2nd Chance: Sun Ra - A Fireside Chat with Lucifer (1983)

Many thanks to our friend, Paul W. for the flac rip of his treasured LP.  Enjoy!
(ReUpped & RePosted by ReQuest)

375. [280]  Sun Ra and his Outer Space Arkestra

A Fireside Chat with Lucifer /
Celestial Love /
Nuclear War

Sun Ra (voc -1; p, syn, org); Walter Miller (tp); Tyrone Hill (voc -1; tb); Vincent Chancey (Fr hn); Marshall Allen (as, fl); John Gilmore (ts); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl); James Jacson (bsn, Inf-d); Hayes Burnett (b); Samarai Celestial (d); Atakatune (cga, perc); June Tyson (voc -1, -2).

Variety Recording Studios, NYC,
September 1982

Nuclear War (Ra) -1
Retrospect (Ra)
Makeup (Ra)
A Fireside Chat with Lucifer (Ra)
Celestial Love (Ra)
Sometimes I'm Happy (Caesar-Youmans) -2
Interstellarism
[Interstellar Low Ways] (Ra)
Blue Intensity (Ra)
Sophisticated Lady (Ellington)
Nameless One #2 (Ra)
Nameless One #3 (Ra)
Smile (Chaplin) -2
Drop Me Off in Harlem (Ellington)

Saturn Gemini 19841, also numbered Saturn A/B1984SG-9, was released in 1983 with the title A Fireside Chat with Lucifer.  The matrix numbers for this LP were Sun Ra 1984A and 1984B.  Saturn Gemini 19842, also numbered Saturn C/D1984SG-9, was released in 1983 with the title Celestial Love -- matrix numbers Sun Ra 1984C and 1984D.  Y RA 1 was a 12-inch 33-rpm single, issued in Britain in 1982.  Y RA 2 was slated for release in Britain under the title Rays from the Outer Tomorrow; it never appeared, but an Italian LP Y RA 2 was released in 1984 under the title Nuclear War.  All tracks from this LP also on the Greek release Music Box SMB 40242 [LP and cass].

Personnel were not credited on any of these releases, except for vocals by "Mr Re" and June Tyson on the single.  Vincent Chancey identified himself, Miller, Gilmore, Allen, Jacson, and Thompson in an interview on the WKCR Sun Ra Festival.  Sun Ra mentions Tyrone Hill by name on "Nuclear War."  Michael Shore says that Burnett, Samarai, and Atakatune were regulars with the Arkestra in 1982; Samarai confirms his presence.

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

A Fireside Chat with Lucifer

1. Nuclear war    7:46 

2. Retrospect    5:44 

3. Makeup    4:58 

4. A fireside chat with Lucifer    20:24

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2nd Chance: John Cage Meets Sun Ra (1987)

This has proven to be one of the most popular offerings here and although no one has requested a re-up, I have noticed that the original post still receives a large number of visits.  Because the MU links are now lo-o-o-ong gone, I can only assume that people are leaving disappointed; I believe it's time to rectify.

MANY Thanks to Vinylust for sharing his vinyl rip in FLAC with us!

496. [344] Sun Ra and John Cage

Sun Ra (Yamaha DX-7 syn); John Cage (voc); Marshall Allen (as -2); June Tyson (voc -2); Pharaoh Abdullah [Thomas Thaddeus] (dance, incense, procession -1).

Sideshows by the Sea, Coney Island,
Brooklyn, NY, June 8, 1986

John Cage Meets Sun Ra (Cage-Ra)
John Cage Meets Sun Ra (Cage-Ra) (cont.)
untitled -1
untitled -2

Meltdown MPA-1, John Cage Meets Sun Ra, was an LP released in 1987.  According to Warren Smith of Variety Recording Studios, who did the pressing, some copies were delivered to Sun Ra without labels and may have circulated with Saturn labels.  A 10th-anniversary limited-edition CD was scheduled for release in January 1997, but it never materialized.

On the released portions of the performance, Ra and Cage perform alternately, except during a stretch of Side B.  According to Bill Andrejko, other portions of the concert, which included Pharaoh Abdullah (procession, dance) were recorded but not released; Rick Russo confirms that some material from the concert, including contributions by Marshall Allen and June Tyson, was not included on the LP.  Sideshows by the Sea was the last surviving freak show along the Coney Island boardwalk.  Ra and Cage's appearance was duly announced by the barker outside; a pizza party followed the performance.  Information from the liner notes, Bill Andrejko, Dan Sullivan, and Rick Russo.  According to Richard Ehrman, there is a 90-minute audience tape of the complete concert.

John Corbett has stated (in the preface to a Sun Ra interview) that Ra and Cage read poetry together in January 1985, but Russo states that Ra and Cage met each other on June 6, 1986, and that the June 8 performance was the only time they appeared together.

Assuming Corbett is referring to events in June 1986 and not January 1985 in his preface to a Sun Ra interview that originally appeared in Butt Rag, the Arkestra played Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, RI, on June 9.

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

 

John Cage Meets Sun Ra 
Meltdown LP  MPA-1
 

Side A - 21:14

Side B - 21:26

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Those interested in John Cage can go here to watch the 1966 movie SOUND - a 24 minute (not 4'33")avant garde minimalist jazz music performance noise experimental film featuring Cage and Sun Ra's parallel galaxy celestial brother, Roland Kirk.

2nd Chance: Ronnie Boykins - The Will Come, Is Now (1976)

Ronnie Boykins was one of the first members of Sun Ra’s fledgling Arkestra, joining the band in early 1958 and his innovative yet rock-solid bass playing was a key element in the music’s rapid development up through the mid-1960s (it was also Boykins’s car that carried the band from Chicago to Montreal in 1961 and, thence, to New York City). Boykins had been classmates with John Gilmore and Pat Patrick at Du Sable High School (where he played sousaphone in the band) but he had already established himself as an in-demand bassist prior to joining the Arkestra, having played with such diverse figures as Muddy Waters, Johnny Griffin and Jimmy Witherspoon. In 1966, Boykins left the Arkestra to pursue other opportunities, (notably including work with Rahsaan Roland Kirk) and, as we’ve seen, Sonny had a hard time finding his replacement, opting on many occasions for doing without the bass altogether. Boykins intermittently performed with Arkestra thereafter with his last known appearance being at Hunter College on June 16, 1974 (portions of which were released as Out Beyond The Kingdom Of ). While Prof. Campbell suggests he might been a part of the two-week stand at The “New” Five Spot in June, 1975, he is not present on the bootleg tape which circulates (Campbell & Trent p.220). According to Szwed, growing animosity between Boykins and Ra over money and lack of composer credit for some of the Arkestra’s recordings caused him to quit the band for good sometime during this period (Szwed p.119).
Continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays


Listening to The Will Come, Is Now on my iPod as I type; I can't help but revisit this ESP-Disk' release at least once a month.  Ronnie Boykins' first and only release as a leader has so much replay value and it it leaves me wanting more and more. A bassist that is as versatile to play along with Muddy Waters, Marion Brown, Steve Lacy, Bill Dixon, Sam Rivers, Mary Lou Williams. Rashaan Roland Kirk, at many others, Boykins is mostly famous for his time with the Arkestra. Where we can hear Boykins providing the bass lines for some of the most pivotal Sun Ra LPs.

In an era when Jazz was becoming more and more fusion as well as electric, Boykins rejected the norm and recorded this earthy, acoustic session in 1974. It's very rhythmic, with bass licks that draw from eastern music and polyrhythmic influences from African drumming. Yet his beautiful arco playing on the upright amalgamates classical western sounds with eastern and African influences.

The opening title track exemplifies everything I described in the prior paragraph. However we then make a left turn with the following cut, "Starlight at the Wonder Inn." A buoyant ballad pulling from traditional jazz melodies that even a composer like Strayhorn would write. Although Boykins' technique allows it to be off teetered enough to comprise of its own aesthetic. Fitting perfectly with the rest of the album.

"Demon Dance" is the most Post-Bop in nature, but once the theme is played the whole ensemble wails together as if they were a New Orleans band from the earlier part of the century. It's swinging while offering a change of pace just as the album starts to really grip hold of you.

(continue reading)
by Matthew Ditullo at This Shape of Jazz

Capricorn Moon

Thanks to Rev.b for this great track of Ronnie playing with Marion Brown!

Ronnie Boykins is probably best known for being a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra. During that time, the Arkestra made some of its best recordings and Boykins was an integral part of the equation. He integrated his relationship with Sun Ra to gear the forward movement of the music. In his individual contributions on the bass he gave the instrument an underlying voice in developing the thematic concept through his choice of notes, the use of arco and his chord patterns.

Boykins' ability saw him called up by Marion Brown, Bill Barron, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Steve Lacy in a long list of collaborations. Challenging music was not his only forté, he moved from free invention into the mainstream with Mary Lou Williams and played the blues with Muddy Waters. Boykins went on to lead the Free Jazz Society and then went into the Melodic Art-Tet. In spite of all his accomplishments, Boykins was modest. When Bernard Stollman asked him to record for ESP in 1964, Boykins said that he was not ready. Eleven years later in 1975, he was.

Boykins' music is the confluence of several streams. He places as much emphasis on composition as he does on improvisation, with the title track profiling the two. Boykins sets up the groove for the Middle Eastern melody, the antithesis for horns which blow asymmetrical lines. It's a constantly shifting vortex, with Joe Ferguson indulging in the melody before the other horns come in to dissect it. The final shift comes from Boykins, whose bow arcs both melody and dissonance while the percussion dances niftily below.

"Demon's Dance" is a wild swinging tune with a generous dollop of New Orleans rhythm, quite mainstream and a delicious romp. Boykins gift for melody is apparent on all the tracks. "The Third I" loosens that grip for an open invitation to percussion and congas. The insistent rhythm is scarped by the bassist, whose arching lines cut deep into the pith. The flute flutters in but the resolution is completed by Boykins, who bares the melody and then wraps it up with the rest of his band.

Boykins made just one record as leader, but it marks his place as an adventurous bassist and a composer with a gift for style and genre. 

All About Jazz review By Jerry D'Souza

The Will Come, Is Now
ESP-Disk CD
ESP 3026 (LP rel. 1976) (CD reiss. 2009)

1. The Will Come, Is Now   12:33
2. Starlight At The Wonder Inn   7:33
3. Demon's Dance   3:21
4. Dawn Is Evening, Afternoon   6:19
5. Tipping On Heels   4:50
6. The Third I   12:26

Personnel: Ronnie Boykins (sousaphone, bass instrument); Joe Ferguson , Jimmy Vass (flute, saxophone); Monty Waters (saxophone); Daoud Haroom (trombone); George Avaloz (congas); Art Lewis (percussion).

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Sun Ra - Atlantis (1969)

 

"At a concert at the newly opened Olatunji Center of African Culture Atlantis was recorded, a twenty-one-minute epic, with Sun Ra on Clavioline and ‘Solar Sound Organ’ (a Gibson Kalamazoo Organ, a copy of the original Farfissa combo organ used by pop groups). The piece began ominously with sonar beeps from the organ, and as it developed, Sun Ra rolled his hands on the keys, pressing his forearm along the keyboard, played with his hands upside down, slashing and beating the keyboard, spinning around and around, his hands windmilling at the keys—a virtual sonic representation of the flooding of Atlantis; it was a great smear of a solo, Sun Ra’s ‘Toccata and Fugue.’ Five minutes later the brass entered, and then a rather conventionally notated swing saxophone-section melody surface to be undercut first by brutal bursts from the organ and then by the brass and drums. The weight, the sheer gravity of the piece which developed was almost unbearable. And then suddenly the Arkestra shifted to the ‘Sun Ra and his Band from Outer Space are here to entertain you’ chant, as if “Atlantis” had just been another pop song in an evening’s dance band repertoire."

- Szwed, John F. Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra. New York: De Capo Press, 1997. Print. 248.

Thanks to rocket number ten for the quote!

Featuring the Astro Infinity Arkestra, Atlantis reveals two very distinct sides of Sun Ra's music. The first consists of shorter works Ra presumably constructed for presentation on the Hohner clavinet. Not only is the electric keyboard dominantly featured, but also it presumably offered Ra somewhat of a novelty as it had only been on the market for less than a year. The second side consists of the epic 21-minute title track and features an additional seven-man augmentation to the brass/woodwind section of the Astro Infinity Arkestra. Tracks featuring the smaller combo reveal an almost introspective Arkestra. The stark contrast between the clavinet -- which Ra dubbed the "Solar Sound Instrument" -- and the hand-held African congas on "Mu" and "Bimini" reveal polar opposite styles and emphasis. However, Ra enthusiasts should rarely be surprised at his experiments in divergence. "Mu" is presented at a lethargic tempo snaking in and around solos from Ra and a raga-influenced tenor sax solo from John Gilmore. "Bimini" is actually captured in progress. The first sound listeners hear is the positioning of the microphone as a conga fury commences in the background. Likewise, on "Yucatan (Impulse Version)" a doorbell quickly impedes what might have been a more organic conclusion to the performance. The original issue of Atlantis was on the small independent Saturn label. Thus the composition titled "Yucatan (Saturn Version)" appeared on that pressing. When the disc was reissued in 1973 on Impulse!, the track was replaced by a completely different composition -- as opposed to an alternate performance of the same work. The second side contains one of Ra's most epic pieces, which is free or "space" jazz at its most invigorating. While virtually indescribable, the sonic churnings and juxtaposed images reveal a brilliant display of textures and tonalities set against an ocean of occasional rhythms. Its diversity alone makes this is an essential entry in the voluminous Sun Ra catalog.  

AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

 

There are changes afoot in the band’s sound: always an early adopter of technology, Ra can be heard on side one playing exclusively a Hohner Clavinet, a recently released electronic keyboard that was later popularized by Stevie Wonder (see e.g. "Superstition” in 1972). Ra renames it the “Solar Sound Instrument” and plays it in his own inimitable fashion. Recorded in rehearsal at the Sun Studio (the Arkestra’s rented townhouse located at 48 East Third Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side), these tracks feature a bare-bones Arkestra: Gilmore can be heard from time to time on tenor saxophone, but these pieces mostly feature Ra’s clavinet over beds of percussion and sound more like sonic experiments than full-fledged compositions. But what interesting experiments!

“Mu” is a slow, 5/4 clavinet vamp with Gilmore tentatively outlining an up and down melody. “Lemuria” is another 5/4 boogie with Gilmore laying down some heavy duty riffing on top of Ra’s extra-funky clavinet. “Yucatan” is a dreamy, modal ballad wherein Ra demonstrates his remarkably sensitive touch on the primitive electronic keyboard. Hartmut Geerken points out in the discography that what sounds like electric bass us actually “two tightly interlaced African drum patterns!” (2nd ed., p.136). “Bimini” consists of roiling polyrhythmic percussion with Ra interjecting some jabbing chords on the clavinet. The Evidence CD also includes an alternate version of “Yucatan” that mistakenly appeared on the 1973 reissue of Atlantis on Impulse! Actually, this track has nothing to do with the other composition of the same name, but is rather another noisy percussion-fest interspersed with Ra’s distinctive clavinet chording. A telephone rings signaling a quick cadence to end.

 Continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays

131. [115]  Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra

Atlantis

Sun Ra (solar sound [Gibson Kalamazoo] org, Clavioline); Wayne Harris (tp); poss. Jothan Callins (tp); Ali Hassan (tb); Charles Stephens (tb); Robert Northern (Fr hn); Danny Ray Thompson (as); John Gilmore (ts, perc); Danny Davis (as); Pat Patrick (bars, fl); Marshall Allen (as, ob, Jupiterian fl); Robert Cummings (bcl); James Jacson (log drums); Robert Barry (d, lightning drum); Clifford Jarvis (d).

Olatunji Center of African Culture,
NYC, 1967

 Atlantis (Ra)/
[Sun Ra and his Band from Outer Space (Ra) [ens voc]]

Issued in 1969 on Side B of Saturn ESR 507, Atlantis.  All tracks from this LP were reissued in 1973 on Impulse AS-929 and in 1993 on Evidence 22067 [CD].  "Atlantis" is edited on the Saturn.  There are copies of the Impulse LP that replace this Side B with Side B of The Magic City.  At the end of the performance (included on Impulse and Evidence, edited out on Saturn), the Arkestra sings "Sun Ra and His Band from Outer Space," and, as Michael Shore points out, Sun Ra starts playing the bass line of "We Travel the Spaceways" on the organ -- clearly a live performance.

John Gilmore recalled that the concert took place at the Olatunji Center of African Culture, which was located at 43 East 125th Street.  According to J.C. Thomas in Chasin' the Trane, the Center opened on March 27, 1967; other sources say that it remained open for musical performances through some point in 1968.  Danny Ray Thompson joined the Arkestra in 1967.  A poster reproduced in C.O. Simpkins' Coltrane biography advertises the inaugural concert at the center (by Trane's group) and other forthcoming events through May 14, 1967; clearly, the Arkestra's appearance took place after that.

Then personnel credits from Saturn jacket; however, Saturn and Impulse credit Akh Tal Ebah (who didn't join the band until 1969!) as the second trumpet player.  Jothan Callins was introduced to Sun Ra by Walter Miller and was in the Arkestra "off and on" from 1966 till the first trip to Europe in 1970.

 132. [116]  Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra

Atlantis/
The Singles

Sun Ra (solar sound instrument [Hohner Clavinet]); John Gilmore (ts -1; perc -2, 3, 4; d, voc -5); Pat Patrick (perc -2, 3, 4; voc -5); prob. Robert Barry (d, perc except -5); Clifford Jarvis (d, perc except -5); Marshall Allen (perc -4, voc -5); James Jacson (perc -4, voc -5).

Sun Studios, NYC, 1967 or 1968

Mu (Ra) -1
Lemuria (Ra) -1
Yucatan (Ra) -2
Yucatan [alt] (Ra) -3
Bimini (Ra) -4

Blues on Planet Mars (Ra) -3
Saturn Moon (Ra) -5

The first five tracks (except for "Yucatan [alt]") were first released in 1969 on Side A of Saturn ESR 507, Atlantis.  All tracks from this LP were reissued in 1973 on Impulse AS-9239 (except that the alternate version of "Yucatan" was substituted) and in 1993 on Evidence 22067 [CD], which includes both versions of "Yucatan" (these are completely different compositions; the Saturn "Yucatan" uses the same thematic material as the version of "Spontaneous Simplicity" on 169).  According to Peter Roberts, some copies of the Impulse Atlantis are hybrids with "Mu," "Lemuria," "Yucatan [alt]" and "Bimini" on Side A (matrix 9239-A) and Side B of The Magic City on Side B (Matrix 9239-B!).  "Yucatan [Impulse version]" was also used on a Sun Ra sampler released in 1997 by Paddle Wheel Records in Japan KICJ 315, Sun Ra Came Down to the Earth.

According to Michael Fitzgerald, the Hohner Clavinet was put on the market in 1967.  The personnel taken primarily from the Saturn jacket.  As for the location, a telephone can be heard ringing at the end of the alternate version of "Yucatan."  Hartmut Geerken points out that "Mu" was ineptly edited on the Impulse reissue and runs slightly longer there.  Geerken also says that what Michael Shore and others thought was an electric bass on "Yucatan" (original version) is actually two tightly interlaced African drum patterns!

The last two tracks were released around 1969 on Saturn 911-AR, a 45-rpm single by Sun Ra and his Astro-Solar-Infinity Arkestra.  The label mentions Inhfinity Incorporated, which was chartered in 1967.  The personnel were identified by ear by rlc.  The two tracks from the single were reissued in September 1996 on The Singles, Evidence 22164 [2 CDs].

Jothan Callins says that the Arkestra's rehearsals from 1966 through the move to Philadelphia (fall 1968) all took place at the Sun Studio at 48 East 3rd Street.

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed

Atlantis
Impulse LP AS-929

1. Mu   4:51
2. Lemuria   4:59 
3. Yucatan   3:44
4. Bimini   5:54

5. Atlantis   22:36

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Atlantis
Evidence CD ECD 22067-2

1. Mu   4:36
2. Lemuria   5:08
3. Yucatan (Saturn Version)   5:33
4. Yucatan (Impulse Version)   3:44
5. Bimini   5:51
6. Atlantis   21:52

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Art Jenkins has left the planet

 

Art (Arnold) Jenkins, a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra for 36 years, left the planet on April 13, 2012, a mere five days before his 79th birthday. He was a vocalist, lyricist, composer, poet, percussionist, and a deeply valued and respected member of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Art's vocals ranged from the classic big band variety to the avant-garde outer space offerings that he did using a space megaphone, which Art referred to as his "secret weapon".

Art Jenkins first joined the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1960 and his first recording as a member of the Arkestra was "Secrets of the Sun" in 1962. He was on 7 more recordings with the Arkestra through 1971. Art then took a break from the rigors of rehearsing and touring with Sun Ra, but he returned to the Arkestra again in 1988 and never looked away again from the creative and omniversal challenges of being an active Sun Ra Arkestra member. He recorded 7 more times with the Arkestra during his second stint, the last two being "A Song for the Sun" and "Music for the 21st Century" (both on the El Ra Records label).

"Solar Differentials" from Secrets of the Sun

Beyond the Arkestra, Art Jenkins self-produced the "Under the Sun" CD showcasing the quartet that he led between Arkestra engagements. He also demonstrated his lyrical skills with his moving composition on the "King" chart dedicated to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, which was recorded by the Brooklyn Repretory Ensemble on the "Pragmatic Optimism" CD (on the 360 Music label).

During a lifetime devoted to jazz, Art Jenkins performed at jazz festivals, concert halls, dance halls, night clubs, and on radio and TV shows. His energy and creativity will not be forgotten, but his presence will surely be missed by the legions of Sun Ra Arkestra fans and by the remaining members of the Sun Ra Arkestra.

Art Jenkins singing and speaking.  Thanks to CB & Brad in Chicago.


Art and Marshall participated in a panel discussion at Duke University in 2009.  Video of the event can be viewed here.

John Hope Franklin
Humaities Institute
September 25, 2009

Talking about Sun Ra

Marshall Allen - Sun Ra Arkestra
Art Jenkins - Sun Ra Arkestra
Fred Moten - English Department, Duke University
Introduction - Aaron Greenwald, Duke Performances

2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Discipline 27-II (1973)

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

Recorded during the same 1972 sessions as Impulse's Space Is the Place, Discipline 27-II is definitely cut from the same cloth. The title cut is a side-long space chant number (just like "Space Is the Place"), presumably recorded as one lengthy piece, although the tune itself is divided into three sections (radio edits?). Listeners also get another in the instrumental Discipline series (Ra composed and recorded many Disciplines throughout the '70s); this time it's "Discipline 8." "Neptune" is another great space chant ("Have you heard the latest thing from Neptune?"), but the standout track is "Pan Afro," a great blowing session built on Ra's trademark interlocking horn riffs. A tough one to find, Discipline 27-II is well-worth seeking out, especially for those who like Space Is the Place.
AMG Review by Sean Westergaard

This rip is courtesy of Paul W, who was kind enough to remove the track breaks within the title track. Many thanks, Paul!

196. [176]  Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra

Space Is the Place /
Discipline 27-II

Sun Ra (p, spae [Farfisa] org, Mini-Moog syn, Rocksichord, vocal dramatizing); Akh Tal Ebah (tp, flg, sp-mell, space ethnic voice); Lamont McClamb [Kwame Hadi] (tp, perc); Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); Danny Davis (as, fl, acl, perc); Larry Northington (as, cga, perc); John Gilmore (ts, d, space ethnic voice); Pat Patrick (ts, bars, fl, eb, voc); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl, libf, perc, voc); Eloe Omoe (bcl, fl, perc); Lex Humphries (d, perc); Robert Underwood [Aye Aton] (d); Harry Richards (d, perc); Alzo Wright (d, perc); Stanley Morgan [Atakatune] (cga, perc); Russell Branch [Odun] (cga, perc); June Tyson, Ruth Wright, Cheryl Banks, Judith Holton (space ethnic voices).

Streeterville Studios, Chicago,
October 19, 1972

Discipline 33 (Ra) [7:33 version]
Discipline 33 (Ra)
Space Is the Place (Ra) [SR, JT, SEV voc; tk. 2--16:33]
Space Is the Place (Ra) [SR, JT, SEV voc]

Discipline 8 [tk. 1--16:17]
[Ease Mind] East One (Ra) [12:15]
East Two (Ra) [15:12]
East Three (Ra) [7:10]
Discipline 27-II (Ra) [SR, SEV voc]
Images (Ra)

Neptune (Ra) [SEV voc]

197. [176a]  Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra 

Same personnel.

Streeterville Studios, Chicago,
October 20, 1972

Pan Afro (Ra) [earlier take -- 2:25]
Pan Afro (Ra)
Discipline 8 (Ra)
Piano of Never (Ra) [4:13]
Sea of Sounds (Ra)
Rocket Number Nine (Ra) [ens voc]

According to Allan Chase's interview with Ed Michel (the producer), this session ran a day and a half and produced enough material for four albums.  Location from the Impulse jacket; the personnel is a composite of the Blue Thumb and Saturn lists (which diverge only in minor ways).  Working from the session notes, Seth Markow provided a detailed breakdown of the session, including alternate takes and unissued pieces in the order in which they were recorded.  Markow says that "Discipline 27-II" was identified in the studio notes as "The Narrative."

Though only one such instrument is credited, there are two low clarinets on "Discipline 33."  One is Eloe Omoe (bcd).  The other is presumably Danny Davis (cal), though Pat Patrick could have used his "mistro-clarinet."  Thanks to Ed Michel and Alton Abraham for pointing out that Russell Branch and Odun were one and the same person.

Saturn LP 538, Discipline 27-II (surely the only quadraphonic-compatible Saturn!) was issued in 1973.  "Discipline 27-II" (a continuous piece that took up Side B of he Saturn) was sliced, apparently at random, into several bands (Markow says that this was imposed by the LP mastering engineer).  It includes a series of vocal chants that are given separate titles when performed in concert, such as "It's After the End of the World" and "Isn't Life Ridiculous?"

A German LP bootleg of Discipline 27-II (complete with fuzzy computer-mediated reproduction of the original Saturn cover) appeared toward the end of 1998.  Most likely this bootleg was perpetrated by the same individuals who released a bootleg LP of the Arkestra's Berlin concerts of July 22 and 23, 1982 on the quaintly named Ur-Anus label (se below).  On the bootleg the matrix numbers read 538 A, and 538 B, with other writing which looks like "DMM Q.P." on both sides.  The matrix numbers on the genuine Saturn issue were SR-538-A and SR-538-B.

A second Saturn LP was planned.  Title is not known, but very likely it was among the titles known to have been proposed by Saturn but not taken up by Impulse.
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Discipline 27-II
Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra

Saturn 538 (1973)

Side A:

Pan Afro (Ra) (8:05)

Discipline 8 (Ra) (8:17)

Neptune (Ra) (5:52)

Side B:

Discipline 27-II (Ra) (24:54)

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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


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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


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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

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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.