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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Dr. Thomas Stanley Interviewed - The Execution of Sun Ra

Early this summer, Dr. Thomas Stanley mounted a Kickstarter to fund his current book project: The Execution of Sun Ra - "A personal meditation and scholarly commentary on the late jazz icon's enduring contributions to the beleaguered humans of planet Earth." 

Dr. Stanley's most recent update at Kickstarter included a link to the interview below.  His update also included the exciting news that the book will include pictures by Lee Santa and perhaps by one-time official Arkestra photographer, Leon Collins.

Guest scholar Thomas Stanley assistant professor of Sound Art and Consciousness in the School of Art at George Mason University discusses his new project, The Execution of Sun Ra.

Biography (Kickstarter)

Thomas Stanley is an assistant professor of sound art and consciousness in the School of Art at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He conducted his doctoral research on Butch Morris and his art of Conduction. He is co-author of George Clinton and P-Funk: An Oral History and has written and lectured extensively on emerging musical cultures. As an artist, performer, and curator, Stanley has been an integral part of a burgeoning experimental music scene along the Baltimore-Washington corridor. His work attempts to exploit the capacity of sound and music for anchoring, framing, and energizing our subjective experience of macrotemporal texture (history). Currently, within the trio Mind Over Matter Music Over Mind, he constructs and deploys sampled and electronically generated music.

Thomas Stanley is a founding member of Transparent Productions, a not-for-profit volunteer collective that has produced over 200 improvised jazz and experimental music concerts throughout the DC metro area since 1997. He has contributed to Point of Departure and Signal to Noise magazines and is included in the books Live Movies, Erotique Noire, and Beyond the Frontier: African-American Poetry for the Twenty-First Century. Stanley throws it up at musicovermind.org. He is also featured as a source in Stranger, a documentary film about seminal P-Funk and Talking Heads keyboardist Bernie Worrell.

2nd Chance: Sun Ra - St. Louis Blues (Solo Piano vol. 2) (1978)

In 1977 Sun Ra recorded two LPs of solo piano for the enterprising Improvising Artists label.  Of the two, I prefer Solo Piano Volume 2, St Louis Blues IAI373858, reissued on CD.  It is a live recording - a videotape release of the performance has also been available from IAI.  There is real purpose to the music here, from 'Ohosnisixaeht' (the recording venue spelt backwards!), to the closing 'Thoughts On Thoth'.
from Chris Trent's 'Another Shade of Blue'

 On July 3, 1977, Sun Ra shared a bill with Paul Bley at Axis-In-Soho as part of the Newport in New York Festival, which was recorded by Bley’s Improvising Artists label. A portion of Sun Ra’s set was released on LP in 1978 as St. Louis Blues: Solo Piano, Volume 2 (IAI 37.38.58) and reissued on CD in 1993 (IAI 123858) (Campbell & Trent pp.236-237). If Solo Piano, Volume 1 was an introspective studio album, Sun Ra is in an expansive, playful mood in front of a live audience. As Szwed points out in his biography, “Bley was surprised to see that once he was alone on stage, ‘Sonny was a ham who liked to clown and surprise the audience’” (Szwed p.343) and there is a bit of that to be found here.

Ra’s passagework is startlingly virtuosic, displaying an astonishing independence of fingers and hands and extreme sensitivity of touch, although it sometimes comes across a bit empty and showy. “Ohosnisixaeht” is a rhapsodic blues with impressively fleet soloing, but the music wanders rather than gets anywhere. W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues” is better, updated with a complex, polytonal arrangement. The simple “Three Little Words,” a 1930s showtune by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar is given an over-the-top reinterpretation that borders on corny, full of melodramatic glissandos and skittering block chords but always returning to that sweet, sweet swing. Side one closes with a short, romantic rendition of “Honeysuckle Rose” that alternates between rubato schmaltz and breezy ragtime.

B1  Sky and Sun

Side two is more interesting, containing three originals that show off Sun Ra’s compositional skills as well as his brilliant keyboard work. “Sky and Sun” is onomatopoeic: drifting chords represent the sky and twinkling figures in the uppermost register represent the sun. This track is really quite evocative and it sounds he could do this sort of stuff all day long. Ra summons up an entire Arkestra on “I Am We Are,” from rumbling bass notes, scraping “strange strings” and  exquisitely voiced harmonies to outrageous, free-jazz scree, with moments of two-fisted aggression a la Cecil Taylor—a tour de force and probably the best thing on the album. “Thoughts On Thoth” ends the album with a slow space groove, articulated with remarkably fluid right-hand flourishes. It’s a brilliant display, but feels a little perfunctory to me.  
Continue Reading at Sun Ra Sundays

Just as his reputation on he synthesizer was growing, Sun Ra began to play more piano again, and in a style that reached back further in jazz tradition than most would have suspected.  But those who had known him for years understood that his origins were in the blues, and assumed that side of his playing: "Sun Ra could play the blues for twenty four hours without repeating a phrase," they claimed.  Though many recognized him as capable of playing bombastically, and of using the piano for color, few thought of him as a major player.  But Paul Bley, one of the two or three leading pianists of free jazz, believed that Sonny was a great piano player, so great that he didn't need a band.  If anything, he felt, the band was a cover for his insecurity.  Early in 1977 Bley convinced Sonny to do a series of piano duo performances with him in New York and Europe and to record for Bley's new audio and video company, Improvising Artists.  In Europe Bley was surprised to see that once he was alone on stage, "Sonny was a ham who liked to clown and surprise the audience -- as at Lake Como, where he shocked them by playing a cake walk!"  On May 20 Sun Ra went into the studio to record Solo Piano, and played a mixture of his own compositions and some unusually conceived standards, such as a very freely played "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child," or "Yesterdays" done in a brisk stride.  On July 3 he was recorded solo (St. Louis Blues) while playing at Axis-in-Soho as part of the Newport Jazz Festival, and again there were surprises: his "St. Louis Blues" aluded to Earl Hines's famous boogie-woogie version and a cheerful little love song like "Three Little Words" got turned into a melodrama.  But there were modest experiments in keyboard resources as well, such as "Sky and Sun," which stayed almost entirely within a small range at the top of the keyboard.

from Szwed - Space Is The Place p. 342-343

248. [204] Sun Ra

Sun Ra (p.).

The Axis-in-SoHo, NYC, July 3, 1977

Ohosinisixaeht (Ra)
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
(trad.)
St. Louis Blues (Handy)
Three Little Words (Kalmar-Ruby)
Honeysuckle Rose (Waller-Razaf)
Sky and Sun (Ra)
I Am We Are I (Ra)
Thoughts on Thoth (Ra)

First Released in 1978 on Improvising Artists Inc. 37.38.58, St. Louis Blues: Solo Piano. All tracks reissued in 1993 on Improvising Artists Inc. 123858 [CD].

IAI V003 is a 40-minute video issued by Improvising Artists, which differs from the LP/CD (replacing "Ohosnisixaeht" with "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child") and has other minor editing differences from the LP and CD, but is basically a document of the same concert.  "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" is a different performance from the one that was made at the previous session.  IAI V003 was available in the late 1970s through early 1980s and was restored to circulation in the 1990s (thanks to Michael Denton for information about the two IAI videos).  The video has also been available from Mastersession (MSN 5017).

This concert was part of the Newport in New York Festival; according to Allan Chase, Sun Ra appeared on a bill with Paul Bley.  According to Fred Conrad, the concert ended with "When There Is No Sun," on which Ra was joined by June Tyson (voc) and John Gilmore (voc).  It is not known whether this piece was recorded.

from Campbell/Trent The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Sun Ra
St. Louis Blues - Solo Piano (1978)
Improvising Artists Records
IAI 37.38.58 (1978)

1. A1 Ohosnisixaeht   6:06
2. A2 St. Louis Blues   5:17
3. A3 Three Little Words   5:49
4. A4 Honeysuckle Rose   3:30
5. B1 Sky and Sun   6:18
6. B2 I Am We Are I   6:25
7. B3 Thoughts on Thoth   6:41

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St. Louis Blues (Solo Piano vol. 2) CD
IAI 123858-2 (1993)

Ohosnisixaeht     6:09

St. Louis Blues     5:19

Three Little Words    5:56

Honeysuckle Rose    3:44

Sky And Sun    6:20

I Am We Are I    6:27
Thoughts On Thoth    6:41

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2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Universe in Blue (1972)

The Universe in Blue is a fantastic set. The title cut is just a slow blues soloing showcase with Sun Ra's "intergalactic space organ," trumpet (not sure who), John Gilmore's tenor sax, and back to Ra. June Tyson takes center stage for "Blackman", giving a particularly impassioned performance. "In a Blue Mood" (just Ra and Luqman Ali on drums) and "Another Shade of Blue" are just back-to-the-basics blues form for more soloing. Ra sticks to organ for the entire date, and it's just wonderful to hear what the Arkestra does with such a "simple" form. This is a fairly rare, fairly inside date, and fans of Ra and Gilmore's playing will be especially pleased. 

AMG // Sean Westergaard

Released as Saturn ESR 5000 IGB in 1972 (in mono), Universe in Blue was recorded live somewhere on the west coast presumably around August, 1971. However, the greatly reduced Arkestra suggests that it could have been recorded “somewhere on the road” in mid-1972, as they straggled across the country on their way back to Philadelphia for good (see Campbell & Trent pp.172-173). To further confuse the matter, “The Good Doctor” at ESP-disk’ provides a firm date of August 17, 1971 but insists the venue is Slug’s Saloon in New York City (see below). Who knows? In any event, behind the striking, psychedelicized album cover awaits a tasty selection of smoky, blues-based compositions, dominated by Ra’s patented “space-age barbeque” organ.

Sun Ra leads the way on the somnambulant title track, a dreamy, slowly smoldering blues, demonstrating his mastery of the tradition while summoning up swelling and percussive Hammond-like sounds from the otherwise cheesy Farfisa organ. After a blissful five minutes, Kwami Hadi enters on trumpet, only to be rudely cut off by the tape running out. Ouch! Some amount of music is missing, with part two picking up with the rhythm section reaching a low boil, with a sparse horn section offering swinging punctuation to Hadi’s bravura trumpet statements. John Gilmore then takes over with his soulful growl for a chorus or two on tenor sax before Ra returns with a brief, understated solo on organ to end. “Blackman” sets up a moderately rocking groove for June Tyson, who evokes a time when “Pharaoh was sitting on his throne, when the Blackman ruled this land.” Over and over she implores, her voice cracking with emotion, “I hope you understand!” When I hear her sing, I think I do understand.

“In a Blue Mood” is another slow burner featuring more fingerlickin’ good organ from Mr. Ra. Campbell & Trent suggest Alzo Wright is playing cello on this gig (p.172), but I can’t hear him at all. In this instance, Sonny is playing a wandering walking bass with his left hand, soloing all the while with his right. This is a truly superb solo performance by Sun Ra. “Another Shade of Blue” concludes the album with a mid-tempo swing number led by Gilmore’s indomitable tenor. Sonny shifts gears seemingly at random with unexpected key modulations while ad libbed horn riffs pop in and out. Unfazed, Gilmore just keeps things cooking -- and good lord, twelve minutes later, he’s still wailing away like a madman as the track fades out. Dang! Yes folks, it’s yet another incredible John Gilmore solo – what more can I say? It must be heard to be believed.

Continue Reading at NuVoid's Sun Ra Sundays

179. [167] Sun Ra and his Blue Universe Arkestra

Universe in Blue

Sun Ra (intergalactic space [Farfisa] org); Kwame Hadi (tp); Akh Tal Ebah (tp); Marshall Allen (as, ob, picc, fl); Danny Davis (as, acl); John Gilmore (ts); Pat Patrick (bars); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl); Eloe Omoe (bcl, picc); Alzo Wright (clo); Lex Humphries (d); June Tyson (voc).

Probably live in Californiac. August 1971

Universe in Blue Part I (Ra)
Universe in Blue Part II (Ra)
Blackman (Ra) [JT voc]
In a Blue Mood (Ra)
Another Shade of Blue (Ra)

Saturn LP200, Universe in Blue, was released in 1972.  The matrix number is ESR 5000 IGB.  It was recorded live on the road somewhere.  Most likely it was made on the West Coast in late summer of 1971, when only part of the Arkestra remained in the Bay Area.  (A 1972 date after the Arkestra left Oakland in May remains a possibility.)  Personnel from Saturn jacket.  The two parts of "Universe in Blue" come from a single performance, with an interruption when the tape ran out.

from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Sun Ra and his Blue Universe Arkestra
Universe in Blue (1972)
Saturn ESR 200 (2012 180g reissue)

1. A1 Universe in Blue part I   5:00
2. A2 Universe in Blue part II   8:24
3. B1 Black Man   2:27
4. B2 In a Blue Mood   7:21
5. B3 Another Shade of Blue   11:43

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If you love this, be sure to check out the August 17, 1971 "I Roam The Cosmos" collection culled from Michael D. Anderson's ESP-Disk radio show.

Sun Ra: Live At The Squat Theatre [NYC August 14, 1979]

This rare boutique release of only 99 copies (+8 in an alternate cover) is a joy to hear.  The highlight for me is the solo piano rendition of Love in Outer Space.

Credits (according to Discogs)

    Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Elo Omoe
    Alto Saxophone, Electric Bass – Pat Patrick
    Alto Saxophone, Flute, Percussion – Marshall Allen
    Bass – Hayes Burnett
    Flute – Danny Thompson
    Percussion [Infinity Drum] – James Jackson
    Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – John Gilmore
    Trumpet – Michael Ray
    Vocals – June Tyson

Discogs does not list a drummer.  It sounds like Samarai Celestial to me.
Discogs also lists the recording date as August 24, 1979 but it seems very likely that this is incorrect and the date is actually August 14, 1979 and is taken from the show listed below.

Sun Ra and His Jet Set Omniverse Arkestra
1979-08-14
Squat Theater; New York, NY.
                                        
Soundcheck/Rehearsal:Sun Ra speaks and is looking for a screwdriver
Love In Outer Space (Sun Ra solo piano)
Unidentified Title (Sun Ra solo piano)
Set 1:
Unidentified Title (Sun Ra solo piano)
Unidentified Title (Sun Ra, Gilmore, and traps)
There Will Never Be Another You (excellent rare version, only other version is 12/31/80)
Unidentified Title
Unidentified Title (cut)
Unidentified Blues (beginning cut)
El Is A Sound of Joy (alternate arrangement)
Unidentified Swing (big johns special)
Unidentified Swing
Space Is The Place > (drop out where Sun Ra says "not free")
We Travel The Spaceways >
Outer Spaceways Inc.
Set 2:
Lightning Drum >
When The Sun Comes Out (vocal by June, no other known version!)
When There Is No Sun

Keep Your Sunny Side Up >
Shadow World
                      
(Sounds as though  it was recorded on top of or next to Sun Ra's keyboards.)

Sun Ra and His Jet Set Omniverse Arkestra

Live At The Squat Theatre [NYC August 14, 1979]

1. Love in Outer Space    4:49 

2. Ain't Misbehavin'    8:59 

3. Rhapsody in Blue    9:03 

4. Keep Your Sunny Side Up > The Shadow World 10:58

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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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In Space: Trudy Morse

from the Saturn List

Dear Friends of Trudy,

It is with much sadness that I write to tell you that my mother passed this morning after a short illness.  I'm sorry about the impersonal way to inform you,  but some of you I only know from emails.  As you know, my mother was a force of nature; she embraced life and lived for every moment.  She was never shy, always willing to try new things and really the most optimistic and positive person I have ever known.  Her net of influence, as you well know, was huge.  Almost everywhere I go - in the States and the rest of the world, I run into people who know her.  

Even in her last days with her mind fading from dementia, she was a bright light.  At Arden Courts, she was known as the activity director and and was happy and content.

(edit)

May her memory be as a blessing,

with much love and sadness,

Sarah .

--
Sarah Morse

About Trudy, I just want to say that the Waitawhile compilation and publication of Sun Ra's poetry  would never have happened without her.



I met Trudy at a long-gone little bar in Washington, DC in the mid-90s, where somebody was putting on a free jazz show. Trudy saw me reading a book by Jacob Boehme and based on that, asked me if I would drive her up to NYC for a Sun Ra tribute show at the Knitting Factory. I did, bringing along some friends, and ended up doing lights (ineptly, I'm sure) for Trudy's part of the show. Throughout that weekend, she had more energy than all of us 20-somethings put together, leading us from bar to bar through lower Manhattan, discussing art, music, Israeli poiltics and everything else. When I brought her back home, she gave me a copy of The Immeasurable Equation, Vol. II. That gift inspired me to collect together all the Sun Ra poetry I could find. And because of this list-serv that project turned into the Waitawhile publication.



I'm sure I'm only one of many, many people whom Trudy had a powerful influence on. Spirits like hers are rare and beautiful beyond measure.


James 

James L. Wolf 

Trudy Morse reads Sun Ra's poetry

collected from the international waitawhile sun ra conventions

Trudy Morse
Poet, Musician, Humanitarian, Diarist, Grandmother

Poet, world traveler and performance artist, Trudy Morse, creates other-world performances in the spirit of the legendary Sun Ra. Expect a cosmic, ritual happening. - Earshot, Seattle WA

Trudy Morse has lived in Chevy Chase, MD for some forty years. Her late husband, Malcolm S. Morse, a prominent scientist with the National Bureau of Standards, worked on dynamic thermo-physical measurements in space, before his death in 1986.

Most of her life she was a political activist working on national and international policies, at the same time active in her home and community, while raising six children. Retired from her professional career as a land consultant she spent from four to six months each year travelling the world.

Her interest in her husband’s research on anomalous phenomena has taken her to all five continents. She recalls with particular interest her travels in Africa, Australia, Europe, India, China and New Zealand.

She has traveled extensively in the USA on frequent camping trips, cross-country, in National Parks from the East to the West coasts, as well as in Hawaii and Alaska.

Since the death of Malcolm Morse, Trudy has been travelling with jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, in Europe, Japan, and the USA. While on the road, Trudy wrote poetry, which was later published by Hermes Press.

Aside from regular travel on the road with Cecil Taylor, for the past few years, Trudy has been concentrating on the poetry of the legendary Sun Ra and his Arkestra. Working closely with John Szwed, Chairman of Music and Anthropology at Yale, Trudy has been collecting Sun Ra poetry. She performed with Sun Ra right up until his death, being with him when he left the planet at Birmingham, Alabama. 

Since his death, she has been planning and presenting Tributes to Sun Ra. She appears regularly on radio programs, reading Sun Ra poetry over the old Saturn records or new releases by Evidence.
Among many artists, she has most notably collaborated and performed with Kidd Jordan, Eddy Gale, George Russell, Anthony Braxton, Joe Maneri, Pozzi Escot, Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, George Lewis, Marshall Allen, India Cooke, Michael Monhart, Muhal Richard Abrams, Dave Burrell, Illuminati Big Band, Don Wherry Ensemble, Cosmic Krewe, Tone Scientists and Boris Raskin Trio.

The ubiquitous septuagenarian has 6 children, 20 grandchildren and 6 greats.

-from Deeplistening.org

*

videos collected from katzjustice.com

My Near Death Experiences by Trudy Morse

Trudy Morse
Hermes at the Crossroads
Hermes Press - 1996 Written September 9, 2000.

A NDE, as it is called today,
is a rather frightening ex-
perience, but since I have
been privileged to have
had three in my lifetime,
actually I feel blessed.

The first NDE was almost
50 years ago, while giving
birth to my son, Michael,
I found myself being twirled
through a dark tunnel, with
a bright light at the end.  I
woke up hysterical, I thought
the baby had died.
I was rather surprised when
the phenomenon was analyzed
many years later, it was I who
was near death, and not the
baby.

As a result of this startling
experience, "Training for Child-
birth" was pioneered in the
Washington, D.C. area with Sue
Patch, sister of Gloria Steinman,
President.  Trudy Morse, Treasurer.
My son, Dr. Melvin Morse,
pediatrician, who writes about
NDE's in children, was the
first baby born, under this new
program, over 40 years ago.

Our program was to train parents
in natural childbirth.  Dr. Dick Reid,
of the UK, was the leader of the
movement in those days.  We were the
first to bring fathers into the delivery
room, exercises for mothers, and
coaching lessons for fathers, to give
support for the mothers.

The second time I had a NDE,
I saw the pattern of
my whole life before me, and
repented, that before the NDE,
I hadn't been a really good cook.
Saying farewell, I asked Malcolm
to forgive me, before passing out
during an asthma attack.

And from that experience I learned
that it's very good to be ready to
meet your maker and a quick review
of your life is a strong probability!

I am still not a very good cook, but
don't feel guilty, since Malcolm
assured me that was not why he
married me.  The medics had revived
me at home, and I felt at peace that
Malcolm had forgiven me during my last
moments.

From that experience, I learned
that life is so fragile, I would try
to enjoy every moment of life with
an extraordinary husband, Malcolm
Morse, who was my partner for
some 40 years.

At the age of 55, when he was diag-
nosed as having cancer, I insisted
that he retire so that we may have
the last years of his life, roaming
the planet, so that he might have
a last look at every location he was
curious about, had read about in science,
literature, the Bible, politics and
even science fiction.  He remained
alive another 13 years.

A practicing Yoga, he died a Yoga's
death, in peace, in lotus position, and
I stayed over 3 hours, singing and
chanting, for an easy departure of the
soul.  I was at peace that I had helped
fulfill his mission of life.  He examined
anomalous phenomena for some six
months each year, all over the globe.

This last NDE at the senior age of 81
was an extraordinary revelation.  An
asthma victim almost all of my life,
I was unable to pull out of an asthma
attack at the home of one of my dearest
members of my extended family, GILA.

I had overdosed on medication, which
brought me deeper in the helpless
stage.  911 was called, the ambulance
appeared immediately, the medics
correctly diagnosed the incident as
pulmonary arrest, and were able to
revive me within the six minutes
before brain damage.  It was a quick,
efficient action that made for the
success of the treatment, every one
cool and collected to do what needed
to be done.

Now, what did I learn in the experience
during my twilight years?

The most touching was the miracle
of the assembly of the family.  They
arrived at the hospital shortly after
the ambulance, and were there with
complete support for me.

As important as modern life-supporting
machinery and professional help is, I
needed my dearest and most beloved
family.  Sarah never left my side and I
deeply felt her presence, as well as
Mary's, who never left Sarah.

Later, Dr. Serena Fox appeared.  She
works at the Trauma Center at Columbia
Hospital for Women, spent time with
the doctor on call, Dr. Remy.  He had
heard of her, by reputation, and with
continual telephone calls to my own
family doctor, Dr. Douglas Shumaker,
they were an extraordinary medical team
put together in this extreme emergency.

Needless to say the nurses are God's
gift of angels to care for us.  They told
me later, the incident took them by
complete shock.  The possibility of
brain damage loomed very large in
their minds.

Now what happened to the NDEer:
First, there was a black cage I was trying
to frantically trying to escape, banging
each corner post.  In despair, I finally
gave up:  "Well, if this is Hell, Heaven is
probably boring."  (This is what my son,
Alan, says I reported late Thursday night
of the discharge."

Although that vision appears to have come
first, what I remember vividly, is a white
casket with heavily clad manacled boots
thumping each corner tightly closed.

Perched on the ceiling, was the Raphael
angel, with lovely face cupped into hands,
watching the event, with much wonder,
watching the casket-thumping, admiring
its beautiful painting of stars, crescents,
and other beautiful colorful patterns,
covering the casket, gleaming, glowing
white, like a Rauschenberg painting.

The thumping of each corner finished,
the casket securely closed, the Raphael
angel perched on the ceiling watching
carefully, wondered:

"Well, which would have been better,
Heaven or Hell?"  And with a wry smile:
"Who knows?"

I had finally been restrained from
fighting the staff who were trying to
insert the indo-trachial tube directly into
the mouth, to hook up the lungs with
the support machine, necessary to get the
lungs working again.  Michael, who had
been helping the staff in their struggle, was
severely scratched, which was an agonizing.
moment for him. Everybody involved later
told me they went into complete shock after
this experience .

I was so determined to keep off the
machines!I had always said I would
rather die than be hooked up on a
machine, and I really meant it!

Now that it is all over, I feel truly
blessed again. With such a remarkable
family who by some miracle arrived,
without anybody knowing where to call
them! With such extraordinary extended
family giving further support.  And the
remark of the social worker really
moved me. When I asked her why
she was visiting me, she told me most
of the elderly patients have no one at
home to go to, and she provides volun-
teers and visiting nurses, meals on wheels.

What a wonderful feeling, to have Sarah
there every moment, demanding that I be
taken home at once, rather than the two
week period they suggested and David,
her husband, taking over all the chores of
the four children left at home during Sarah's
24 hour vigilance.

Sarah decided three days in the hospital
was enough. She demanded my release
at once, and armed with the X-rays, she
drove me to her home. Maurie was there
with a broad smile. Michael had already
left work, and was waiting to pick
me up.

Erica had decorated the front doorway:
"Welcome home". Lauren, who had
grown at least 12 inches during the
summer, had to lean over to embrace me.

And Mary was there with a dinner, eaten
outdoors, overlooking her glorious garden
and little pool with the waterfall creating
the sound of running water which I love.

Michael took me shopping for my bagels,
picked up my medicine. And Guy and Sheri
took over from there.  They explained the
medication, assuring me it was very mild
and only a short course. Dr. Shumaker
assured them it would not interfere with
the effective plendil I take for high blood
pressure.

Dr. Shumaker insisted I call him at home
to strongly advise against my trip to Syria
scheduled for the next day. I felt so much
had done for me, I better not let them
down and create new problems, so I can-
celled the trip. My beautiful extended
family member Paula, of Signature Travel,
got to work at once to assure that I get
money back for airfare.

I came away with the realization that
although I say I am ready to die, there's a
whole crew of people, medical and family,
who seemed to think it important that I
live a little longer.  Like the birth of a baby,
the rebirth of an adult requires instant
loving, nurturing for the health of the
new model.

My son, Dr. Melvin Morse, pediatrician,
who has pioneered in NDE with children,
presents, during his lectures, pictures that
children draw about their experience.
Some are pictures of Jesus, pets, teachers,
or parents, whom they have just seen.
They are usually told to return, depending
upon their belief system.

For me there was no such picture. No
persons, no Jesus, no favorite aunt, mother,
or spouse, only at first, a crude black cage
from which I was frantically pounding,
trying to escape.  In some disgust, I just
gave up, thinking: "Oh  well, Heaven would
probably be boring anyway!"

Then appeared a white casket, with
heavy manacled boots pounding each
corner tightly shut.  Beautiful and gleaming
white. Stars, crescents and colored figures
were painted on the lid, in Rauschenberg
style.  Above it all a Raphael angel watched
from the ceiling, finally wondering if
Heaven or Hell would be better!

Who knows?

WHAT DO I MAKE OF ALL OF THIS?

Our holiest prayer in Judaism is the Shma Yisroel,
Adonoi Elehanu, Adonoi Echod. Hear oh Israel,
The Lord our God, The Lord is one.

The Adonoi is a Hebrew Tetragrammaton,
having four Hebrew Letters, usually transliterated
YHWH or JHVH, that forms a biblical proper
name of God.  Reb Shneyer has told us that
Adonoi means past, present, and future.

I feel a deep sadness that my departed partner,
Malcolm was not witness to this. An internationally
recognized engineer, he was also a Polymath.
Equally as versed in Philosophy, Poetry, Plato,
Plotinus, Literature, Eastern and Western Religions.

In raising our six children, he constantly reminded
me that when the child is born, images of his past,
present, and future are embodied on the brain.

Since I saw no persons, heard no voices, I personally
conclude that it was the high tech machinery, and
the total high level family and medical support
that brought about the return. Maybe, this return
was guided by either the images of the brain
already imprinted at birth:  maybe, God whom Jung
defines as SELF, maybe, just plain GILA.

Death is not Real
But Birth to a
New Life
We go on and on
To higher planes
For eons and aeons
Of Time

The Universe is
Our Home
We explore the
Farthest Recesses
We dwell in the
Finite Mind
Of The All

I die gladly
So I may Know
The Whole Truth
Of Being
At One with
The ALL

from ChicagoIANDS.org

2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Walt Dickerson Quartet - Impressions of A Patch of Blue (1966)

I remember the date was quite a challenge.  I don't think there was any music there to refer to.  Or if there was, we didn't necessarily follow it.  There was an understanding who would begin each piece and who would solo on it, and so forth.  But that was it.  The album was called Impressions of "A Patch of Blue", and that's what they were -- improvisational impressions.

-Bob Cunningham (CD Liner Notes)

A Patch of Blue (Part 2)

Impressions of a Patch of Blue was the second time Walt Dickerson recorded an album of rearranged movie soundtrack pieces, following his interpretations of material from Lawrence of Arabia. Starring Sidney Poitier, A Patch of Blue was about a star-crossed pair of interracial lovers, with the twist that Elizabeth Hartman's character also happened to be blind. More important to jazz fans, though, is that the album marked one of Sun Ra's extremely rare appearances as a sideman, playing both piano and harpsichord. And he turns in a masterful supporting performance behind Dickerson, putting his own indelible stamp on the proceedings without ever overwhelming them. Witness "Bacon and Eggs," where Dickerson repeats a melodic theme for most of the piece while Ra's unorthodox reharmonizations dance about in the background. Ra's harpsichord also provides some otherworldly cascades that seem to spark Dickerson's sense of freedom, particularly on part two of "A Patch of Blue" and "High Hopes." Dickerson's own playing is most evocative on the two parts of "Alone in the Dark"; during the first, he plays frantic, jittery phrases that mimic the speech patterns of panic, and in the second he favors quick, repetitive figures that fade away like echoes or unanswered calls for help. All of that is indicative of the level of imagination with which the project is carried out, which makes it a shame that Dickerson retired from performing for a full decade following its release, leaving Bobby Hutcherson to become the most important modernist vibes player of the latter half of the '60s. Verve's 1999 CD reissue of Impressions of a Patch of Blue was a very limited edition, so don't dawdle in picking this one up.

AMG Review by Steve Huey

120. [104]  Walt Dickerson Quartet

Impressions of A Patch of Blue

Walt Dickerson (vib); Sun Ra (haprsichord -1; p except -3); Bob Cunningham (b); Roger Blank (tymp -2; d).

Studio recording, NYC,
late 1965 or early 1966

A Patch of Blue -- Part 1 (Goldsmith)
A Patch of Blue -- Part 2 (Goldsmith) -1
Bacon and Eggs (Goldsmith)
High Hopes (Goldsmith -2
Alone in the Park -- Part 1 (Goldsmith) -3
Alone in the Park -- Part 2 (Goldsmith) -1
Selina's Fantasy (Goldsmith) -1
Thataway (Goldsmith) -1

Impressions of A Patch of Blue was issued in 1966 on MGM E 4358 (mono, the stereo version is MGM SE 4358).  It was an interpretation of Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack for the film A Patch of Blue, not the actual film soundtrack.  Allan Chase points out that the session was produced by Tom Wilson, who arrived at MGM/Verve toward the end of 1965 or the beginning of 1966.  Moreover, the movie was not released till well into December 1965.  Impressions was reissued in August 1999 on CD as Verve 314 599 929 [CD].  Sunny plays harpsichord on four of the eight cuts, not celeste as stated on the original release.
from Campbell / Trent  The Earthly Recordings 2nd ed.

Impressions of A Patch of Blue (CD)
The Walt Dickerson Quartet

1. A Patch of Blue - part 1   1:30
2. A Patch of Blue - part 2   4:38
3. Bacon and Eggs   5:35
4. High Hopes   5:15
5. Alone in the Park - part 1   3:01
6. Alone in the Park - part 2   7:11
7. Selina's Fantasy   4:05
8. Thataway   4:34

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Sun Ra and Walt Dickerson also made an album of duets called Visions.  You can find that Here.

Read a 2007 interview with Walt Dickerson Here.

Below is a rip of my mono LP.  I hadn't thought it worthy of sharing... but if you're curious, I hope you enjoy.

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Again, Many Thanks to I-) for finding some LP scans on the web to share!