Sun Ra - Other Strange Worlds (Sneak Peek)

Previously unissued Sun Ra LP to be released by Roaratorio

Early 2014 should see the release of a previously unissued Sun Ra LP from 1966, entitled “Other Strange Worlds”. It will be released by Roaratorio. It draws from the same sessions as “Strange Strings” – perhaps the most singular recording in Ra’s entire canon – but while that album featured a full size Arkestra, this one finds Ra exploring similar territory with a small ensemble.

via WeirdoMusic

Side A

Other Strange Worlds (4:20)

Celestial Beings (4:44)

Thence, Thus And Ethereal (10:00)

Voice Within The Stars (3:28)

side B

The Other Beings (11:22)

Journey Amongst The Stars (8:59)

Sun Ra : percussion, strings, celeste, kalimba

John Gilmore : percussion, shakerae, cymbals

Marshall Allen : kora, oboe, percussion

Ali Hasaan : trombone, percussion

Art Jenkins : space voice, percussion

recorded 25 May 1965

Many Thanks to El Hombre Invisible for the heads-up!

Sun Ra - Mayan Temples (1990)

One of the finest Sun Ra recordings from his final years, this effort is particularly recommended due to the many Ra keyboard solos and John Gilmore features, the latter of which include a tenor showcase on "Opus In Springtime." Trumpeters Michael Ray and Ahmed Abdullah, altoist Marshall Allen and singer June Tyson also have their spots, and the repertoire consists of ten Ra originals (including a remake of "El Is the Sound of Joy") and three standard ballads. Overall, this is a fine all-around studio set. Recommended.

AMG review by Scott Yanow

677. [446]  Sun Ra Arkestra

Mayan Temples

Sun Ra (p, syn, voc); Michael Ray (tp, voc); Ahmed Abdullah (tp, voc); Tyrone Hill (tb, voc); Marshall Allen (as, fl, perc); Noël Scott (as, perc); John Gilmore (ts, timb, voc); James Jacson (bsn, Inf-d, voc); Jothan Callins (eb); Buster Smith (d); Clifford Barbaro (d); Jorge Silva (repinique, perc); Elson Nascimento (surdo grande, perc); Ron McBee (cga, perc); June Tyson (voc).

Mondial Sound, Milano, Italy
July 24-25, 1990

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

I think Michael Ray did an amazing job of mixing this LP.  I can't remember hearing another studio album that sounds as detailed and carefully crafted yet fully maintains the feel and energy of a live performance.

 Sun Ra Arkestra
Mayan Temples (1990)
Black Saint CD Reissue 120121-OD
2009

1.  Dance of the Language Barrier   3:58
2.  Bygone   5:16
3.  Discipline No. 1   4:58
4.  Alone Together   7:02
5.  Prelude To Stargazers   5:17
6.  Mayan Temples   7:40
7.  I'll Never Be The Same   4:57
8.  Stardust From Tomorrow   3:39
9.  El Is The Sound Of Joy   5:26
10. Time After Time   4:21
11. Opus In Springtime   6:42
12. Theme On The Stargazers   14:10
13. Sunset On The River Nile   5:43

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 Sun Ra Arkestra
Mayan Temples (1990)
Mo'Smog Records - 124020-1
2 x Vinyl, LP, Reissue
2002  Italy

 1.  A1 Sunset On The Night On The River Nile   5:42
2.  A2 Opus In Springtime   6:40
3.  A3 El Is The Sound Of Joy   5:23
4.  B1 Stardust From Tomorrow   3:39
5.  B2 Alone Together   7:01
6.  B3 Discipline No.1   4:54
7.  C1 Theme On The Stargazers   14:05
8.  C2 Time After Time   4:20
9.  D1 Dance Of The Language Barrier   3:57
10. D2 Mayan Temples   7:40
11. D3 Bygone   5:14


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2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Live in Paris at the "Gibus" (1975)

I believe most everyone agrees that this is an absolutely amazing album - stunning performances and great sound.

 Sun Ra (organ/electric vibraphone/space instruments/synthesizer/vocals) and his Intergalactic Space Research Arkestra are captured live in October of 1973 on this essential disc.  Not only are the sides uniformly inspired, but the track list bears a few interesting diversions, including seminal examples of Ra as both a performer and unequaled arranger. The mid-tempo dreamy and languid opener, "Spontaneous Simplicity," evolves around Ra's sublime organ and electric vibe runs. He places those against an unforced and otherwise limber wash of hand percussion as well as the understated yet solid pulse of Ronnie Boykins' bass. Ra's emphatic electric organ inflections herald the introduction to what is arguably the most haunting and poignant reading of "Lights on a Satellite" readily available. The flute section -- featuring Marshall Allen (alto sax/oboe/flute/piccolo), Danny Davis (alto sax/flute/alto clarinet), Danny Ray Thompson (baritone sax/flute), James Jacson (bassoon/flute/percussion), and Eloe Omoe (bass clarinet/flute) -- reel an edgy and trance-inducing melody into their sinuous lines. The entire affair simmers just below some glistens from Ra and a sax solo by John Gilmore (tenor sax/percussion). "Ombre Monde" (aka "Shadow World") dates back to the mid-'60s and allows Allen a platform for an extended lead that is sonically spurred on by Ra's motivated electric piano. Akh Tal Ebah's trumpet aggressions also make this version stand out. The truly phenomenal cover of Jelly Roll Morton's "King Porter Stomp" is a progressive score that builds on work done by Fletcher Henderson's definitive version. The Arkestra's compact presentation is stunning and Ra's complex score makes this flawless rendering all the more improbable. The bandleader offers up a vocal cosmic greeting on "Salutations From the Universe" which is swirled in an onslaught from the full ensemble. Ra's forceful keyboards are countered by some sharp and incisive contributions from the Arkestra. This segues into the benedictory "Calling Planet Earth" chant that is free jazz madness at its most effective. June Tyson's (vocals) voice can be picked out among the participants before Ra's brief solo conclusion. Although initially only pressed as a hard-to-find French import, Live in Paris at the Gibus was issued on CD in 2003 and is a highly recommended title for inclined parties.
AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

Sun Ra: Live In Paris at the “Gibus” (Atlantic—France/Universe CD)

Unlike the previous European tour (an extended sojourn which ranged widely across the continent, culminating in an impromptu trip to Egypt), the 1973 visit seems to have consisted of barely a handful of gigs in and around Paris. Also unlike the well-documented 1971 excursion, there were no high-profile radio broadcasts and very few amateur recordings survive. The tour likely began with the ill-fated Fête de l’Humanité at the end of September (possibly found on Transparency’s Lost Reel Collection Vol.5) and while Prof. Campbell mentions a 180-minute audience tape from the Nancy Jazz Festival on October 14, that’s about it (p.203) (and I haven't heard this tape). Otherwise, it seems the Arkestra settled into a multi-night stand at the famed Gibus Discotèque in Paris until their return to the states sometime in mid-to-late-October. Fortunately, the French division of Atlantic Records recorded a portion of this gig and released it as Live In Paris at the “Gibus” (Atlantic 40540) in 1975—but only in France (Id.). It remained an obscure collector’s item until 2003, when the Italian Comet label reissued it on CD on their Universe imprint in a deluxe, gatefold mini-LP package with excellent sound quality. Finally! This is one of the essential Sun Ra albums: an impeccable performance, well-recorded, documenting a crucial period in the Arkestra’s development.

It helps that the repertoire and sequencing is particularly inspired, possibly assembled by Sonny himself from several night’s recordings (he was, after all, a master of the razor blade and splicing tape). Who knows?—the liner notes are deliberately vague. The album begins with two of Ra’s most whimsically captivating compositions, both of which had been out of the setlists for a while and are now radically rearranged. “Spontaneous Simplicity” dispenses with the horn statements altogether and becomes a feature for Ra’s chiming organ and the “space-rhumba” groove is a bit looser, with Boykins leaning heavily on the riff. Suddenly, Ra goes into a frenetic double-time feel but the rhythm section keeps right with him to the end. An interesting re-imagining of this piece. The beautiful and tranquil “Lights On a Satellite” which follows is intricately through-composed, from the flute and trumpet harmonizations right down to the arco bass pedals and pitter-pattering percussion figures—and it is taken at a glacially slow tempo. The Arkestra sounds a little restrained but they deliver a note-perfect performance of this chamber-jazz masterpiece, one of my very favorite Sun Ra compositions.

A deft edit (indicative of Sun Ra’s hand) puts us smack in the middle of “The Shadow World” (mysteriously re-titled “Ombre Monde #2”), with Danny Ray Thompson’s baritone sax riffing just tailing off. John Gilmore comes in with another spine-tingling tenor solo, made all the more intense by Sun Ra’s insistently busy organ figuration. Kwami Hadi then solos on trumpet, easily holding his own against the rumbling thunderclouds and lightning flashes of electric organ but Sonny finally takes over with an apocalyptic fury before another surgically precise edit dramatically brings the track to an end. Wow! It would be nice to have the whole thing, but this is a powerfully edited fragment that stands alone as a coherent piece of music. Whether constructed by Ra or unknown French engineers, this is a bravura bit of record making.

(Continue reading at NuVoid: Sun Ra Sunday Album Review)

211. [185]  Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Research Arkestra

Live at the Gibus

Sun Ra (p, org, e-vib, space instruments, Mini-Moog syn, voc); Akh Tal Ebah (tp, flg); Kwame Hadi (tp, flg); Marshall Allen (as, fl, ob, picc, perc); Danny Davis (as, fl, acl); John Gilmore (ts, d); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl, perc); James Jacson (bsn, fl, Inf-d); Eloe Omoe (bcl, fl, perc); Ronnie Boykins (b); Alzo Wright (clo, vla, perc); Thomas Hunter (d); Odun [Russell Branch] (perc, cga); Roger Aralamon Hazoumé (perc, balafon, dance); Shahib (perc, cga); Math Samba (perc, dance); June Tyson (voc, dance); Space Ethnic Voices: Judith Holton, Cheryl Banks, Ruth Wright (voc, dance).

The Gibus, Paris, October 1973

Spontaneous Simplicity (RA)
Lights on a Satellite (Ra)
Ombre Monde #2 [The Shadow World] (Ra)
King Porter Stomp (Morton)
Salutation from the Universe (Ra) [Mini-Moog only]
Calling Planet Earth (Ra) [ens voc]

All tracks on Atlantic 40540, Live at the Gibus, which was released in 1975 in France only (release date from Geerken and Hefele).  Information from the jacket.
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Sun Ra L'Intergalactic Research Arkestra
Live in Paris at the "Gibus"
Universe UV 079 (1975) LP

1. A1 Spontaneous Simplicity   4:02

2. A2 Lights on a Satellite   5:30

3. A3 Ombre Monde #2   12:13

4. B1 King Porter Stomp   2:53

5. B2 Salutations from the Universe   14:50

6. B3 Calling Planet Earth   1:30

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Sun Ra L'Intergalactic Research Arkestra

Live in Paris at the "Gibus"

(Atlantic—France/Universe CD)

 

 1. Spontaneous Simplicity     4:05 

2. Lights On A Satellite     5:32 

3. Ombre Monde #2     12:18 

4. King Porter Stomp     2:53 

5. Salutations From The Universe     14:55 

6. Calling Planet Earth     1:29

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2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Song of the Stargazers (1979?)

Song of the Stargazers (Saturn 487 or sometimes 6161) was released in 1979 and is mostly a hodgepodge of various live recordings from the nineteen-seventies. But one track was obviously recorded much earlier, probably in 1967 or 1968, according to Prof. Campbell. Performed in a large, reverberant space in front of a sizable and enthusiastic audience, “Cosmo Dance” is an interesting quasi-modal composition featuring some evocative flute and oboe. Clacking wooden sticks set up a simple, repetitious rhythm with Boykins's bass and Pat Patrick’s “space lute” plucking out a droning three-note groove. Low horns and bowed bass enter with convulsively heaving whole-note fourths while flute and oboe and bass clarinet dance a medieval round. Flute and then oboe embark on expansive, Middle-Eastern sounding solos over the clacking sticks and throbbing bass/space lute, the audience bursting into spirited applause after each. Finally, the low horn/bowed bass whole-note fourths return, repeating several times before ending to more justifiably hearty ovation. Ra himself is not heard playing on this track, but the murky sound quality makes it hard to clearly make out who is doing what. Campbell says Marshall Allen is playing both flute and oboe, but that is impossible since both instruments are heard simultaneously during the ensemble section. So, is it Danny Davis on flute? It certainly sounds like him. There is also some talking barely audible throughout – is that Sun Ra lecturing the crowd or just random audience noise? In any event, this is a beautiful, prototypical Sun Ra composition of the period, perfectly realized by his Arkestra.
from NuVoid's Sun Ra Sunday (July 26, 2009)


135. [229d]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Song of the Stargazers

Marshall Allen (fl, ob); Robert Cummings (bcl); Pat Patrick (space lute); Ronnie Boykins (b); poss. John Gilmore (perc); unidentified (perc).

Live, 1967 or 1968

Cosmo Dance (Ra)

This is a late 1960s number; the bass clarinetist is not Eloe Omoe!  Personnel identified by rlc and Larry Nai.

Saturn LP 487, Song of the Stargazers, was the last new Saturn release on the Chicago label.  It was issued before 1981, most likely in 1979.  Some copies bear the serial number 6161 (NMY).  Mark Webber calls it a "mystery album."

289. [229]  Sun R and his Arkestra

Song of the Stargazers

Sun Ra (p, syn, org); prob. Michael Ray (tp); unidentified (tp); Craig Harris (tb); Tyrone Hill (tb -1); poss Vincent Chancey (Fr hn); Marshall Allen (as, fl, ob, picc, perc); Danny Davis (as, perc); John Gilmore (ts, perc); Eloe Omoe (bcl); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, perc); James Jacson (bsn, Inf-d); Damon Choice (vib); prob. Dale Williams (eg); poss. Luqman Ali [Edward Skinner] (d); unidentified (d); unidentified (cga); unidentified (sticks).

Live, 1979

The Others in Their World (Ra)
Galactic Synthesis (Ra) -1

…The only known copies of the LP are in Europe: "Maybe Saturn produced it in a very limited edition and they sold it while touring through Europe" (Geerken).  And all known copies are defective; Julien Vein says that the LP may have been mastered on only one stereo channel.

These particular items seem to be from the same live concert, and are similar in sound and conception to the free improvisations on the Soundscape sessions from November 1979.

The first discographical listing came from Tilman Stahl, who apparently took the misleading title "The Others in Their World" (which is not the 1960 composition) and the serial number 6161 to indicate that the album was recorded in Chicago in 1961!  Geerken and Hefele place the album in the late '60s and claim a 1970 release date.  The label, however, is a rather tattered El Saturn that was characteristic of the last Chicago pressings in the late 1970s.

290. [229a]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Song of the Star Gazers

Sun Ra (p.)

Studio recording, unknown date

Somewhere Out (Ra)

This rather unusual solo piano piece could have been recorded anywhere between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s.  No further information is available.

291. [229b]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Song of the Stargazers

Sun Ra (p.); unidentified (eg); unidentified (b); unidentified (perc).

Live, mid-1970s

Distant Stars (Ra)

This fragment from a live concert has a mid-1970s feel to it.  There is no connection with the 1960 or 1961 composition called "Distant Stars."

292. [229c]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra

Song of the Stargazers

poss. Atakatune [Stanley Morgan] (perc, voc); poss. Odun [Russell Branch] (perc, voc); poss. Chiea (perc, voc -1).

Studio recording, prob. 1970s

Duo (Ra)
Seven Points (Ra) -1 [ens voc]

These two numbers feature the same percussionists, playing in a manner that is unusual for Arkestra members.  On "Seven Points" they contribute some vocalizing as well.  "Seven Points" as a title is reminiscent of "The Place of Five Points," which was recorded in 1979.  If the percussionists are in fact Atakatune, Odun, and Chiea, a recording date in 1972 or 1973 is most likely.
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Duo

Sun Ra and his Arkestra
Song of the Stargazers
Saturn 487 or 6161 (unknown year, poss. 1979 - 1980)

1. The Others In Their World   10:14
2. Somewhere Out   4:40
3. Distant Stars   1:01
4. Duo   3:04
5. Seven Points   4:49
6. Cosmo Dance   6:31
7. Galactic Synthesis   9:52

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Sun Ra - Live at Praxis '84

This 2CD set documents an amazing Sun Ra Arkestra performance in all their mid-80s splendor. The sound quality is a bit dodgy in places but overall is quite good (especially compared to most other live Sun Ra albums.) At this point in his long, varied, and mysterious career, Sunny was presenting epic-length concerts melding all his influences into one big beautiful musical happening. There are the classic "space jazz" free-form jams with high-register reed pyrotechnics and synthesizer explorations. There are the inevitable hypnotic (and danceable!) "Space Chants". The loose blues jams. Even a gorgeous and tender (yet edgy?) Sun Ra piano solo of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." You'll be movin' your feet to the romping, tribal "Nuclear War". There's more: a lightning speed jam on "Big John's Special" ...Respectful interpretations of "Satin Doll" and "Days of Wine and Roses"...Fun and games with "Mack the Knife"...a lovely "untitled improvisation"... folks, if it's Sun Ra it's here at its best.

Initially released as a 3-album set, the performance was recorded on February 27, 1984, at the Orpheus Theatre, in Athens, Greece.  There is only one brass player - Ronnie Brown (trumpet) - with the saxophones of Marshall Allen, John Gilmore and Danny Ray Thompson being prominently featured in the free jazz, funk and swing.  A healthy dose of standards - Mack the Knife, Over the Rainbow, Satin Doll, Day of Wine and Roses - keeps the focus on Sun Ra's vision of the continuum of music. This is an outstanding 2-CD set to delve into the mid-1980s version of the Arkestra and the incredible journey they delivered to the audience on the world stage.

amazon reviews

409. [305]  The Sun Ra Arkestra

Live at Praxis'84 Vol. I / II / III

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

Orpheus Theater, Athens, Greece,
February 27, 1984

          *Praxis CM 108, Golden Years GY05
untitled improvisation [Inf-d, bcl]
Discipline 27-II /
Children of the Sun (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
Nuclear War (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
unidentified blues (Ra)
Fate In a Pleasant Mood (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
Yeah, Man! (Sissle-Henderson)
Space Is the Place / We Travel the Spaceways (Ra) /
Outer Spaceways Incorporated (Ra) /
Next Stop Mars (Ra) [SR, ens voc]

          *Praxis CM 109, Golden Years GY05
untitled improvisation [kora]
untitled improvisation [EVIs]
Discipline 27 (Ra)

          *Praxis CM 109, Golden Years GY06
Mack the Knife (Brecht-Weill-Blitzstein) [JJ, SR voc]
Cocktails for Two (Coslow-Johnston) [p, Allen, as only]
Over the Rainbow (Harburg-Arlen) [p only]
Satin Doll (Ellington-Strayhorn)

          *Praxis CM 110, Golden Years GY06
Big John's Special (H. Henderson)
Carefree [Egyptian Fantasy] (Ra)
Dahys of Wine and Roses (Mancini)
Theme of the Stargazers (Ra) /
The Satellites Are Spinning (Ra) [SR, ens voc]
They'll Come Back (Ra) [JT voc]
Enlightenment (Dotson-Ra) [JT, JG voc]
Strange Mathematics, Rhythmic Equations (RA)
[SR, ens voc]

Praxis CM 108, Live at Praxis'84 Vol. I, was issued in 1984.  Praxis CM 109, Live at Praxis'84 Vol. II, came out in 1985, and CM 110, Live at Praxis'84 Vol. III appeared in 1986.  Praxis was a Greek label run by Kostas Yiannoulopoulos.  The concert has been reissued as a double CD: Live at Praxis '84, Golden Years 05/06.  (Golden Years is an offshoot of Leo Records.)  Date, Location and personnel from the album jackets. There are no track titles on the LPs; titles were supplied by rlc.  According to Hartmut Geerken, the concert also featured an elaborate light show.

Although this is the first known recording of "Mack the Knife," Vladimir Simosko reports a similar performance of the number in New York City in 1981.  There is some question about the correct title of "Egyptian Fantasy" (which was so labeled on the elemental/t.e.c. release from 1990).  The piece was announced as "Carefree" on a number of occasions and that title is used by Michael Ray's Cosmic Krewe, which continues to play the piece.  Thanks to ct for pointing this out. 

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

The Sun Ra Arkestra - Live at Praxis '84 (CD)
Golden Years GY05/06
Thanks to Paul W for sharing!

1.  Untitled Improvisation 1   4:24
2.  Discipline 27-II / Children of the Sun   4:56
3.  Nuclear War   4:32
4.  Unidentified Blues   5:27
5.  Fate in a Pleasant Mood   9:31
6.  Yeah, Man!   2:52
7.  Space is the Place/ We Travel the Spaceways/Outer Spaceways Incorporated/Next Stop Mars   4:57
8.  Untitled Improvisation 2   4:25
9.  Untitled Improvisation 3   7:34
10. Discipline 27   8:22
11. Mack the Knife   8:08
12. Cocktails for Two   4:25
13. Somewhere Over the Rainbow   4:05
14. Satin Doll   6:39
15. Big John's Special   3:55
16. Carefree (Egyptian Fantasy)   9:42
17. Days of Wine and Roses   6:10
18. Theme of the Stargazers/The Satellite are Spinning   8:53
19. They'll Come Back   1:46
20. Enlightenment / Strange Mathematics / Rhythmic Equations   7:08

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The Sun Ra Arkestra - Live at Praxis '84 (LP)
Vinyl Lovers 2010 Reissue

1.   Improvisation for the Children of the Sun   9:13
2.   Unidentified Blues   5:26
3.   Fate in a Pleasant Mood   6:15
4.   Yeah Man!   2:52
5.   Space is the Place/We Travel the Spaceways/Outer Spaceways Incorporated/Next Stop Mars   4:46
6.   Improvisation to the Discipline 27   20:12
7.   Cocktails for Two   4:14
8.   Somewhere over the Rainbow   3:52
9.   Big John's Special   3:44
10.  Carefree (Egyptian Fantasy)   9:30
11.  Satin Doll   6:37
12.  Days of Wine and Roses   6:06
13.  Mack the Knife   7:57

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Sun Ra - The Other Side of the Sun (1980)

The Other Side of the Sun is a great example (among many) of Ra's ability to deftly use traditional Big Band Jazz as a launch pad for his exploratory adventures.  The wonderful sound and inclusion of some standards makes this a nice choice as an introduction for those unfamiliar and wary of Ra's reputation for expressing Interstellar Chaos through music.

Space Fling

The Sun Ra Arkestra looks both forwards and backwards in time on this obscure small label LP. Ten years earlier, one could not have imagined Ra and his men romping through "On the Sunny Side of the Street" or reinventing "Flamingo." However, those versions certainly sound quite original, and there is no mistaking the band for any other orchestra on "Space Fling," "Manhattan Cocktail" and the trademark "Space Is the Place." The music on this album features a version of the Arkestra consisting of six reeds (including John Gilmore and Marshall Allen), three trumpets (including Michael Ray and Eddie Gale), two trombones (with a young Robin Eubanks), the French horn of Vincent Chancey, guitarist Dale Williams, three bassists, four percussionists, singer June Tyson and the leader's keyboards. A stimulating set.

AMG Review by Scott Yanow

Manhattan Cocktail

281. [224]  Sun Ra and his Arkestra
Sun Ra (p, Fender Rhodes ep, perc, bells, voc); Walter Miller (tp); Michael Ray (tp); Eddie Gale (tp); Tony bethel (tb); Robin Eubanks (tb); Vincent Chancey (Fr hn); Marshall Allen (as, fl); Danny Davis (as, fl); John Gilmore (ts, timb); James Jacson (bsn, fl, Inf-d); Eloe Omoe (bcl, as); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl, perc); Dale Williams (eg); Oscar Brown Jr. (eb); Bob Cunningham (b); Ben "Jereeboo" Henderson [Jeribu Shahid] (b); Atakatune (cga, perc); Luqman Ali (d, perc); William Goffigan (perc); Eddie Thomas (perc); June Tyson (voc).

Blue Rock Studios, NYC,
November 1, 1978
and January 4, 1979

Space Fling (Ra)
Flamingo (Grouya-Anderson)
Space Is The Place (Ra) [JT voc]
The Sunny Side of the Street (McHugh)
Manhattan Cocktail (Ra)

Sweet Earth SER 1003, The Other Side of the Sun, was released in 1980.  All information from the album jacket.  Personnel is collective, and it is not known at which session individual tracks were recorded.  It is a reasonable bet, however, that "Space Fling" was made on November 1.

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Sun Ra
The Other Side of the Sun
Sweet Earth SER 1003 (1980)

1. Space Fling   7:38
2. Flamingo   4:43
3. Space Is The Place   9:48

4. The Sunny Side Of The Street   9:35
5. Manhattan Cocktail   9:54

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 This is a rip that I found online (in some far off [unknown] place, many light-years in space).  I attempted my own rip but this sounds much better than what my copy would yield.  Many THANKS to the original ripper.

Aren't these pictures of the band playing before Bill Sebastian's OVC amazing?

More OVC here.

Sun Ra - Space Poetry and The Immeasurable Equation

In celebration of the 99th anniversary of Sun Ra's arrival on our Earthly plane.

Sun Ra’s wordplay, poetry, and language equations are as entertaining and thought provoking as his music and all seem to be parts of the same creation/presentation. I don’t think you can fully appreciate Sun Ra's music without also considering this poetry as an element of the grand equation.

With this in mind I would like to share not only the recordings below but what is perhaps my most treasured piece of Sun Ra ephemera, the small self-published volume of The Immeasurable Equation originally sold at Arkestra concerts around 1980.  This particular edition includes 81 poems on as many pages, printed on the rainbow's envy of colored construction paper.

Strange Worlds in My Mind

The Sub Dwellers

The Outer Darkness

The Immeasurable Equation (1980)

pdf
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"My Music is Words" - The Poetics of Sun Ra
by Nathaniel Earl Bowles (2008)


In addition, don't miss out on Charles Blass' 6-hour Arrival Day celebration:
OMNIVERSE MYSTERY NINETY-NINE INFINITY

ESP Sun Ra Radio Tribute - 14 hrs in 6 Parts

After receiving a few requests from interested readers to re-up portions of this series, I decided that featuring the entire collection of webcasts in one post would help to bring some attention to this marvelous historical narrative.  Several years ago, Arkestra member and official Sun Ra archivist, Michael D. Anderson, "The Good Doctor," enhanced the ESP-Disc website with a 14-hour Sun Ra retrospective.  In this unprecedented audio documentary, The Good Doctor presents a timeline of Sun Ra's career featuring both classic releases and unheard nuggets from the Archive.  The tribute is divided into 6 parts, each approximately 2 hours for a total of 14 hours of amazing information and music.  Throughout the broadcasts, Michael D. Anderson relates biographical information about Ra and shares many anecdotes of his time with the Arkestra; I find these are particularly interesting and entertaining.

A few of my favorite moments from these broadcasts have already been featured here.  You might remember Rusty Morgan's "Blame Shame" or the Arkestra's remarkable performances of I Roam the Cosmos (if you missed these, rectify!).  There are plenty more incredible rarities peppered throughout these broadcasts.  If you are interested in reviewing the playlist for each segment, please click the 'part #' below each stream to be whisked away to the original post where you will find newly refreshed download options.  Each post features the original master tape offered in both FLAC and 320k mp3 as well as an mp3 audio stream of the show.

If listening to the entire transmission in one sitting doesn't suit your schedule, please consider bookmarking this page so that you can easily return for future listens.  Or if you happen to have 14 hours to spare... click & enjoy!

MANY THANKS to our friend, I-), for sending me these wonderful recordings.

ESP Sun Ra Radio Tribute - 14 hrs in 6 Parts

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6

Sun Ra - Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Vol. 2 (1971)

While Sun Ra was struggling to find an audience stateside, Willis Conover had enlisted Sonny (amongst others) into Uncle Sam’s Cold War cultural army, broadcasting the Arkestra’s records regularly on Voice of America and, by 1970, Europe had become a more welcoming environment for American jazz musicians than their native country. Conover and his wife had been instrumental in securing Sonny’s Carnegie Hall debut in 1968 and had been urging him to travel to Europe ever since. When they offered to arrange for the Arkestra to appear at the prestigious Fondation Maeght in the south of France for three concerts in August 1970, Ra eagerly accepted.

The only problem was: how does Sun Ra, a being from the planet Saturn, go about obtaining a passport? Szwed describes the impossible scene:

When they filled out the forms at the passport office in New York City, the clerk at the desk said to Sun Ra, “Sir, you’re going to have to give us better information that this. We need your parents’ names, your birth date…” [Dancer] Verta Mae Grosvenor recalled that Sun Ra said, “‘That *is* the correct information.’ After a few minutes, the clerk went back to speak with her supervisor. The supervisor was no-nonsense, but after talking to Sun Ra she said, ‘Sir, why don’t you come back in a few hours.’ When we came back there was another person there and he knew about it, and he said, ‘We’ll just give you the passport.’ It just got so out that they just gave it to him!”

That passport gained talismanic force over the years, and musicians shook their heads when they saw it. Talvin Singh, an English tabla player, said: “His philosophy was that either you be part of the society or you don’t. And he wasn’t part of it. He created his own. I mean, I actually saw his passport and there was some weird shit on it. It had some different stuff.” (p.278)

Passport in hand, Ra and a nineteen-member Arkestra traveled to St. Paul de Vence and performed three concerts on August 3, 4, and 5, 1970. The Fondation Maeght is one of the finest small museums in the world and, with its focus on blue-chip modernism, Ra’s appearance in such a venue indicated a certain acceptance into the privileged domain of the European avant garde. The concerts were professionally recorded for broadcast by the state-sponsored radio station and portions were later released on LP as Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Volumes 1 and 2 by the French Shandar label in 1971. These records have been widely bootlegged ever since and my CDs on the Italian Universe label are probably “gray market” bootlegs as well, but they sound fine and are sumptuously packaged in heavyweight, gatefold mini-LP sleeves. As of this writing, they remain in print and are well worth seeking out.

Campbell (p.162) insists that Volume 2 comes from the August 3rd concert (Volume 1 is from August 5th) and having no reason to disagree, we will begin with Volume 2. Campbell also lists a number of tracks contained on the original radio broadcast and an audience tape, but I have not heard this material. Again, Szwed provides a vivid description of Sun Ra’s outrageous presentation and the decidedly mixed reaction it generated:

The audience had little or no knowledge of Sun Ra’s music, since his records
weren’t widely distributed in France, and when they arrived they saw the Arkestra spread out before them like elaborate décor: musicians in red tunics, seated in a forest of instruments on stage, dancers in red dresses. On a screen behind them was projected a sky full of stars, then planets, children in Harlem, Indians on hunting trips, and newsreel footage of protests; a ball of “magic fire” rose slowly up to the ceiling; saxophonists began to battle like Samurai, then came together like brothers; and in the still center of it all, Sun Ra sat behind the Moog, creating the sounds of gales, storms, and waves crashing. From the very first note, an agitated woman stood up and cried out, “What is this?” Afterwards, she came up and insisted on seeing the written music. Europeans seemed to want to know whether there was music behind what they were hearing, as if it would assure them that this was rational activity, and Sonny was always happy to show them the scores. A man once blurted out that his “five-year-old daughter could play that!” Sun Ra readily agreed: “She could play it, but could she write it?” (p.279)

 Friendly Galaxy No. 2

The album opens with “Friendly Galaxy No.2,” a fascinating piece only tangentially related to the first “Friendly Galaxy,” which originally appeared on Secrets of the Sun in 1965. After a burbling organ introduction, the composition moves to a choir of flutes improvising over Ra’s languid piano, Alan Silva’s whining cello, and with a simple but rhythmically insistent trumpet motif recurring throughout. Meanwhile, the rest of the band establishes an exotic space-groove on bass, drums, tympani, and hand percussion. The effect is otherworldly and quite mesmerizing. In an interview with Jazz magazine in November 1970, Sun Ra described how he tailored this piece to the unique qualities of the venue:

One of the things which most impressed listeners at the Fondation Maeght is the passage for six flutes ad lib, six flutes playing in harmony. I could say improvising in harmony. I’m inspired by it to do something else which would be totally different. I believe it’s a musical idea which would be totally different. I believe it’s a new way of using flutes. It’s at once both very melodic and harmonious and at the same time so distant, as if the music was heard in the distance through a sort of mist. It’s so “out of this world.”

Curious thing, the flutes had never played this passage with the piano, but because of the peculiar acoustics in the room I knew that it would be absolutely necessary that I play at the same time because the flutes would be bothered by an echo that the audience fortunately wouldn’t hear at all. So above this the trumpets entered in, played a sort of ad lib riff because this light echo didn’t allow them to understand the rhythm. (quoted in Szwed pp.279-280)

“Friendly Galaxy No.2” would be performed several times over the next couple of years only to disappear from the repertoire. Too bad as it is truly a unique work, with the massed flutes and brass technique demonstrating Ra’s audacious genius at orchestration. “Spontaneous Simplicity” follows (out of sequence, according to Campbell) and although this version doesn’t devolve into the kind of proto-No Wave skronk heard on the Electric Circus tape from 1968, this a fine performance with the massive ensemble sections sounding particularly powerful and precise. After the opening statement, Sun Ra leads the way with a buzzing Rocksichord solo as the rest of the Arkestra picks up percussion instruments to buoy the hypnotic, one-note bassline. The music grooves along for a delirious eleven minutes, ending to some genuinely enthusiastic applause.

(Continue reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sunday)

169. [151]  Sun Ra
Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Volume II

Sun Ra (p, Hohner Clavinet, Rocksichord, Farfisa org, Mini-Moog syn, voc); Kwame Hadi (tp); Akh Tal Ebah (tp, cnt); Marshall Allen (as, fl, picc, ob, perc); Danny Davis (as, fl, perc); John Gilmore (ts, d, voc); Robert Cummings (bcl, perc); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl, libf); Absholom Ben Shlomo [Virgil Pumphrey] (cl, fl, as); Pat Patrick (bars, bcl, as, ts, fl, cl, perc); James Jacson (cl, fl, ob, bsn, perc); Alan Silva (b, clo, vln); Rashid Salim IV [William Brister] (vib, d); Nimrod Hunt [Carl S. Malone] (hand drums); John Goldsmith (d, tymp); Lex Humphries (d, perc); June Tyson (dance, voc); Gloristeena Knight [Ife Tayo] (dance, voc); Verta Grosvenor (space goddess, dance, voc).

Fondation Maeght, St. Paul de Vence,
France, August 3, 1970

unidentified title
Enlightenment (Dotson-Ra) [JG, JT voc]
Spontaneous Simplicity (Ra)
Outer Spaceways Incorporated (Ra) [SR voc]
Friendly Galaxy No. 2 (Ra)
Watusi (Pitts-Sherrill)
Nothing Is (Ra) [ens voc]
We Travel the Spaceways (Ra) [ens voc]
The World of Lightning (Ra)
Black Myth (Ra) [JT voc]:
   The Shadows Took Shape
   This Strange World
   Journey Through the Outer Darkness
Sky (Ra)
Ra Ra Ra (Ra) [ens voc]

Shandar SR 10.003, Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Volume II, was released in 1971.  There was a limited-edition German bootleg reissue (Fondation Maeght Nights Volume II) in 1992 on Jazz View COD 007 [CD].  Personnel from the Shandar Jacket; Thompson is credited with playing "bassoon," meaning the Neptunian Libflecto.  Jacson presumably played an unmodified bassoon.  Shandar 83505 (1970s) included "The World of the Lightning," "Black Myth," and "Sky."  Thanks to Vlad Simosko for a tape of the French radio broadcast and to Julian Vein for information about the audience tape. The Fondation Maeght appearance was not part of a tour; the Arkestra's first European tour began in October.
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Sun Ra
Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Volume II
Universe (Comet Records) UV 081 (CD) (2003)

1. Friendly Galaxy Number 2   8:47
2. Spontaneous Simplicity   10:51
3. The World Of The Lightening   6:55
4. Black Myth   8:37
5. Sky   2:04

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