Sun Ra - The Magic City (1965)

I'm pleased to offer today a remarkable-sounding stereo release of what is now recognized as one of Sun Ra's masterworks.  Many thanks to Rev.b for the generous gift and to I-) for scouring the web for appropriate images to share here.

The boundaries of Sun Ra's self-proclaimed "space jazz" underwent a transformation in the mid-'60s. The Magic City is an aural snapshot of that metamorphic process. Many enthusiasts and scholars consider this to be among Ra's most definitive studio recordings. Although the "city" in the album's title was thought to have been New York -- where the disc was recorded -- it is actually Ra's earthly birthplace of Birmingham, AL. The Magic City consists of four free jazz compositions: the album side-length title track, "The Shadow World," "Abstract Eye," and "Abstract I" -- two variants of a common work. These pieces are essentially ensemble improvisations recorded live. Any direction from Ra, indicating the order of soloists for instance, would be given either through his playing or with hand signals. Sun Ra & His Solar Myth Arkestra took up residency in Manhattan's East Village in the early to mid-'60s. Their neighbors included Pharaoh Sanders as well as Babatunde Olatunji. In fact, "The Shadow World," "Abstract Eye," and "Abstract I" were actually recorded in Olatunji's loft. The title track begins with weaving distant and frenetic lines from Ronnie Boykins (bass) and Ra (piano, clavoline), connected by intermittent eruptions from Roger Blank (drums). All the while, Marshall Allen's dreamlike piccolo randomly maneuvers through the sonic haze. The piece also contains an ensemble onslaught that abruptly contrasts with everything experienced up through that point. In the wake of the innately earthbound "Magic City" are three comparatively shorter pieces with subtle undercurrents that return Ra to space motifs. For example, the importance of sonic contrast defines "The Shadow World" by juxtaposing the lightly churning bass and cymbal into some surreal keyboard interjections from Ra. The Magic City also comes with an insightful liner notes essay from Ra scholar John F. Szwed, aiding in understanding the circumstances surrounding this piece of free jazz genius.

AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

The Magic City on 8-Track Tape!
Thanks to the original ripper.

Sun Ra had turned a few heads since he first came to New York, but now something truly radical was happening in his music.  The performances were growing longer, the rhythms wilder and more complex, and the soloists were being encouraged to go even further beyond their means.  Tommy Hunter returned from Sweden after nine months where he had been in film school and was stunned to see how much the Arkestra had changed:  "It was like a fire storm coming off the bandstand."  Whatever one hears in Sun Ra's music before or after this period, it's clear that 1965 was a turning point, and that the recording of The Magic City was the clearest signal of the change.

"The Magic City" was a promotional slogan for Birmingham, a boast about its quick rise and development after minerals were first discovered there, and the words on the huge sign in front of the train station which greeted Sun Ra every day as he left the house.  Despite his bitterness about Birmingham, he still had affection for the town, and, just as he had done for Chicago, he wrote a number of compositions which memorialized the city and the state of Alabama ("Magic City Blues," "The Place of Five Points," "West End Side of Magic City") or played Alabama praise songs by others, such as Parish and Perkins's "Stars Fell on Alabama" or Jothan Callins's "Alabama."  But as the drawing on the original cover of the album suggests, The Magic City was also a city of fantasy, "a city without evil, a city of possibilities and beauty," as Alton Abraham put it.  And in a poem, Ra described the Magic City as "the universe of the Magi."

The Magic City

This city is the Universe
Because it is that city of all natural creation
It is surrounded by the wilderness
The encircling forest of the edge of itself
All that is endlessly beyond
This city is the Magi's thought
This city is the magic of the Magi's thought.
The idea, the calculated knowledge of it
Eternally balanced by the uncalculated presence of
The intuition potential intruder / the beam
Harmonic precision celestial being
Chromatic rays race.

Walter Miller suggested that being a Gemini, Sonny always consciously expressed doubleness in his work, especially in the pairing of "outer space with earthly matters."

"The Magic City" as collectively improvised and lacks a fixed theme as such, though individual statements and isolated notes flow together to form an incremental melody.  Sun Ra simultaneously plays piano and Selmer Clavioline ("the purest sound I ever got from an electric instrument"), usually in conjunction with Ronnie Boykin's bowed bass, but also at times with Roger Blank's reverbed drums, Robert Cunningham's bass clarinet, or Marshall Allen's piccolo.  The piece ebbs and flows, with duos and trios appearing and disappearing, yet always returning to Ra's quietly gyrating keyboards and Boykin's singing bass lines.  Almost three-quarters of the way through, saxophones begin to enter in various configurations:  Danny Davis's alto first, then John Gilmore's tenor, Pat Patrick's baritone, and finally the altos of Marshall Allen and Harry Spencer.  There is a sudden ensemble cry at the end, and then a quiet return to Ra and Boykins.

…"The Magic City," like many of his compositions from this period, was sketched out with only a rough sequence of solos and a mutual understanding which came from grueling daily rehearsals.  Sun Ra gave it order by pointing to players, and by signaling with numbers which referred to prepared themes and effects, and with hand gestures that directed the musicians what to play during collective improvisation -- what composer Butch Morris would later call "conduction."  Ornette Coleman's earlier Free Jazz and John Coltrane's contemporaneous Ascension were also collective improvisations but neither had the seamless quality of "The Magic City," nor its secret formalism.  It was not played at concerts, John Gilmore said, because it was "unreproducible, a tapestry of sound."

Szwed pp. 212-214

The Magic City

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.

118. [105]  Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra

Sun Ra (Clavioline, p); Walter Miller (tp); Ali Hassan (tb); Marshall Allen (as, fl, picc); Danny Davis (as, fl); Harry Spencer (as); John Gilmore (ts); Pat Patrick (bars, fl); Robert Cummings (bcl); Ronnie Boykins (b); Roger Blank (d); James Jacson (perc); Tommy Hunter (reverb).

Rehearsal, NYC,
around September 24, 1965

The Magic City (Ra)

First issued as Side A of Saturn LPB 711, The Magic City, in 1966.  In 1967 this LP 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 (in "hideous fake stereo," according to Victor Schonfield, which was Saturn's doing, per Ed Michel).  All titles were reissued in 1993 on Evidence 22069 [CD].  The session date is courtesy of Bob Rusch; it is not known where the rehearsal took place.  Fall 1965 is clear on personnel and stylistic grounds alone, and was given as the date as far back as Julian Vein's discography (the 1960 date proclaimed by Impulse has zero credibility).

Personnel from the Saturn jacket, except Jacson says he was also present.  According to Walter Miller, Clifford Thornton was also on trumpet, but his contribution is inaudible (and could have been edited out; there are at least two tape splices in the piece as issued, and Tommy Hunter says that Sun Ra was highly adept at tape editing).  The Saturn release edited out the last 1:25 of "The Magic City"; the Evidence release, unlike the Impulse, does not fade the ending.

from Campbell/Trent - The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

The Magic City
Sun Ra
[Believed to be Thoth Intergalactic LPB 711 (1969)]

1. The Magic City   27:27
2. The Shadow World   10:35
3. Abstract Eye   2:47
4. Abstract "I"   4:01


-FLAC-
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The Magic City
Sun Ra
Evidence ECD 22067-2

1. The Magic City   27:26
2. The Shadow World   10:58
3. Abstract Eye   2:52
4. Abstract "I"   4:08


-FLAC-
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-320-
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Sun Ra - Astral Planes and New Moon Beams

Sun Ra and the Intergalactic Jetset Bible Belt Smasher Omniverse Infinity Arkestra - now how's THAT for a provocative name!  I was hoping to hear this band when I ordered "Live in Atlanta 1984 - Astral Planes and New Moon Beams" but instead was treated to an Arkestra performance from the Atlanta Jazz Festival of 1989.   The album opens with an excerpt of the show's spirited opening improv followed by "Discipline 27-II" and Ra's space songs of promise, "This World is Not My Home" and "I'll Wait for You."  The balance of the LP showcases a couple of standards and two Disney crowd pleasers. 

Jewells of Jazz, no date, around 2003 (Bootleg LP)

No personnel information on the cover. Though it's announced as 1984, the date is actually june 14th. 1989. Recorded at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Grant Park (Thanks to Chris Hilling for the info)

from the-temple.net

618. [409c]  Sun Ra and his Omniverse Jet Set Arkestra

Sun Ra (p, vo); Cecil Brooks (tp); Michael Ray (tp, voc); Tyrone Hill (tb, voc); Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); Noël Scott (as, perc, dance, voc); John Gilmore (ts, cl, timb, voc); James Jacson (bsn, fl, Inf-d, voc); poss. Philip Watkins (b); Buster Smith (d); Elson Dos Santos Nascimento (surdo grande, perc).  Other dancers may have been present.

Atlanta Jazz Festival, Grant Park,
Atlanta, GA, June 14, 1989

untitled improvisation [d, Inf-d; b; Allen, as; cond ens]
Discipline 27-II (Ra)/
I'll Wait for You (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
East of the Sun (Bowman) [JG voc]
Blue Lou (Sampson)
unidentified blues (Ra) [p; Brooks, tp; Hill, tb; p]
Yeah Man! (Sissle-Henderson)
Prelude to a Kiss (Ellington)
Whistle While You Work (Morey-Churchill) [ens, SR voc]
Wishing Well (Morey-Churchill) [SR voc]
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah (Gilbert-Wrubel) [MR, SR, ens voc]
closing announcements

According to Jim Powell and Hartmut Geerken, there is a complete 55-minute audience tape of this performance.  Tunes and personnel identified by ct.
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Astral Planes & New Moonbeams - Live in Atlanta 1984

(actually 1989)

A

1. Untitled Improv   7:37
2. Discipline 27-II / This World Is Not My Home /
3. I'll Wait for You   8:38
4. Yeah Man!   2:46

B
5. Whistle While You Work   6:09
6. Prelude to a Kiss   4:28
7. I'm Wishing / Wishing Well   6:37

-FLAC-

RS

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or

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2nd Chance: Saturn Rarity: Pat Patrick's Baritone Retinue - Sound Advice (1977)

Re-Uploaded and Re-Posted by Re-Quest.

Many thanks to the Sun Ra Trading community for recently dropping this wonderful LP into my lap.  Though I believe this rip has circulated for some time, a copy of Baritone Saxophonist Pat Patrick's only album as a leader recently sold on Ebay for over $1,500.00.

Pat Patrick had recently returned to the fold and in 1976, joined with Arkestra alum, Charles Davis, to form Pat Patrick’s Baritone Retinue for a few one-off gigs. One of these concerts was recorded and released on an LP entitled, Sound Advice, in 1980 (Saturn ESR 770) and it is one of the few non-Sun Ra albums ever issued by El Saturn Records (and, as it turns out, the last) (see Campbell & Trent pp.229-230). Curiously, Sound Advice is also one of the only Saturn albums ever released on cassette (Id.). It’s an odd grouping: eight (8!) baritone saxophones (with some doubling on alto and flute) accompanied by a rhythm section consisting of Hilton Ruiz on piano, John Hart on bass, Steve Solder on drums and Babadefmi Humphries on conga. Both Patrick and Davis contribute tunes and arrangements while sharing the solo spotlight on this mostly straight-ahead affair. 
(continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays)

This is a fine album and one which helps make clear the importance of Patrick to Sun Ra and the Arkestra.  In fact, as award-winning author John Szwed points out in his much admired biography of Sun Ra, Patrick played an extremely important role in the career of the young bandleader, back when Ra was the Chicago pianist still known as Herman “Sonny” Blount. This was before he created his personal philosophy, a mystic hodgepodge hybridized from science fiction and Egyptian mythology, which became one of Sun Ra’s trademarks -- along with the visionary, rollicking music that accompanied it.

Patrick, who specialized in baritone sax but also excelled at alto (and occasionally played electric bass), had moved to Chicago primarily to study at DuSable High School with the legendary bandleader Walter Dyett. Even then, Dyett enjoyed a reputation for developing disciplined and motivated musicians. And Patrick stands out among the most impressive DuSable alumni, who have included saxophone great Von Freeman, bass icon Wilbur Ware, and the peerless vocalist Dinah Washington).

In 1952, Patrick joined Blount/Ra in a new trio on Chicago's south side; it would eventually blossom into one of the most unusual and influential orchestras in jazz, the Sun Ra Arkestra (as it was most often called). The band was known as much for their metallic capes and headgear -- trust me, Gene Simmons had nothing on these guys -- as for their innovative, other-worldly music. Over the decades, Patrick would come and go, a testament to the high regard in which Sun Ra held him: other key members of the Arkestra lived communally under the watchful eye of the leader (in part so that “Sunny” could ensure their abstinence from vices of all kinds).

In 1963, the versatile Patrick hired on as musical director of Mongo Santamaria’s Latin-jazz group – the one that had the giant hit “Watermelon Man.” Everyone knows that tune. Not so many recall another Santamaria hit called “Yeh! Yeh!” Patrick wrote that one; eventually it gained lyrics and climbed the pop charts, thanks to British rock-&-roller Georgie Fame’s hit recording of 1965.

Patrick also recorded with John Coltrane and performed in Duke Ellington’s band. He worked with Thelonious Monk and Clark Terry and co-founded a group called Baritone Retinue.
via Sun Ra Arkive

Insterstellar Low Ways:
Pat Patrick and Free Jazz

Evan Smith

The history of jazz is littered with figures who never seem to be appropriately appreciated for their contributions. Recording mainly on baritone saxophone, longtime Sun Ra sideman Pat Patrick does not generally inspire the same abundant name recognition as the instrument’s best known players Gerry Mulligan, and longtime Duke Ellington sideman, Harry Carney.

Therefore, it is my purpose here to demonstrate that Patrick is one of the most important and overlooked voices in the history of the baritone saxophone. First providing a more comprehensive early biographical background for this little researched player, I will then show that Patrick represents a direct link from the early swing style of Harry Carney to “free jazz” while establishing that Patrick’s tenure with Sun Ra in the 1950’s and 1960’s was influential on the band’s movement away from conventional, swing oriented music.

Laurdine Kenneth “Pat” Patrick Junior was born in East Moline, Illinois on November 23, 1929. His career in jazz was set in motion from an early age as he studied drums and piano while also taking trumpet lessons from his father (also named Laurdine) and Clark Terry, who was living at the Patricks’ home at the time. When he was twelve, Patrick’s parents separated; and, his father moved to California. Soon after, Patrick suffered a hip injury playing football, and relocated with his mother, Laverne Williams, to Boston to receive treatment that would keep him in a cast for almost a year.  After his recuperation, his mother took the family to the Chicago suburbs. However, after hearing about the influential music program led by Captain Walter Dyett at DuSable High School in the city, his family moved so that he could attend.  About this time, Patrick notes “my interest in music was sharply increased when at sixteen I first heard Lester Young. Right away, I had to have a saxophone and my mother helped me to get one, an alto. Later in the school band I was switched to baritone as someone had robbed our apartment and taken the alto.”  It is clear that his early years in Chicago were a major contributor to his eventual success with Sun Ra. Not only was Patrick learning from Dyett, who is credited with teaching a formidable roster of jazz notables, including future Sun Ra band members Von Freeman, John Gilmore, Julian Priester, and Ronnie Boykins, he was also active professionally as the house baritonist at the Regal Theatre. Patrick himself notes the importance of these formative years:

I wrote and arranged some music while still in high school and at about 18 I would say that my so called professional career began as I started playing jobs. Before leaving Chicago in early 1960, I had played with quite a few giant Blues and Jazz talents that came through town with numerous lesser known but no less talented artists and groups such as Sun Ra.  

Indeed, in these early years in Chicago, Patrick had the chance to work with such legendary figures as Muddy Waters, Nat “King” Cole, Cab Calloway, Lillian Armstrong, and Pearl Bailey.  While he briefly moved to Florida in 1949 to attend Florida A&M on scholarship, he soon returned to Chicago and enrolled at Wilson Junior College.  By the time that Patrick was recruited by Sun Ra in 1952, it was evident that the young saxophonist was already steeped in the jazz tradition. Patrick cites a wide range of influences at the time, recounting that “my other influences were Coleman Hawkins, Von Freeman, Harry Carney, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and Johnny Hodges, and they helped shape my own style.”  As Carney is widely considered the player who brought the baritone saxophone into its modern acceptance, his inclusion on this list, along with bandmates Ellington and Hodges, is of special importance. Carney’s influence on Patrick provides a direct link from the earliest stages of jazz baritone playing to the free jazz aesthetic later espoused by Patrick in Sun Ra’s band.  Patrick goes on to cite how the longtime Ellington sideman influenced his early playing, noting that “I first dug the work Carney was doing; the role of the baritone saxophone in the reed section and its blend with the other horns and also his solo work. At first I used to mistake his baritone solos for tenor solos, because he is very fluent and his style is hip.”   This link to Carney further materialized when Patrick briefly played with the Ellington band. While the dates of this engagement are not known for certain, evidence at the time places this event around 1960.  Patrick says of his time with Duke, I took Russell Procope’s place on alto saxophone in Duke Ellington’s band for a week on the road, and this gave me an opportunity to sit between Carney and Hodges. I noticed a similar approach to music in Duke and Sun Ra, in terms of their ear and the music they hear. They’ve both got keen ears. Sun Ra has been a fan of Duke’s also…he used to collect Duke’s records, and in fact, he turned me on to Carney’s baritone solos on “Lightning” and “Jazz Cocktail” back in Chicago. 

With this statement, Patrick shows his respect for the historical importance of Carney’s early influence, as the recordings cited above were recorded in 1932, when Patrick was only a few years old. Notable as well is the absence of any other contemporary baritone saxophonists. By the time Patrick was making his first Chicago recordings with Sun Ra, Gerry Mulligan had already asserted a considerable influence on the jazz community, establishing himself in the “cool jazz” school by contributing arrangements for the Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton big bands, and participating in the famous Birth of the Cool sessions with Miles Davis in 1949-1950.   Also by this time, Serge Chaloff had emerged as a notable baritone player in the bebop idiom, with his inclusion in the famous Woody Herman “Four Brothers” saxophone section from 1947 to 1949 gaining him considerable prominence. Yet, it seems that the approach of these players and others had little influence on Patrick. Indeed, Mulligan’s “cool” approach would seem to run antithetical to the transformation that Patrick was making under Sun Ra, while the bebop sensibilities of Chaloff, Leo Parker, and Cecil Payne were also taking place when Sun Ra’s music was already taking a turn away from the conventional. Moreover, the deaths of Chaloff in 1957 and Parker in 1962 surely diminished any influence these players would have had on Patrick as contemporaries. 

Of course, Carney and Patrick’s careers share a similar quality in that both artists spent the majority of their time with one bandleader, Carney staying exclusively with Ellington from 1927 until the composer’s death in 1974, while Patrick was associated with Sun Ra for more than three decades, anchoring a consistent saxophone section along with Marshall Allen and John Gilmore. Due to his longevity, Carney is generally viewed as a figure who provided a stabilizing, consistent voice for Ellington throughout the decades, adhering to the style that he set forth on Ellington’s famous recordings from the 1930’s and 1940’s. Moreover, while Ellington’s output, generally regarded to be over two thousand compositions,  is certainly diverse in its compositional techniques, it consistently draws from the tonal, swing style for which it is known.  Certainly, Carney contributed to Ellington’s success by providing a flexible player who, at the same time, was dependable in drawing back to the classic Ellington sound that spawned the bandleader’s popularity. In his 1962 Downbeat conversation with Carney, interviewer Don DeMichael eloquently sums up the aesthetic of the later Ellington bands, stating that “in addition to carrying a large library filled with yesterday, the band carries a spirit and tradition that began the day before yesterday. Spirit and tradition are strong.”

It is my assertion that while Carney was a cornerstone of the Duke Ellington band due to his ability to convey the “spirit and tradition” of Ellington’s swing style, Patrick was an influential figure in Sun Ra’s ensemble owing to his ability to interpret numerous different styles while inciting further innovation through his forward looking solo improvisations. Concisely, while Carney’s legacy was established in the consistent reproduction of the Ellington swing ideal, Patrick’s importance comes from his striving for new techniques over Sun Ra’s evolving musical landscapes. Notably, it was in the early 1960’s that Sun Ra’s material began to peak out from its tonal blanket and “move farther [sic] away from any previous style of big band music.”  Straying away from standard blues and swing conventions to employ such techniques as free and collective improvisations, microtonalities, and unconventional electronic instruments, the tradition underlying Sun Ra’s career was that of evolution.

(remainder available in LP download)

Eastern Vibrations

Pat Patrick - Sound Advice

Saturn ESR 770 (777)
Recorded live c. 1976
All tunes by Pat Patrick, except as noted

Pat Patrick's Baritone Retinue:

Pat Patrick - baritone sax, arr., soloist
Charles Davis - bars, arr., soloist
Mario Rivera - bars
Kenny Rogers - bars
James "Jabbo" Ware - bars
Rene McLean - bars
George Barrow - bars
Reynold Scott - bars
Hilton Ruiz - piano
John Hart - bass
Steve Solder - drums
Babafemi Humphries - conga

Some of the baritone sax players double on flute and soprano sax.

Pat Patrick's Baritone Retinue

Sound Advice

1. Stablemates (1st Part)

2. Funny Time

3. Uptightedness

4. Eastern Vibrations

5. Sabia

6. East of Uz (Sun Ra)

7. The Waltz

8. Stablemates (2nd Part)

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Many Thanks to Marc E for helping with research.

Astonishing Artifacts Reportedly Discovered Beyond Aurora!

 

A fantastic and amazing Arkeographical discovery ocurred recently beyond the borders of Chicago, Aurora, and El-gin - arkifacts extraordinary - protopaean blueprints of arketypical creation.  Outerspaceways Incorporated equational diagrams of transportelepathy-vibration research, isotope teleportation, transmolecularization, astro-financial periodicals and intergalactic marketing ephemera were saved from demolition when they were recently found within a recovered time capsule hidden in the catacombs below an abandoned scientific research complex.  

The images below were found with envelopes and fragments of correspondence between unknown persons.  It has not yet been determined who dispatched the time capsule and how they obtained these artifacts but the images comes to us via a third party with a text file of a letter apparently referencing the find.  Here is the transcription of the legible portions of the letter followed by the images and business memo fragments found inside the capsule.

Hello Mark,

As I had mentioned in an earlier email, my friend Terry has finally relented and agreed to let me send you these photos that he has taken at that 'place'.  He is a little hesitant, as he should not have been taking photos there.  He likes to do a bit of urban archeology, and had originally showed me these some time after he took them.  At first, they just looked like any other stuff you might at a 'place like that' - old documents, reports, etc.  It was only later that something struck me as familiar - the name!  As you know, Outer Spaceways Incorporated is associated with Sun Ra and the Arkestra.  You can imagine my excitement at seeing the photos - finally, confirmation of the rumors!  I quickly got back to him, explained what these most probably were, and asked him if it was possible to go back there and either take more pictures or, even better, to get some of the actual papers.  He did, finally, and told me that the building had been demolished and all that was there was bare ground.  What a loss!  He did not know what he had found when he first saw it.  In the meantime, 'that place' continued with the demolition of the old buildings, including the one where he took these photos.

As you can guess from the captions in some of the photos, the now demolished building somewhere was on the grounds of the huge facility whose name begins with a letter that is between 'E' and 'G'.  It seems that Outer Spaceways had contracts with them (or someone there) to develop all sorts of innovative transportation methods using new materials that they had come up with.  Some of those saw actual development!  Can you imagine just how amazing it would be if those became commonplace today?

I am forwarding the images to Marshall for him to take a look at them and to confirm (or deny) the truth, although I am not sure whether he would be able to do so, as I imagine that he had limited exposure to that science and engineering side of Sun Ra.

I am so thrilled that we do have these photos to see for ourselves.

Take care for now,

Bill K.

…finally, confirmation of the intergala...

 

Outer Spaceways Incorporated is associated with Sun Ra and the Arkestra.  You can...

…limited exposure to that science

 

…was possible to go back … bare ground. 

…ramids had been demolished and a…

 

  ...facility whose n…

…of innovative transportation methods using new materials that they …

…the truth,  ...explained what these most...

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

...evidence of ESP total energy-transition changes… with the Black Saints.  …every impulse while El Saturn's blue thum…

 ...transparent force to blast first beyond the Thoth intergalactic.

Sun Ra - Cymbals and Crystal Spears

Sun Ra entered into an licensing agreement with Impulse! in the early '70s to distribute both old and new LPs from his own Saturn label. This was his first association with something like a major record company, and though it resulted in ten actual releases, it didn't last long; another 12 planned releases were cancelled. Among these were two newly recorded albums, Cymbals and Crystal Spears, both of which were shelved (though three tracks from the former were later released on the Saturn LP Deep Purple). The Evidence label's extensive Sun Ra reissue program brought these two albums into release for the first time in 2000 as the double CD The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums: Cymbals & Spears, a mere 27 years after they were recorded. Cymbals turns out to be a small band session on which no more than six and usually only four musicians are playing on any one selection. Sun Ra is mostly heard on organ, and his understated playing sets the tone for a group of moody, low-key tracks. No matter who is soloing, this is mostly a quiet, introspective session. It's last-set-of-the-night stuff. From the opening miniMoog solo by Sun Ra, Crystal Spears is something else again: a full band album. Its tunes feature as many as seven horn players on a track, with most of them contributing percussion when they're not blowing. The stretched-out arrangements allow plenty of room for solos, duos, and even periods of near-cacophony. It's doubtful that Cymbals and Crystal Spears would have altered Sun Ra's overall career had they been issued by Impulse! in 1973 as intended, but his work is so extensive and so varied that each individual record provides another valuable piece in the puzzle; here are two more.

AMG Review by William Ruhlmann

199. [178]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Cymbals/
Deep Purple

Sun Ra (org, Mini-Moog syn, Rocksichord); Akh Tal Ebah (tp -2, 4); Danny Davis (as -5); John Gilmore (ts -2); Eloe Omoe (bcl -1); Ronnie Boykins (b); Harry Richards (d); Derek Morris (cga -2, 2, 4).

Variety Recording Studio, NYC, 1973

The World of the Invisible (Ra) -1
Thoughts Under a Dark Blue Light (Ra) -2
The Order of the Pharoanic Jesters (Ra) -3
The Mystery of Two (Ra) -4
Land of the Day Star (Ra) -5

According to Peter Hinds, in a 1984 letter to Down Beat, this album was newly recorded during the Impulse period, assigned the number AS-9296, but never released.  Seth Markow says that Cymbals was also given a notional spot in the Saturn catalog as Saturn LP 555.  Alton Abraham says that the master tapes are still extant.

Thanks to Seth Markow for track listings and personnel for this truly elusive item.  On the Impulse pressing, the titles were "The Worlds of the Invisible" and "The Order of the Pharoahnic Jesters."  On the Saturn release, the spelling is "Pharoanic," which is still incorrect.

The personnel list provided to Impulse by Alton Abraham was identical with the list for Pathways to Unknown Worlds, but the tracks on Cymbals were actually done by a smaller ensemble, and the drummer does not sound like Clifford Jarvis.  The personnel list off the back of Deep Purple (after people who appeared on Side A are deleted) is therefore a much better guide.  Harry Richards is called "Harry Ar" on the Saturn jacket.  As Graham Connah points out, it is Danny Davis and not Marshall Allen on "Land of the Day Star," and Marshall is not present on the other tracks; it is also definitely Eloe Omoe on "The World of the Invisible."  All of the trumpet work is by Ebah (the Saturn liners listed Kwame Hadi as well).  Sun Ra appears to play some Rocksichord (on "Pharoanic Jesters") as well as organ and synthesizer.

Three tracks were issued on Side B of Saturn LP 485, Deep Purple, in 1973 (The LP has been known for years, but its connection to Cymbals was not previously suspected).  Some copies of this LP were titled Dreams Come True.

Sunrise In The Western Sky   (20:20)

200. [177]  Sun Ra Arkestra

Crystal Spears

Sun Ra (org; marimba -1; Mini-Moog syn -1, 3; e-vib -5; Rocksichord -5; gong -5); Akh Tal Ebah (tp -2, 3); Lamont McClamb [Kwame Hadi] (tp -3); Marshall Allen (ob -1, 3, 5; as -2, 3; fl -2; picc -4; perc -5); Danny Davis (as -2, 3; fl -4, 5; perc -5); John Gilmore (ts -2, 3, 5); Danny Ray Thompson (bars -3, 5; fl -4); Leroy Taylor [Eloe Omoe] (bcl -3, 4); Clifford Jarvis (d -1, 3, 5); Russell Branch [Odun] (cga, perc); Stanley Morgan [Atakatune] (cga, perc); Eugene Brennan (cga, perc -5).

Variety Recording Studio, NYC, 1973

Crystal Spears (Ra) -1

The Eternal Sphynx (Ra) -2
The Embassy of the Living God (Ra) -3
Avian Interlude (Ra) -4
Sunrise in the Western Sky (Ra) -5

According to Peter Hinds, in a 1984 letter to Down Beat, this album was newly recorded during the Impulse period, assigned the number AS-9297, but never released.  Personnel and track information were recently provided by Seth Markow (personnel as provided to Impulse by Alton Abraham).  Markow says that a notional Saturn catalog number was assigned: Saturn 562 (indeed, there is a tape reel numbered 562 -- and labeled Crystal Clear!).

As is often the case on Arkestra recordings, the full ensemble appears only on one track: "The Embassy of the Living God" (except that there are two conga players, not three).  The only track that has three conga players at once is "Sunrise in the Western Sky"' the other three use two conga players each.  Thanks to Seth Markow for providing the track-by-track breakdowns.  There is only one trumpet player on "Sphynx" (sounds like Hadi); Davis and Allen both play alto sax in the opening ensemble (Davis has the solo later); in the closing ensemble, one of the two (Allen?) switches to flute.  Sunny was presumably responsible for the gongs during the long keyboardless episode that closes "Sunrise."  There are boo-bams or some type of tuned drum set on "Sunrise"; perhaps Brennan was responsible for these.

It turns out that there are two "master" tapes for this unissued LP.  The tape available to Markow has less dynamic range but better balance overall, and Sunny's keyboards are prominent.  The tape in Alton Abraham's possession has a wide stereo separation, more extreme dynamics, and Ra's keyboards at a consistently low level.  The beginning and end of each piece are edited a little differently, resulting in small differences in track timings.  The most noticeable difference between the Abraham tape and the Markow tape: no keyboard between 2:45 and 5:00 of "Crystal Spears" on the Abraham tape.  The Abraham tape also includes a brief, untitled piece between "Embassy" and "Sunrise."  It is an ensemble of flutes, Marshall Allen on piccolo, and Eloe Omoe on bass clarinet, and it runs just 1:44.  Because of the twittering, we have called it "Avian Interlude."

from Campbell/Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums - Cymbals & Crystal Spears
Evidence [CD] ECD 22217-2

Disc 1 - Cymbals
1. The World Of The Invisible   6:54
2. Thoughts Under A Dark Blue Light   16:33
3. The Order Of The Pharaonic Jesters   7:27
4. The Mystery Of Two   7:39
5. Land Of The Day Star   3:58

Disc 2 - Crystal Spears
1. Crystal Spears   6:05
2. The Eternal Sphynx   4:52
3. The Embassy Of The Living God   10:23
4. Sunrise In The Western Sky   20:20

FLAC
RS1 + RS2
HF1 + HF2

or

320
RS
HF

2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Other Voices, Other Blues (1978)

Re-Upped & Re-Posted by Re-Quest.

Other Voices, Other Blues is one of several albums done with this basic lineup in January of 1978. This album is billed to the Sun Ra Quartet, but it sounds like there's a bass player present on at least some of the cuts (it could be Ra, but he'd need three hands). As the title implies, this album shows listeners the many sides of the blues and demonstrates what some highly individual players can do with the blues. "Bridge on the Ninth Dimension" starts as a slow, spooky synth blues that morphs into an up-tempo freak-out session about halfway through. This is really the only truly "out" portion of the album, although the blues get decidedly weird on "Rebellion." Sun Ra plays piano on "One Day in Rome," "Along the Tiber," and "Sun, Sky and Wind" and synthesizer on the others. This is really a great setting to hear what these guys can do as soloists, with the easy-to-follow changes of the blues and stripped-down ensemble. Luqman Ali's drumming is the anchor, and everyone gets plenty of solo space. Fans of John Gilmore should surely seek this out, but Michael Ray and Sun Ra are also simply fantastic. As with other Horo releases, this will be hard to find, but well worth it.
AMG Review by Sean Westergaard

Sun Ra Quartet: Other Voices, Other Blues (Horos HDP 23-24)
By avantfront

This is certainly an odd date.  Billed as the “Sun Ra Quartet”, we hear Ra on piano and Crumar Mainman-keyboard, John Gilmore on tenor and percussion, Michael Ray on trumpet, and Luqman Ali on drums recorded in Rome in January of 1978.  It seems Ra recorded a few albums for the label Horos with this group at this time.  This record presents us with Ra on piano occasionally, but mostly keyboard, providing a background for us to experience two of his horn players in a more focused setting.  At times, the music is missing the grandeur of the Arkestra, but it’s still a lot of cosmic fun.

The opening “Springtime and Summer Idyll” is a blues with a down home RnB feel.  We hear Ray’s fanfare-like trumpet herald the good times in this fairly traditional romp.  Ra plays an organ patch, but switches to blips for a brief solo.  The blips highlight and foreshadow the intergalactic fun to come.  “One Day in Rome” is a straight 12 bar blues, but is somehow infused with a little off-kilter feel.  Something akin to what a tourist would feel in Rome, viewing the sites, while a man in a space suit wanders around the coliseum.  Perhaps this comes from Ra’s use of the piano here.  Certainly not a pristine example of the instrument, he seems to enjoy playing the notes that don’t quite sound right or in tune.   Perhaps this is why he felt the need to give it such a temporal title next to all the space jams to come.

The piece on the album which comes closest to a space freak-out is “Bridge on the Ninth Dimension”.  It starts with a cymbal marking time, while a pianissimo synth lurks behind.  Something odd is certainly coming to those unprepared by the relatively straightforward A-side of this disk.  At two minutes the horns weave in and the journey begins.  The players take turns soloing with this putty like piece.  It is fluid enough to let the particular player bend the composition to his liking, and Ra is ready to take it where the horn wishes.  Gilmore is particularly fun to hear.  He has ideas and the commitment to follow them until they become a cohesive statement.  It is not the constant inspiration of an “energy” solo, but a peacefulness to take ideas that come and work with them.  His solo beginning at 5:45 builds to the piece’s climax, and by the 9:00 mark, everyone is in a different dimension.  “Along the Tiber” gives us a chance to hear the bop chops of the players.  Ray is particularly well suited to the challenge and provides a flurry of notes on his tear.

On the ballad “Sun, Sky, and Wind” we are treated to Ra’s piano work.  He visits this ballad with odd abruptly-ending rolls, and even sounds like Cecil Taylor on some of the trails he follows in the latter half of the piece.  “Rebellion” is a swirled and flanged keyboard trip which goes out in a very out way.  On “Constellation”, Ray plays the role of the herald and Ali’s plays a very strange rhythm and the album finishes with an outer space ceremony entitled “The Mystery of Being”.

This is not Ra’s best album.  The sound is spotty at best, and it doesn’t feature the whole Arkestra, but I feel it does two things remarkably well.  It gives a taste of the many styles that Ra composed in and allows us to hear some personal statements from the players.  Because of the reduced palette, we get to hear Gilmore with less restraint and Ra take center stage on his instruments instead of his arrangements.
Review By avantfront



261. [214] Sun Ra Quartet featuring John Gilmore

Other Voices, Other Blues

Sun Ra (Crumar Mainman, keyb, p); Michael Ray (tp); John Gilmore (ts, timb, voc); Luqman Ali (d).

Horo Voice Studio, Roma,
January 8 and 13, 1978

Horo HDP 23-24, a 2-LP set titled Other Voices, Other Blues, was issued in 1978.  All information from the album jacket.

The Horo albums were recorded in such haste because Sun Ra was about to leave Italy.  But after they were completed, Sunny changed his mind and extended his stay for another two weeks (Gualberto).
from The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Other Voices, Other Blues
Sun Ra Quartet featuring John Gilmore

A1 Springtime And Summer Idyll        

A2 One Day In Rome        

B1 Bridge On The Ninth Dimension        

B2 Along The Tiber        

C1 Sun, Sky, And Wind        

C2 Rebellion        

D1 Constellation        

D2 The Mystery Of Being

Many choices here.  I have two rips happily contributed by kind readers.  First up is compliments of our great friend, Nikos.  This rip is divided by tracks for those who may wish 

to make their own Quartet compilation!

FLAC
RS
HF1 + HF2 

or

320
RS
HF 

Next is an LP rip true to the magic of the side-long listening experience.  This delightful offering is from Marc E. in Philadelphia who has also provided several wonderful Sun Ra 

rarities, some already presented, some still to come!

FLAC
RS
HF1 + HF2

or

320
RS
HF 

Sun Ra - Deep Purple / Dreams Come True (1973)

For those who enjoyed the bonus tracks on the recently posted Sun Sound Pleasure!! CD but were longing to hear  Ra's more adventurous offerings, here is the original release of Deep Purple (also released as Dreams Come True).  On this 1973 release, Ra disrupts the space/time continuum by juxtaposing music recorded between 1948 and 1958 on Side A with recently recorded material from 1973 for Side B of the album.  The small group material that makes up Side B was intended for release by Impulse! on Cymbals, an album that evaded release until Evidence's 2000 2-CD The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums: Cymbals & Crystal Spears.

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.

199. [178]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Cymbals/
Deep Purple

Sun Ra (org, Mini-Moog syn, Rocksichord); Akh Tal Ebah (tp -2, 4); Danny Davis (as -5); John Gilmore (ts -2); Eloe Omoe (bcl -1); Ronnie Boykins (b); Harry Richards (d); Derek Morris (cga -2, 2, 4).

Variety Recording Studio, NYC, 1973

The World of the Invisible (Ra) -1
Thoughts Under a Dark Blue Light (Ra) -2
The Order of the Pharoanic Jesters (Ra) -3
The Mystery of Two (Ra) -4
Land of the Day Star (Ra) -5

Three tracks were issued on Side B of Saturn LP 485, Deep Purple, in 1973 (The LP has been known for years, but its connection to Cymbals was not previously suspected).
from Campbell/Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Dreams Come True (LP)
Saturn 485A & 485B

1.  Deep Purple   4:12
2.  Piano Interlude   1:54
3.  Can This Be Love   5:59
4.  Dreams Come True   3:08
5.  Don't Blame Me   2:53
6.  'S Wonderful   2:18
7.  Lover Come Back To Me   2:49

8.  The World Of The Invisible   6:50
9.  The Order Of The Pharaonic Jesters   7:13
10. Land Of The Day Star   3:52

FLAC

RS

HF

or

320

RS

 HF

Deep Purple (Cobbled but Complete CD)
  Evidence ECD 22014-2  Sound Sun Pleasure!! (1-7)
  Evidence ECD 22217-2  Cymbals & Crystal Spears - The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums (8-10)

1.  Deep Purple   4:03
2.  Piano Interlude   1:56
3.  Can This Be Love   6:01
4.  Dreams Come True   3:08
5.  Don't Blame Me   2:53
6.  'S Wonderful   2:18
7.  Lover Come Back To Me   2:49
8.  The World Of The Invisible   6:54
9.  The Order Of The Pharaonic Jesters   7:27
10. Land Of The Day Star   3:58

FLAC

RS

HF

or

320

RS

HF