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)

-FLAC-
RS
HF


or


-320k-
RS
MF

2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Horizon (1972)

In 1971, in Denmark, at the end of a tour, Sun Ra suddenly decided to take his whole band to Egypt. They had no concerts and no contacts there but Ra sold some recording rights to Black Lion to pay for the tickets and they flew out. They were stopped at customs and their instruments were temporarily impounded but they were let through as tourists. Then they booked into a hotel facing the pyramid at Giza. Word got to Hartmut Geerken, then working at the Goethe institute, and he quickly threw a concert together at his house in Heliopolis, for which Brigadier Salah Ragab borrowed  army instruments for the Arkestra to play (he was later disciplined for it). Ra’s Moog had made it through customs and a Tiger Organ was hired. One of the audience (of 25) booked the band in for a Cairo TV session the following day. Then Ragab persuaded the Ministry of Culture to book a concert at the Balloon Theatre (for another tiny audience: only the first 4 rows were occupied). Two more concerts followed – at the American University (for the cab fare) and the Versailles Club. They stayed for more than a fortnight, making a film while they were there and finally, by band-members selling various personal items, raised the money to fly home.

Horizon (also known as Starwatchers and Sun Ra in Egypt Vol. 2) contains a big chunk of the now legendary Balloon Theatre concert (it burned down soon after their visit, as did the hotel in which the Arkestra stayed while they were in Cairo). The Balloon extract is an uncut block (tracks 1- 4 on the CD, side 1 of the LP) and features a lot of Sun Ra’s all-hell-let-loose Moog soloing, as well as a great version of Discipline 2. The rest of Horizon is from the Heliopolis concert, kicking off with an instrumental version of Enlightment and Love in Outer Space  (neither are on the original LP) segueing slowly into Space is the Place - followed by drum orchestra, more Ra soloing on Moog, Tiger Organ and detuned piano (bloops, hoovering, whistles, concords taking off) leading to a first lurching, then wild, Discipline 8. Two bonus tracks, for the first time restored from the original concert, follow: We’ll Wait for You (with June Tyson) and The Satellites are Spinning – which ends in full-on percussion. A classic recording of a classic band in great form.

from Jazzloft

The Closet of Curiosities blog recently posted an LP rip and included this wonderful LP cover pic.

Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Myth Science Solar Arkestra:
Horizon (Art Yard CD)

With the money obtained from Black Lion, the Arkestra was able to board the waiting plane and travel to Cairo, arriving in the evening of December 7, 1971. But they did not know anyone in Egypt and neither did they know where they were going to stay nor how they were going to pay for it. Szwed describes the scene:

When they landed they were held up at Egyptian customs because of the unlikelihood of an entire orchestra arriving as tourists and because of the name on Sun Ra’s passport. To be named after the sun god twice was really a bit too much. On the latter objection Sun Ra resourcefully suggested the guard call the curator of the National Museum of Antiquities with whom he was ready to discuss Egyptology. They let him in, but customs kept most of their instruments just in case. The band took cabs to the Mena House Hotel outside of Cairo, and they woke up the next day to see the morning fog slowly lifting to reveal the pyramid of Giza. A day later Tommy Hunter began taking motion pictures of members of the Arkestra as they faced the pyramids, while the wind made their costumes billow so it appeared they were flying. These were the films that Sun Ra would later project behind the band at Slug’s and at concerts (p.292).

Here is the film:

Thanks to Sun Ra fan, Hartmut Geerken, a German writer and free musician who was teaching at the Goethe Institute in Cairo, a series of performances were arranged, including an invitation-only concert at Geerken’s home in Heliopolis on December 12. While most of the Arkestra’s instruments were still being held by customs, they were aided by a most unlikely personage named Salah Ragab:

[He was] a brigadier general and the head of military music in the Egyptian army and himself a jazz drummer. Though he was later disciplined for the contact, he continued to meet with the band under various disguises, including once when he came with the son of [Egyptian President] Gamal Abdel Nasser, also a jazz musician. Musicians and dancers were jammed into the house with several dozen guests, but they still managed a light show and dancing, and a march throughout the house and into the garden (while the Egyptian secret police kept watch from outside) (pp.292-293).

The Arkestra also performed at the famed Ballon Theatre in Cairo on December 17 courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, who had cancelled ballet previously scheduled for that date (p.293). The concert was recorded from the stage (in mono) by Tommy Hunter and released on various impossible-to-find Saturn LPs over the years (see Campbell & Trent, pp.180-183). Most of this material was finally compiled onto a CD entitled, Horizon, and released by Art Yard in 2008. It is a truly special performance: after the cold, grueling tour of Europe, the Arkestra sounds well-rested and inspired by the ancient, mystical-- and warm -- environment. Ra sets the stage with some ominous electronics before a brief “Theme of the Stargazers” and a howling a cappella solo from Danny Davis on alto sax. The band then launches into “Discipline 2,” a moody and mysterious piece that begins with throbbing, densely harmonized horns which give way to a twittering flute choir before returning with a somber coda. Sonny then signals “The Shadow World” and we’re off to the races. This is a spectacular, seventeen minute rendition, with Ra driving the band hard and the ensemble responding with near-perfect execution of the extraordinarily complicated melody lines. Ra takes the lead with a skittering organ solo before an energetic group improvisation section that yields to Gilmore’s furiously wailing tenor sax. Yes, it’s another incredible Gilmore solo! Kwami Hadi also takes a turn on trumpet and acquits himself well, ranging around from high-wire acrobatics to smeared, low-register noodling before Ra signals the reprise. After a brief pause, Ra lightens the mood by moving into “Enlightenment,” which is joyfully taken up by June Tyson and her male choir. “Love In Outer Space” predictably follows and while this version lacks the menacing darkness heard in Paris, there’s plenty of exciting organ work and another tasty solo from Hadi.

Continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays

190. [166]  Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra
Horizon /
Nidhamu

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

Balloon Theater, Cairo,
December 17, 1971

Saturn 1217718 was issued in the mid-1970s on the Philadelphia label as Horizon.  It also appeared on the Chicago label as Saturn LP 849.  Some copies are titled Starwatchers; others had Live in Egypt Vol. III printed on the jacket by Danny Ray Thompson.  The band was identified on this release as "Sun Ra and his Arkestra."  A final LP release of Horizon took place in 1989; the serial number was Saturn 121771, there were red-and-green labels by the Hinds Brothers, and the press run was 300 copies (Geerken and Hefele).

The concert was taped by Tommy Hunter.  All titles from this album are also included on a 60-minute audience tape; Mark Webber points out that "The Shadow World" was edited on the LP.  A tape of "Starwatchers," "The Shadow World" (edited), and "Enlightenment" was played on WKCR-FM during the 1995 Sun Ra memorial broadcast.

The Ballon (sometimes called Balloon) was a huge inflatable tent, according to Geerken; Hunter confirms this.  Shortly after this concert, the theater burned to the ground.
from The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed. Campbell/Trent

Sun Ra - Horizon 
Art Yard CD (2008)

1.    Introduction / Theme of the Stargazers   1:22 

2.    Discipline #2    5:28 

3.    The Shadow World    16:42 

4. Enlightenment    2:37 

5.    Love In Outer Space    7:13 

6.    Third Planet    6:44 

7.    Space Is The Place    6:10 

8.    Horizon, Moog Solo    5:31 

9.    Discipline #8    11:22 

10. We'll Wait For You    1:38 

11. The Satellites Are Spinning    11:14

-FLAC-
RS

or

-320-
RS
MF

Click to Enlarge

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

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

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

Continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays

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

Live in Egypt Volume 1 /
Nidhamu

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

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

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

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

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

House of Hartmut Geerken, Heliopolis,

Cairo, Egypt, December 12, 1971

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

Live in Egypt Volume 1

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

TV broadcast, Cairo, December 16, 1971

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

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

FLAC

or

320

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

Sun Ra - Horizon (1972)

In 1971, in Denmark, at the end of a tour, Sun Ra suddenly decided to take his whole band to Egypt. They had no concerts and no contacts there but Ra sold some recording rights to Black Lion to pay for the tickets and they flew out. They were stopped at customs and their instruments were temporarily impounded but they were let through as tourists. Then they booked into a hotel facing the pyramid at Giza. Word got to Hartmut Geerken, then working at the Goethe institute, and he quickly threw a concert together at his house in Heliopolis, for which Brigadier Salah Ragab borrowed  army instruments for the Arkestra to play (he was later disciplined for it). Ra’s Moog had made it through customs and a Tiger Organ was hired. One of the audience (of 25) booked the band in for a Cairo TV session the following day. Then Ragab persuaded the Ministry of Culture to book a concert at the Balloon Theatre (for another tiny audience: only the first 4 rows were occupied). Two more concerts followed – at the American University (for the cab fare) and the Versailles Club. They stayed for more than a fortnight, making a film while they were there and finally, by band-members selling various personal items, raised the money to fly home.

Horizon (also known as Starwatchers and Sun Ra in Egypt Vol. 2) contains a big chunk of the now legendary Balloon Theatre concert (it burned down soon after their visit, as did the hotel in which the Arkestra stayed while they were in Cairo). The Balloon extract is an uncut block (tracks 1- 4 on the CD, side 1 of the LP) and features a lot of Sun Ra’s all-hell-let-loose Moog soloing, as well as a great version of Discipline 2. The rest of Horizon is from the Heliopolis concert, kicking off with an instrumental version of Enlightment and Love in Outer Space  (neither are on the original LP) segueing slowly into Space is the Place - followed by drum orchestra, more Ra soloing on Moog, Tiger Organ and detuned piano (bloops, hoovering, whistles, concords taking off) leading to a first lurching, then wild, Discipline 8. Two bonus tracks, for the first time restored from the original concert, follow: We’ll Wait for You (with June Tyson) and The Satellites are Spinning – which ends in full-on percussion. A classic recording of a classic band in great form.

from Jazzloft

Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Myth Science Solar Arkestra:
Horizon (Art Yard CD)

With the money obtained from Black Lion, the Arkestra was able to board the waiting plane and travel to Cairo, arriving in the evening of December 7, 1971. But they did not know anyone in Egypt and neither did they know where they were going to stay nor how they were going to pay for it. Szwed describes the scene:

When they landed they were held up at Egyptian customs because of the unlikelihood of an entire orchestra arriving as tourists and because of the name on Sun Ra’s passport. To be named after the sun god twice was really a bit too much. On the latter objection Sun Ra resourcefully suggested the guard call the curator of the National Museum of Antiquities with whom he was ready to discuss Egyptology. They let him in, but customs kept most of their instruments just in case. The band took cabs to the Mena House Hotel outside of Cairo, and they woke up the next day to see the morning fog slowly lifting to reveal the pyramid of Giza. A day later Tommy Hunter began taking motion pictures of members of the Arkestra as they faced the pyramids, while the wind made their costumes billow so it appeared they were flying. These were the films that Sun Ra would later project behind the band at Slug’s and at concerts (p.292).

Here is the film:

Thanks to Sun Ra fan, Hartmut Geerken, a German writer and free musician who was teaching at the Goethe Institute in Cairo, a series of performances were arranged, including an invitation-only concert at Geerken’s home in Heliopolis on December 12. While most of the Arkestra’s instruments were still being held by customs, they were aided by a most unlikely personage named Salah Ragab:

[He was] a brigadier general and the head of military music in the Egyptian army and himself a jazz drummer. Though he was later disciplined for the contact, he continued to meet with the band under various disguises, including once when he came with the son of [Egyptian President] Gamal Abdel Nasser, also a jazz musician. Musicians and dancers were jammed into the house with several dozen guests, but they still managed a light show and dancing, and a march throughout the house and into the garden (while the Egyptian secret police kept watch from outside) (pp.292-293).

The Arkestra also performed at the famed Ballon Theatre in Cairo on December 17 courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, who had cancelled ballet previously scheduled for that date (p.293). The concert was recorded from the stage (in mono) by Tommy Hunter and released on various impossible-to-find Saturn LPs over the years (see Campbell & Trent, pp.180-183). Most of this material was finally compiled onto a CD entitled, Horizon, and released by Art Yard in 2008. It is a truly special performance: after the cold, grueling tour of Europe, the Arkestra sounds well-rested and inspired by the ancient, mystical-- and warm -- environment. Ra sets the stage with some ominous electronics before a brief “Theme of the Stargazers” and a howling a cappella solo from Danny Davis on alto sax. The band then launches into “Discipline 2,” a moody and mysterious piece that begins with throbbing, densely harmonized horns which give way to a twittering flute choir before returning with a somber coda. Sonny then signals “The Shadow World” and we’re off to the races. This is a spectacular, seventeen minute rendition, with Ra driving the band hard and the ensemble responding with near-perfect execution of the extraordinarily complicated melody lines. Ra takes the lead with a skittering organ solo before an energetic group improvisation section that yields to Gilmore’s furiously wailing tenor sax. Yes, it’s another incredible Gilmore solo! Kwami Hadi also takes a turn on trumpet and acquits himself well, ranging around from high-wire acrobatics to smeared, low-register noodling before Ra signals the reprise. After a brief pause, Ra lightens the mood by moving into “Enlightenment,” which is joyfully taken up by June Tyson and her male choir. “Love In Outer Space” predictably follows and while this version lacks the menacing darkness heard in Paris, there’s plenty of exciting organ work and another tasty solo from Hadi.

Continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays

190. [166]  Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra
Horizon /
Nidhamu

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

Balloon Theater, Cairo,
December 17, 1971

Saturn 1217718 was issued in the mid-1970s on the Philadelphia label as Horizon.  It also appeared on the Chicago label as Saturn LP 849.  Some copies are titled Starwatchers; others had Live in Egypt Vol. III printed on the jacket by Danny Ray Thompson.  The band was identified on this release as "Sun Ra and his Arkestra."  A final LP release of Horizon took place in 1989; the serial number was Saturn 121771, there were red-and-green labels by the Hinds Brothers, and the press run was 300 copies (Geerken and Hefele).

The concert was taped by Tommy Hunter.  All titles from this album are also included on a 60-minute audience tape; Mark Webber points out that "The Shadow World" was edited on the LP.  A tape of "Starwatchers," "The Shadow World" (edited), and "Enlightenment" was played on WKCR-FM during the 1995 Sun Ra memorial broadcast.

The Ballon (sometimes called Balloon) was a huge inflatable tent, according to Geerken; Hunter confirms this.  Shortly after this concert, the theater burned to the ground.
from The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed. Campbell/Trent

Sun Ra - Horizon 
Art Yard CD (2008)

1.    Introduction / Theme of the Stargazers   1:22 

2.    Discipline #2    5:28 

3.    The Shadow World    16:42 

4. Enlightenment    2:37 

5.    Love In Outer Space    7:13 

6.    Third Planet    6:44 

7.    Space Is The Place    6:10 

8.    Horizon, Moog Solo    5:31 

9.    Discipline #8    11:22 

10. We'll Wait For You    1:38 

11. The Satellites Are Spinning    11:14

FLAC

or

320

Click to Enlarge

Sun Ra - Nature's God (1972)

Following the Arkestra's European tour of 1971, they boarded a plane to Cairo and arrived in Egypt on December 7, 1971.  These titles are taken from a private concert at the House of Hartmut Geerken, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt, December 12, and from a Cairo TV broadcast December 16, 1971.

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

From The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 2nd ed.

 

 

This Sun Ra rarity comes to Adventure-Equation by way of FREE DÉFENDU . Great blog - I recommend you go there and marvel at what they have to offer.

Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra
Live in Egypt 1
Dark Myth Equation Visitation
Nature's God
Saturn 1272
Thoth Intergalactic KH-1272 (1972)

Side A:
Discipline 27 (Ra)
Interview with Ra
Solar Ship Voyage (Ra)
Interview with Ra (concluded)
Cosmo-Darkness (Ra)
The Light Thereof (Ra)

Side B:
Friendly Galaxy No. 2 (Ra)
To Nature's God (Ra)
Why Go to the Moon? (Ra)

Sun Ra (Tiger org, Mini-Moog syn, upright p); Kwame Hadi (tp, cga;) Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); Danny Davis (as, fl); Larry Northington (as, cga); John Gilmore (ts, perc, d); Pat Patrick (bars, eb); Danny Thompson (bars, fl); Eloe Omoe (bcl, fl); Hakim Rahim (as, fl); Clifford Jarvis  (d, perc); Tommy Hunter (d, as); Lex Humphries (d); June Tyson (voc, dance); prob. Cheryl Banks (dance, voc); prob. Wisteria el Moondew [Judith Holton] (dancae, voc); Richard Wilkinson (light show).

Side A: TV broadcast, Cairo, 12/16/1971;
Side B: House of Hartmut Geerken, Heliopolis, Cairo, 12/12/71. [Info from Geerken and Stahl]

The first trip to Egypt immediately followed the second European tour of 10-12/71. Discipline 27 hasn't gone through mitosis yet; it opens with the riffs later called Discipline 27-II then moves on to what is now called Discipline 27. Friendly Galaxy No. 2 is a completely different piece from the original Friendly Galaxy, though it retains the modal exoticism. To Nature's God is a space ditty unrelated to the performance on MBWI [rlc; thanks to Mark Webber for a tape] 

From The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 1st & 2nd ed.

Please visit the fantastic blog FREE DÉFENDU for the lossless LP rip (and for many other Sun Ra goodies).

AIFF

or

320

Sun Ra - Discipline 27 II (1973)

Pathways friend, Paul W. has kindly offered another Saturn rarity - this one with several scans included.
Paul was kind enough to remove the track breaks within the title track. Many thanks, Paul!  Another note, these sessions also are the source for the Impulse! issue Space Is The Place.

Sun Ra-electronic keyb space instruments, space org, Mini-Moog, vocal dramatizing; Akh Tal Ebah-tp, flg, space ethnic voice; Lamont McClamb (Kwame Hadi)-tp, perc; Marshall Allen-as, fl; Danny Davis-as, fl; John Gilmore-ts, perc, space ethnic voice; Pat Patrick-bs, eb; Danny Ray Thompson-bs, fl; Eloe Omoe-bcl, fl; Alzo Wright-d; Harry Richards-d; Robert Underwood-d; Stanley Morgan (Atakatune)-perc, cga; Russell Branch-perc, cga; June Tyson, Ruth Wright, Judith Holton, Cheryl Banks-Space Ethnic Voices. treeterville Studio, Chicago, 10/19/72.
Part of a 1.5 day session under the supervision of Ed Michel that produced enough material for four albums. [Personnel from album jacket; location and date from Chase]
The album (unusually for a Saturn) was reviewed in Down Beat, 41 (1), 1/17/74, by Ray Townley, who called it a "lackluster session" and said "the worst feature... is the random slicing of the long title cut" into several bands, apparently in an effort to get airplay.

from Sun Ra Discog

Sun Ra and his Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra

Discipline 27-II

Saturn 538 (1973)

Side A:

Pan Afro (Ra) (8:02)

Discipline 8 (Ra) (7:56)

Neptune (Ra) (5:47)

Side B:

Discipline 27-II (Ra) (24:29)

FLAC
or
320k
see comments for new links