Sun Ra - The Night of The Purple Moon (1970)

~ because there's always room for more Ra ~

THIS IS VERY PRETTY

(more words here)

TRACK LISTING
1. Sun-Earth Rock
2. The All Of Everything
3. Impromptu Festival
4. Blue Soul
5. Narrative
6. Outside The Time Zone
7. The Night Of The Purple Moon
8. A Bird's Eye View Of A Man's World
9. 21st Century Romance
10. Dance Of The Living Image
11. Love In Outer Space
12. Love In Outer Space (Alternate Take)
13. Wurlitzer and Celeste
14. Wurlitzer Solo 1
15. Wurlitzer Solo 2

PERSONNEL
Sun Ra:
Roksichord, mini-Moog (4-6), Wurlitzer electric piano (13-15), Celeste (13)
Danny Davis:
alto saxophone (1, 8), alto clarinet (9, 11-12), flute (2), bongos (10-12), drums (3)
John Gilmore:
tenor saxophone (3), drums
Stafford James:
electric bass

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Sun Ra - Some Blues But Not The Kind Thats Blue (1973-77)

~ because you can never have too much Sun Ra ~

THIS IS REALLY FINE

(more words here)

TRACK LISTING
1. Some Blues But Not The Kind Thats Blue
2. I'll Get By
3. My Favorite Things
4. Untitled
5. Nature Boy
6. Tenderly
7. Black Magic
8. I'll Get By
9. I'll Get By

PERSONNEL
Sun Ra: piano, organ (8-9)
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone
Akh Tal Ebah: trumpet, flugelhorn (8)
Marshall Allen: alto saxophone and flute
Danny Davis: alto saxophone and flute
James Jackson: flute and bassoon
Eloe Omoe: bass clarinet
Richard "Radu" Williams: bass (1)
Ronnie Boykins: bass (8-9)
Luqman Ali: drums
Atakatune: conga

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Sun Ra and the Astro Infinity Arkestra - Atlantis

Sounds like it's coming from an AM radio a half block away. Or someone's garage in Mobile. Or a satellite transmission in a movie starring Jodie Foster.

If I ever DJ'd several of these tracks would end up in my mix. I will never DJ, btw.

What makes this really special is the emphasis on the groove. Not trying to do too much. However, the title track is huge, with its own narrative arc.

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All About Jazz: During his tenure on Earth, Saturnian Sun Ra created some trailblazing sounds that helped to change not only the sound of jazz, but several other genres as well. Herman Blount, better known as Sun Ra, would take a listener from the New Orleans style jazz right into trippy grooves. His space sounds helped to create the experimental music known as psychedelic and its '70s offshoot, space rock. With Atlantis, Sun Ra shows both sides of his personality, offering a side of smaller cuts and one long solid jam that helped define the sound of space jazz.

Atlantis is the first of Sun Ra's ' and probably the first jazz record as well ' to feature the brand new clavinet (dubbed the 'solar sound instrument'). Later on, musicians as diverse as Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock would create some of their finest compositions using the instrument. But here Sun Ra had introduced the solid funk groove of the clavinet to jazz. On Atlantis he gives an entire side to short compositions written exclusively for the instrument, including the conga-driven 'Mu' and the classic 'Yucatan' (both Impulse! and Saturn versions are featured on this CD, which underwent reissues by Impulse! in 1973 and Evidence in 1993).

His style changes give an introspective view of where Sun Ra was going with musical ideas. 'Mu' shows his interest in social, technological and musical diversity by building a track around acoustic and electronic instruments while having tenor-sax man John Gilmore lay out a raga styled solo. On the 21 minute title track, Sun Ra cuts one of his finest free (or space) jazz compositions ever. Atlantis is an amazing opus that features a larger band than the opening five tracks. Here Ra builds a masterpiece that twists and turns through many soundscapes and gives the whole track a diversity that stands apart from all of Sun Ra's other records.

Combing through Sun Ra's catalogue, there are many records that contain sounds that are so unique and original that it makes it almost impossible to choose a favorite based its ideas alone. Atlantis is not only one of Ra's most eclectic albums, but overall is one of the finest he ever released.

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Sun Ra - Out There A Minute

Free Association! Sunday. Sun Ra. Fundamentals. ABCs...
My Very First Ra record. Released on Blast First in 1989, "this compact disc comprises Sun Ra's personal selection of rare Arkestra recordings from the late 1960's, made in and around 42nd Street, New York City, Planet Earth." This was the first step in a subsequently lifelong and very fulfilling relationship with this here visionary, which may account for the high esteem in which I hold it. Then again, it could be that it's just really really good.

allmusicguide: The 13 selections on this CD by a small group taken from Sun Ra's Arkestra are generally both explorative and introspective. The combo includes tenor-saxophonist John Gilmore, altoist Marhsall Allen, baritonist Pat Patrick, an occasional trumpeter and trombonist (the personnel is not listed), Ra's organ, piano and primitive electric keyboards plus a bassist, drummer and some percussionists. The performances are mostly short sketches that set spacey moods and then fade out; Ra's piano sounds surprisingly like Thelonious Monk in spots.

The odd echo devices and spooky keyboards give this eccentric music much atmosphere. The violent ensemble number "Other Worlds" and the lengthy "Next Stop Mars" are changes of pace (sounding like the 1966 John Coltrane Quintet) while many of the other pieces would work well as soundtracks to a science fiction movie [<-- cheap dismissive reference. Q: why do people always go after science fiction when they want to make a dig? A: because it's easy to beat up on the favorite genre of people who get beat up on].

Although not essential [I beg to respectfully disagree with the arrogance of that opinion], these futuristic sounds from the past hold one's interest [i.e., this reviewer closes his analysis by hedging his bets with grudging acknowledgment that this may very well indeed be some captivating, mesmerizing, and forward-thinking shit that was way outside of it's time].


I'm obviously all red-font-befuddled by the apparent ambivalence of this reviewer. Are we listening to the same record? Messrs. Monk and Coltrane get name-checked, yet it still gets a lukewarm assessment. Sheeeesh! Simply check out "Dark Clouds With Silver Linings" -- that track alone should be enough to secure this collection godhead status.


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