Sun Ra
Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. But despite all of the trappings, Sun Ra was a major innovator, starting off playing advanced bop, but early on was open to the influences of other cultures, experimenting with primitive electric keyboards, and playing free long before the avant-garde got established.
Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. But despite all of the trappings, Sun Ra was a major innovator, starting off playing advanced bop, but early on was open to the influences of other cultures, experimenting with primitive electric keyboards, and playing free long before the avant-garde got established.
It Is Forbidden
This is the third and last entry in the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, The Sun Ra Trilogy, produced by John Sinclair in agreement with the late Alton Abraham. This time the year is 1974 and the program of the evening includes some of the Arkestra'a greatest hits plus one number never recorded before, It Is Forbidden. This performance has never been released. 2001 release.
Janus
This compilation of rare material from the Sun Ra Arkestra draws from tapes recorded between 1963 and 1970, and the space-age jazz shaman conjures up a variety of styles and moods along the way. A balmy tropical vibe greets the ears with the opener ("Island in the Sun"), but it doesn't take long for Ra to set his controls for the stratosphere, and soon, distorted gongs, haunted house organ, and homemade instruments are exploring African mysticism on the title track. "Velvet" is a more traditiona…
In Egypt
The real gems of this prized reissue from Leo Records's Golden Years vault imprint are two previously unreleased tracks. The first features Sun Ra and his Arkestra on an 18-minute "Watusa" from 1984, and the second features a 13-minute piece by Saleh Ragab's Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble, "Music for Angela Davis," from 1971. It's no surprise Sun Ra loved going to Egypt, what with all the astro-mythology he used in the Arkestra. This love shows brightly on "Egypt Strut" and "Dawn," two Ragab tunes pla…
A Night In East Berlin / My Brothers The Wind and Sun N.9
2 separate performances from 1986 & 1990 show Sun Ra & friends in trademark improvisational spaciness, playing tracks like "The Shadow World," "Space Is The Place/We Travel The Spaceways" & "Interstellar Low Ways". Recorded in 1986 and 1990.
Second Star To The Right (Tribute To Walt Disney)
Sun Ra presents a fun-filled & strange live album that pays tribute to Walt Disney with a few songs from his movies, inc. "Zip A Dee Doo Dah," "High Ho, High Ho" & "Whistle While You Work" Recorded in Austria in 1989.
Love In Outer Space
The cosmic musical scientist presents a 7 track live performance made in 1983 in Utrecht, inc. the cuts "Love In Outer Space/Space Is The Place," "Round Midnight" & "Along Came Ra". Recorded live in Utrecht, The Netherlands in 1983.
Media Dreams
This is the companion to Disco 3000, made on the same classic Italian quartet tour with John Gilmore, Michael Ray (trumpet) and the minimal but perfect Luqman Ali (drums). Ra himself plays piano and electronic keyboards, including the mysterious Crumar Mainman, which Ra describes as 'like a piano, organ, clavichord, cello, violin and brass instruments' and which also, importantly, has a facility for pre-programmed bass lines and electronic percussion, which Ra uses constantly and to great effect…
Live at the Electric Circus (NYC 1968) and Newport Jazz Festival
Chronologically beginning the label's in-depth survey of the lesser-known psychedelic era of Sun Ra (1968-1971), these discs were painstakingly mastered from first and second generation passes of Michael Wilderman's original recordings and sound better than any collector has ever heard them previously. The Electric Circus show features an unknown female singer who was with the group prior to June Tyson. The Arkestra on stage at Newport cover photo is published in high resolution for the first ti…
Live in Detroit
RESTOCKED, last copies around: an amazing collection of music -- the complete performances of the Sun Ra Arkestra during a one week stay at the Detroit Jazz Center in the early 80s! The massive 28 CD set offers a wonderful chance to see this creative ensemble in action -- as each night of the performances offers up something different -- a change in mood, a shift in style, and a wide array of songs that never fails to amaze us! These guys were hardly content to just run over the same music night…
new horizons
Chicago pianist Sun Ra emerged as a leader on the jazz scene early in 1956, when he assembled a group of neo-boppers that contributed to the original and exciting jazz sound offered by his new Sun Ra Arkestra, a medium-sized group that swung like a giant locomotive, an effect primarily due to an interesting use of two basses playing simultaneously.They featured the power of big band ensemble along with the excitement of combo blowing by fine soloists, among them the driving tenor John Gilmore, …
Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy / Art Forms Of Dimensions Tomorr
Much of what was unique about the original Pink Floyd's sound - the use of echo and piercing organ for musical effect - is present here, Floyd fans take note. Wonder if Syd Barrett had been exposed to Sun Ra's music. "Cosmic Tones" sounds like a 20th Century space-inflected chamber music quite unlike jazz, though it contains elements of it. The music attempts to paint pictures in an abstract fashion unencumbered by notions of traditional musical form. Instruments enter, contribute to the picture…
Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra
The book explains who Sun Ra was and what he was doing. This is no mean feat. Sun Ra was a man of many interests and beliefs, of whom many misconceptions exist. Even most of his fans will probably learn much and gain tremendous perspective on him from this book. The book's story is one of a man with artistic genius within him, who probably could have been a millionaire and musical "star" - who chose to do other things instead. Here is the unusual story of what he did and why he did it. There is …
Concert for the Comet Kohoutek
Recorded on December 22, 1973 in New York City at the famous Town Hall, this eclectic ESPDisk-sponsored celebration of the Comet Kohoutek featured a fire eater, talking drums, and dancers in platform shoes, in addition to Sun Ra's Arkestra. After taking the stage ninety minutes late, the band expertly navigates its way through cosmic free playing, big-band romps, and didactic vocal numbers. Compared to the original pressing, this re-issue is digitally remastered by Joe Phillips and includes brie…
Nothing Is...
Recorded during the 1966 tour of New York State colleges by celebrated classical engineer David Jones, this version of Nothing Is... contains over 20 minutes of newly-discovered material from the same date as the original album. Live set recorded during what many consider to be Sun Ra's most interesting period.
The Night of the Purple Moon
The second deluxe Ra reissue in the new o-card format from the UMS, released in conjunction with El Saturn Records is here: Sun Ra rocks out on his ultra-rare 'Roksichord' record, a small group outing from 1970 with an alternate take PLUS three mind-bending, never issued Wurlitzer solos from '64. Long-awaited & available on CD for the first time!" "The Night of the Purple Moon is Sun Ra's great 'Roksichord record.' It's also one of his most delightful, upbeat, and accessible outings -- full of b…
The Magic Sun , a film by Phill Niblock
The classic 1966 film by Phill Niblock featuring Sun Ra & His Solar Arkestra, plus rare & exclusive Sun Ra footage, photos & audio 'proclamations'! Composer, photographer and filmmaker Phill Niblock's classic of experimental underground filmmaking with a sensational soundtrack by pianist Sun Ra and the members of his Solar Arkestra. Shot in the mid '60s, when the Arkestra was based in New York, this film was produced using a unique negative process and ultra-tight close-ups on the moving hands a…
Live in Paris at the Gibus
Recorded live in Paris in 1973, sun ra and his Arkestra create a magical atmosphere that is difficultly reproduced in-studio. Improvisation is, in fact, the primary impetus behind the band, therefore making a live setting an essential element. As usual, sun ra never forgets the roots of jazz music and among his original pieces, we find Jelly Roll Morton's classic 'King Porter Stomp'. Another important testimony to one of the greatest innovators in jazz.
Nuits de la fondation Maeght Vol. 2
Part two of Sun Ra's 1970 appearance at the Fondation Maeght. An important document for this innovator of jazz. Improvisation, percussion, Afro rhythms, mysticism, and the occult -- all this and more is what the Sun Ra universe is made of. One of the most mysterious and fascinating figures in the history of jazz. Many potential listeners may be initially dismayed at the seeming discord that is inherent in the free and avant-garde subgenres. For them, Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Vol. 2 might be…
Nuits de la fondation Maeght Vol. 1
Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Vol. 1 (1970) is the first of two releases capturing Sun Ra and the Arkestra at Saint Paul de Vence, Côte d'Azur, France, in August of 1970, on what was their first European excursion. As a rule, free and avant-garde jazz are a decidedly acquired taste. However, for discerning palettes, these installments present the aggregate at their absolute pinnacle in terms of performance and inspiration. The four works included here offer a wide variety of styles and approache…