, voc); James Glass (eg); Rollo Radford (standup eb); Matthew Brown (cga); Clifford Jarvis (d); Salah Ragab (cga, perc); Myriam Broche (dance); Greg Pratt (dance).

Il Capo/Il Buco, Cairo, Egypt,
January 13, 1984

Watusi (Pitts-Sherrill)

fragment:
unidentified blues [SR voc]

an incomplete set [60 min.]:
Pleiades (Ra) [Allen and Thompson, fl]
unidentified title [perc; kora]
unidentified title [perc; tp; Allen, ob; ens]
Discipline 27-II (Ra) [Sr declamation] /
Tomorrow Never Comes (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
Honeysuckle Rose (Waller-Razaf)
Deep Purple (DeRose-Parish)
Street of Dreams (Young-Lewis)

…
unidentified blues (Ra)
Days of Wine and Roses (Mancini)
Happy as the Day Is Long (Arlen-Koehler)
Stardust (Carmichael-Parish)

A 110-minute edited audience tape is in circulation.  Tunes and personnel from ct, who has reassigned some of the items to January 19/29 since that tape surfaced.  Some pieces are incomplete and there are breaks in the recording.  The tape in circulation has only 7 minutes of "Watusi" (from the end of a set) but the full 18-minute performance was recorded and was included in 1999 on Golden Years CD GYI, Sun Ra Arkestra Meets Salah Ragab in Egypt.  "Pleiades" is the second version of that tune from the 110-minute tape.  The blues features Sun Ra calling out, "Is there a trumpet player in this house?" etc., as various Arkestrans take solos.

According to Danny Ray Thompson, this was the Arkestra's third and last trip to Egypt.  Like the other two, it was "unannounced" and only the "hard core" of the Arkestra went.  Personnel ct and rlc, with help from Thompson.  Thanks to Samarai for a program from Il Capo, an Italian restaurant with an adjoining "show-bistro" area called Il Buco.

408. [304a]  Sun Ra Arkestra

Sun Ra (p, ep, org, syn, voc); Ronnie Brown (tp, flg, tambourine); Marshall Allen (as, cl, fl, ob, kora, EVI); Eloe Omoe (as, bcl, cacl, fl, EVI); John Gilmore (ts, cl, timb, EVI, voc); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, as, fl, bgo, EVI); James Jacson (bsn, fl, ob, Inf-d, EVI, voc); James Glass (eg); Rollo Radford (standup eb); Matthew Brown (cga); Clifford Jarvis (d); Salah Ragab (cga, perc); Myriam Broche (dance); Greg Pratt (dance).

Il Capo / Il Buco, Cairo, Egypt,
January 19 and 29, 1984

incomplete set [45 min]:
Pleiades (Ra) [Allen and Thompson, fl duet]
When There Is No Sun (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
unidentified title [Allen, ob]
Discipline 27 (Ra)
I Have Many Names (Ra); /
I'll Wait for You (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
Blue Lou (Sampson)
Day Dream (Strayhorn)
Strange Mathematics, Rhythmic Equations (Ra)
[SR, ens voc]

incomplete set [25 min.]:
untitled improvisation [kora]
untitled improvisation [Ragab, cga; EVIs; d; cond ens]
Discipline 27-II (Ra) /
This World Is Supposed to Be Heaven (Ra) [SR voc]
Bad Truth (Ra) /
I, Pharaoh (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
The Golden Lady (Ra)
…
Interplanetary Music (Ra) [SR, ens voc; inc]

incomplete set opening [10 min.]:
untitled improvisation [Thompson, bars with d, c/a; Allen, picc; Jacson, fl]
Greetings from the 21st Century (Ra) [SR, ens voc]

fragment:
Love in Outer Space (Ra) [inc]

I collected these rips/scans from the 'Contributions' section of the wonderful and amazing 

CALL IT ANYTHING 

jazz blog.

Many (many) thanks to the original uploader.

Sunrise in Egypt Vol. 1
01. Watusa - The Egyptian March   13:05
02. Solo Organ   2:43
03. Speech (Sun Ra)   2:38
04. Shadow World   8:13
05. Happy As The Day Is Long   3:30
06. Day Dream   4:40
07. Blues House   9:39
08. Take The A Train   5:03
09. West Of The Moon   4:33

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Sunrise in Egypt Vol. 2
01. Opening   15:37
02. Unidentified Standard   4:50
03. Opening   11:52
04. Speech (Sun Ra)   1:29
05. Opening - Love In Outer Space - Nuclear War   18:14
06. Blue Lou   3:00

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Sunrise in Egypt Vol. 3
01. Round About Midnight   6:55
02. School You, About Jazz   6:05
03. Opening   10:48
04. Speech (Sun Ra)   1:58
05. Opening   18:00
06. Fate In A Pleasant Mood   17:06

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Salah Ragab’s Egyptian Jazz

The stories of music visionaries are very rarely in our culture the product of rigid government directives, but in the case of the rise of Jazz music in Egypt, the greatest pioneer was also a political dignitary who made it part of the national agenda. Salah Ragab was born in Egypt in 1936. By the 1960s, the multi-instrumentalist would be responsible for introducing jazz music to the Afro-Arab world, aligning himself with the compelling currents of American jazz music and to later be revered as the Godfather and pioneer of Egyptian jazz music. Strangely, very little has been written about his upbringing and the factors leading to this very important historical phenomenon.

The 1960s was a dynamic decade in the world of artistic innovations and social movements. In the height of bebop, American jazz artists like John Coltrane and Yusef Lateef were increasingly drawn to the world of Islam and the Arab-African nations. This was the time of social unrest in Africa stemming from the mass rejection of European colonization, leading to bloody revolutions everywhere in the global South throughout Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Egypt’s second president Gamal Abdel Nasser led Egypt through a victorious revolution in 1952.  Nasser was a proponent of cultural nationalism as a means to political independence.   His strong stance against European imperialism appealed to marginalized Blacks in the U.S. who looked to social movements abroad to fuel their own fight for gaining civil rights at home. Similarly in Algeria, another North African country in political turmoil, the FLN (National Liberation Front) brought Algeria to independence against its former French colonizers a decade later in 1962.

One of the reasons that Salah Ragab is still little known is due to the fact that the first introduction of Egyptian jazz to American listeners was not until the beginning of the 21^st century, about four decades after the initial recordings of Ragab’s original ensemble. Salah Ragab and the Cairo Jazz Band Presents Egyptian Jazz was released on Art Yard in 2006, as one of the largest collections of Ragab’s work made available to the public outside of Egypt. The album carefully blends the usage of traditional North African instruments, including a Ramadan drum, the Baza, a bamboo flute also known as the Nay, with an amazing orchestration of piano, bass, drums, percussions, four trumpets, four trombones, and five saxophones. Though it is clear on the recording that the compositions and arrangements on the album were greatly informed by American jazz, a reverse phenomenon was evident in The States. Indigenous African instrumentation in general was also increasingly heard on American jazz recordings as spiritual jazz and free jazz innovators started diverging from the bop. Sun Ra of course was one of the biggest proponents of this.

Ragab’s most notable collaboration was with Sun Ra, an American keyboardist/synthesizer player/composer/band leader. Hartmut Geerkan invited Sun Ra and his Arkestra to Egypt in 1971 (Read more in Sun Ra in Egypt). They returned twice more in ’83 and ’84. The collaboration between Ra and Ragab are some of the only documented examples of this unique cultural exchange at the time. Ra sought the knowledge of ancient Egypt, as his spiritual identity was tied in with the mysticism surrounding esoteric Egyptian teachings. Ra is therefore imprinted in history as one of the legendary figures responsible for the development of Egyptian jazz. Of the three albums available to the West of Ragab’s discography, Salah Ragab Meets Sun Ra in Egypt was a compilation of music from a studio session at Geerkan’s home and a live recording with Ragab playing with the Arkestra. Another reissue after the 2006 Cairo Jazz Band Presents Egyptian Jazz was A Tribute to Sun Ra/Latino in Cairo that was released in 2007.
(Read the entire article at The Revivalist)

New ESP Promotional Videos featuring Sun Ra and his Arkestra

In addition to producing The Eternal Myth Revealed Vol. 1, Michael D. Anderson has been working at ESP putting together several new projects.  One of these projects is a 4 CD Pharoah Sanders collection focusing on his early years, 1964 - 1965.  As you may know, Pharoah got his start in the Arkestra in 1964, taking John Gilmore's tenor position while John performed with Art Blakey.  ESP and Michael put together a couple of long video segments featuring edited music samples from the new release.  

Here are two promotional videos showcasing The Eternal Myth Revealed.

Pt. 1 examines Sun Ra’s 1920’s Blues Vocal and 1930’s Big Band influences, his first recordings in 1946 as a piano sideman, his arrangements and compositions, Sun Ra as a singer in the late 1940’s, his trio in 1949, creating the sound for vocalists Laverne Baker and Joe Williams, coaching The Hambone Kids in 1952 and the late 1940’s Afro-Cuban influence of band leader Perez Prado and other rare facts and musically unheard inclusions.

Pt. 2 examines the Mary Lou Williams influence, his solo piano recordings recorded in his apartment, the R&B Doo Wop influence of the Jazz vocal group The Ink Spots, Sun Ra coaching his R&B Doo Wop group The Nu-Sounds, the Sun Ra Bebop Band live at Bud Land in 1956, a rare live performance at the Pershing Ballroom featuring Pat Patrick-baritone sax, Gene Ammons-tenor sax, J.J. Johnson-trombone, Sun Ra-piano, Ronnie Boykins-bass and Robert Barry-drums, a feature on tenor saxophonist John Gilmore from a 1958 Bud Land performance, Sun Ra and the band playing the pop tune “Tequila” and closing with vocalist Hattie Randolph and the 3 takes of “Round Midnight” from the 1959 Sound Sun Pleasure album.

These two videos promoting the new Pharoah Sanders collection also feature Sun Ra and the Arkestra.  The music is from the Judson Hall performances of December 30, 31, 1964. 

Here are links to some additional promotional videos related to the new ESP releases.

     1.    ESP-4066 – FRANK LOWE QUINTET – THE LOWESKI (1973)

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtbCDvcQNDs

     2.    ESP-4068 – FRANK WRIGHT QUARTET – BLUES FOR ALBERT AYLER (1977)

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8axSiBNV3Uw

     3.    ESP-4069 – PHAROAH SANDERS – IN THE BEGINNING – 1963-1964 (4 CD BOX SET)

Disc #1 – THE DON CHERRY QUINTET / THE PAUL BLEY QUARTET

Video Link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=353qjqu5QM4

    4.     Disc #2 – THE PHAROAH SANDERS QUINTET

Video Link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4DWlg5DOtY

    5.     Disc #3 – SUN RA LIVE AT JUDSON HALL 12-30-64

Video Link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYjQOUGTy7k

    6.     Disc #4 – SUN RA LIVE AT JUDSON HALL 12-31-64

Video Link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHK0_NMVjQQ

     7.    ESP-1044 – MARZETTE WATTS – MARZETTE & COMPANY (A CLASSIC 1966       ESP-DISK REISSUE)

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoRfSFtbmRU

Inspired by Sun Ra: Retroid, New Soul City, Q3000, and Jake Adam York

I'm so often amazed by the variety of artists whose works are inspired by Sun Ra.  I recently stumbled across the following short audio mixes and poem.  If you know of or find works related to Ra or his philosophy and would like to share it, please feel welcome to post a note at Solar Flares or of course you can always email me directly.

SOLAR JOURNEY by retroid



What Would Sun Ra Do? by new soul city



That's How I Feel _Q3000 Meets Sun Ra_ by Q3000

Letter Already Broadcast into Space
by Jake Adam York

                        —To Sun Ra, from Earth


You are not here,

you are not here
in Birmingham,
        where they keep your name,

not in Elmwood's famous plots
                or the monuments
of bronze or steel or the strew

        of change in the fountain
where the firehoses sprayed.

                In the furnaces,
in the interchange sprawl
        that covers Tuxedo Junction,

in the shopping malls, I think,
                they've forgotten you,

the broadcast towers, the barbecues,

        the statue of the Roman god,
spiculum blotting out
                part of the stars.

To get it dark enough,
        I have to fold back
into the hills, into the trees

                where my parents
planted me, where the TV
        barely reaches and I drift

with my hand on the dial
                of my father's radio,

spinning, too, the tall antenna
        he raised above the pines.

I have to stand at the base

                of the galvanized
pole I can use as an azimuth
        and plot you in.

The hunter's belt is slung again,
                and you are there

in the pulse, in the light of
        Alnitak, Alnilam, Mintaka,

all your different names,

                you are there
in all the rearrangements
        of the stars.

                        Come down now,
come down again,

                like the late fall light
into the mounds along the creek,

        light that soaks like a flood
to show the Cherokee sitting upright
                underground, light

like the fire they imply.

        Come down now
into the crease the freight train
                hits like a piano's hammer

and make the granite hum
        beneath.

                        Come down now

as my hand slips from the dial,
                tired again of looking
for the sound of another way

        to say everything.

Come down now with your diction
                and your dictionary.

Come down, Uncle, come down
        and help me rise.

I have forgot my wings.

via

Sun Ra - Piano Recital - Teatro La Fenice, Venezia (1977) 180g LP Rip

Sun Ra was a remarkable piano player with a style all his own.  Solo piano performances are few in the Ra canon; I believe he must have preferred the textures and colors available to him via the Arkestra's  extensive palette.  Though I posted a CD rip of this album in February, I thought some might enjoy a nice LP rip as well.

 

This is the hippest solo piano CD you're ever going to hear that features old time standards like "Take the A Train," "St Louis Blues" and "Honeysuckle Rose." That's because the artist involved isn't some wannabe young lion aiming for mainstream cred or a palsied trad jazz survivor nostalgically re-creating the sounds of his youth. Instead, the hoary jazz standards are slotted in among certified Saturnian melodies and improvisations by a figure who during his time on earth seemed to be part of all strands of improvised music: Le Sony'r Ra, known familiarly as Sun Ra (1914-1993).

Recorded live in Venice in 1977, these rare solo performances find Ra revisiting all facets of his career. With Ra there was never the divide between entertainment and art that marks the performances of younger, more self-conscious tone scientists, a term he preferred to musicians. Thus when he plays a simple blues he brings more dissonance to his left handed feints then you usually associate with the traditional sounds. When he performs his own "Angel Race," he begins by singing variations on the outer space theme.

As he continues playing, he works in some "I Got Rhythm" variations, showcases an allegro Afro-Cuban interlude and quotes passages from others of his compositions. In the same way "Love In Outer Space" is treated orchestrally and is lightly syncopated, with tinkling right hand tremolos meeting the theme advanced with his left hand. This is precisely the way pre-war stylists like Earl Hines treated piano showcases like his "Boogie Woogie on St. Louis Blues," which has its echoes in Ra's version of the piece, complete with strummed octaves and subterranean rumbles in left hand as the right picks out the sprightly melody. As a young pianist first in Birmingham, then Chicago, Ra (then Sonny Blount) must have heard and admired Hines' work.

It's known he was strongly influenced by Fletcher Henderson, who first employed him. His version of "Penthouse Serenade" here, which becomes a honky-tonk showcase with pumping piano chords and effervescent voicing, is probably similar to the sort of tunes he'd come up with for dance rehearsals, when he was working for Henderson in Chicago's Club DeLisa in the 1940s. In other spots, Ra uses pedal pressure to vibrate the 32 bass strings for extra oscillations and recasts a familiar pre-war melody with strong upbeats, chordal downbeats, flashing cascading chords and sharp key clips.

At one point he—in all seriousness—invites audience members to join him at a party in Jupiter sometime in the future. Reflecting the title without dispute, this CD is a valuable and rare piano recital. For Ra, myth-making and music-making were one and the same. Listen to this and learn to accept Ra on his own terms.

By Ken Waxman
All About Jazz

Here is Sun Ra in Venice the following year (1978) from the Transparency DVD Sun Ra Vol. 3.  This video is approximately 30 minutes; the first 6 are comprised of a short introduction/interview with Ra.

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Piano Recital - Teatro La Fenice, Venezia | Vinyl Lovers (2010)

1.    Free Improvisation    4:47 

2. Blues    4:15 

3.    Outer Spaceways Incorporated    6:36 

4.    Take the "A" Train    3:51 

5.    St. Louis Blues    3:59 

6.    Angel Race    3:37 

7.    Love in Outer Space    4:55 

8.    Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)    5:25 

9.    Free Improvisation    3:21 

10. Honeysuckle Rose    6:47 

11. Friendly Galaxy / Spontaneous Simplicity    6:41

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Sun Ra - Nidhamu + Dark Myth Equation Visitation (1972)

In 2009, Art Yard gathered together the remaining Egypt material on a CD entitled Nidhamu + Dark Myth Equation Visitation. Most of this music was previously released on impossible to find Saturn and Thoth Intergalactic LPs over the years, making this an essential companion to the magnificent Horizon CD, also on Art Yard. The CD opens with three additional tracks recorded at the Ballon Theatre on December 17, 1971: “Space Loneliness #2” begins with an unusual ensemble of saxophones, flutes, and oboe with a detuned synthesizer obbligato. The yearning, dissonantly harmonized melody and rubato drums feels conceptually similar to the Discipline series of compositions and may be a completely different piece. Ra then takes an unaccompanied solo on dual synthesizers which focuses more on pitch and rhythm than spaceship noises for a change. After moving to Rocksichord and outlining a bluesy set of changes, the ensemble returns with a lushly orchestrated coda that echoes the big-band riffing of the original “Space Loneliness.” After some polite applause, Ra introduces “Discipline 11” with a spacey organ solo until trumpet, flutes, and saxophones enter with the dirge-like composition. After some more organ chording, Marshall Allen takes a mellifluous, heavily reverb-ed solo on flute until Sonny interrupts with more scary electronic mayhem. A glorious rendition of the stately “Discipline 15” follows with John Gilmore adding his inimitable tenor sax improvisations over the top. Unfortunately, after a short percussion interlude, the track quickly fades out. Even so, it’s a wonderful performance of this rarely played composition.

“Nidhamu” is a long (thirteen minute) double-synthesizer solo recorded at an invitation-only concert at Hartmut Geerken’s house in Heliopolis on December 12, 1971. Ra again demonstrates his mastery of the then new technology, exploring the vast range of sounds available: from space age bleeps and blorps, to sweeping portamentos; pure sine waves to tsunamis of white noise -- all the while maintaining a loose internal structure built around a jittery four note figure that appears and disappears in various permutations throughout the piece. A dignitary who attended this concert invited Ra to appear on Egyptian television on December 16 (Szwed, p.293), and the next four tracks document that event, which was, sadly, not preserved in the station’s archives (Campbell & Trent, p.181). “Discipline 27” fades into Kwami Hadi’s trumpet solo while Tommy Hunter’s voice (probably dubbed later) announces the date and venue. Hadi plays nicely, as usual, supported by a swelling Arkestral accompaniment that gradually resumes the brightly riffing composition before fading out too soon. “Solar Ship Voyage” consists of a brief synthesizer solo in Ra’s rocket-ship style, punctuated with skittering runs of notes and piercing, high-pitched whines. “Cosmo Darkness” is a short group improvisation with squealing horns pitted against Ra’s rumbling electronic organ. Ra wins. “The Light Thereof” opens with an enervated organ solo before the ensemble takes up the mournful, densely arranged composition, which was apparently performed only this one time (Campbell & Trent, p.827). Another lost masterpiece! An ensemble of saxophones, flutes and trumpet improvise simultaneously while Gilmore takes the lead with a display of tenor pyrotechnics until Ra points the finger and the piece stops on a dime, eliciting enthusiastic applause from the small studio audience. Quite a display of avant garde weirdness for Third World television!

Continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays

188. [164]  Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra

Live in Egypt Volume 1 /
Nidhamu

Thoth Intergalactic KH-1272, Live in Egypt Volume 1, was issued in 1972.  It has also been issued as Saturn 1272 and titled Dark Myth Equation Visitation and Nature's God.  There are varying covers for these releases, including a version of Nature's God with a "printed jacket incorporating a brown photo of Ra and entourage entering an Egyptian temple" (Peter Roberts).

Thoth Intergalactic 7771, Nidhamu, was issued in 1972.  It has also circulated as Saturn 7771 and Saturn 77771.  The 1972 release states erroneously that it was recorded live in Holland.  The 1974 release correctly identifies the location as Egypt, whereas the 1978 release gives no location at all.  Date and location courtesy Hartmut Geerken; personnel from Saturn jacket.  The release history is spelled out by Geerken and Hefele in their 1994 book, Omniverse Sun Ra.

According to Hartmut Geerken, the entire concert (3 1/2 hours) was taped by Tommy Hunter; it is not known whether additional material survives.  All of the band's instruments (except Ra's synthesizer) had been impounded by Egyptian customs, and consequently instruments had to be borrowed from the Egyptian Army (courtesy of Salah Ragab).  The Tiger organ was obtained locally as a substitute for Ra's Farfisa or Spacemaster.  Clifford Jarvis used Geerken's elaborate percussion set during the concert.

Tommy Hunter has claimed that some of the "live in Egypt" material was actually recorded in Copenhagen, but this may be a confusion with the live tapes from Denmark that were sold to Black Lion.  Hunter has also stated (Sun Ra Research #32) that he played alto sax during the Egyptian concerts.

(personnel list adapted from 187. [163])
Sun Ra (Tiger org); Kwame Hadi (tp, cga); Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); Danny Davis (as, fl); Larry Northington (as, cga); John Gilmore (ts, perc, d); Pat Patrick (bars, eb); Danny Thompson (bars, fl); Eloe Omoe (bck, fl); Hakim Rahim (as, fl); Clifford Jarvis (d, perc); Tommy Hunter (d, as, announcement); Lex Humphries (d); June Tyson (voc, dance); prob. Cheryl Banks (dance, voc); prob. Wisteria el Moondew [Judith Holton] (dance, voc); Richard Wilkinson (light show).

House of Hartmut Geerken, Heliopolis,

Cairo, Egypt, December 12, 1971

189. [165]  Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra

Live in Egypt Volume 1

Same personnel; Sun Ra also plays upright p, and Samir Sabri (interviewer) is added.

TV broadcast, Cairo, December 16, 1971

Nidhamu + Dark Myth Equation Visitation
Art Yard CD (2009)

1.  Space Loneliness #2   11:42
2.  Discipline #11   9:40
3.  Discipline #15   2:44
4.  Nidhamu   13:12
5.  Discipline #27   3:55
6.  Solar Ship Voyage   2:33
7.  Cosmo-Darkness   2:08
8.  The Light Thereof   5:12
9.  Friendly Galaxy #2   10:16
10. To Nature's God   9:05
11. Why Go To The Moon   2:39

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Many thanks to Free Défendu for originally posting Nature's God.

Sun Ra - Nearly 15 Minutes of Ra, Unaccompanied (1979, 1980)

I stumbled across these videos while poking around the web this morning.  I thought they were both quite nice.  I hope you enjoy.

If anyone can point me in the direction of these shows, I'd love to hear more.  THANKS!