Search & Destroy: Sun Ra

Currently: tracks from Nothing Is, the 1966 college tour. At the moment: "Space Aura," with rollicking piano and rhythm section, tenor and bari saxes, suave, brawny trombone, a bit of freaky unison, steaming drum solo---if doing the Downbeat blindfold test, I'd guess Mingus. Next album: Atlantis.

Man, Ra was such an underrated pianist.

Ho, this last (?) one from Nothing Is is high North Africa-suggesting reed, bass figure I've never heard anywhere before, appropriate bell tree, cowbell, cymbals, kick drum in, piano now too---nobody but Ra's crew now; starting to sing, "This is the theme of the Stargazers now/Stargazers in the sky/This is the theme of to-morr-ow's world", horns cut loose. Piano, and: "If you find Earth bor-ing, just the same old place/C'mon sign up, Outer Space-ways, in-cor-por-ray-ted", jaunty now, and splee splonk splash the good rain.////
Something else: rocksichord and oboe? Electric guitar, or more keyboard? Into Atlantis now, I think.

Yep, definitely Atlantis.

Amazingly specific sound qualities to these selections. A lot of the albums are on that xpost iTunes remasters lists; wonder of some of this is from advance copies? Heretical thoughts amidst the Vinyl Return. On tracks from Other Planes of There, feel like I'm walking around in the bells of soloing horns. Finishing up today's Lunch with some Heliocentric Worlds. Vol. 2, I think. xpost Thurs.-Fri.'s 48 hr. marathon may have me calling in, staying home in the headphonesverse.

Ha, I seriously considered calling in sick just to listen to that.

Those Atlantis tracks were terse, emphatic grooves: bass, drums, versatile electric keys; no horns (needed) on the ones I heard. True of the album as a whole? I'll have to find out.

I sure hope those remasters really are remasters. The cd versions of all those things on the Evidence label are no-noised to death and it drives me crazy! Not that I'd even remotely consider purchasing them all again, at least not in download form, but for the sake of future generations!

A physical release would be nice. I used to hope for a Mosaic-like "complete Saturn recordings of Sun Ra" box, but I suspect such a thing is impossible.

Horizons on WKCR right now! This is a great one, still un-reissued.

More fun: my buddy Josh is going to play "Space Is The Place" on the organ at Fenway Park today!

That sounds awesome. Was up in Boston this past Sunday and enjoyed the organist's work at Fenway that night.

He's fun to follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jtkantor

He'll take requests!

Thanks, I'll be thinking about that. Today I've heard more acerbic small-group flexing (really dig that sproingy keyboad) from Atlantis, natural echo, tympany and arco basses in rehearsal, but no stop-starting, just dinosaur workouts on Strange Strings, and captivating flute via "Spontaneous Simplicity," from Outer Spaceways Incorporated: more rehearsals, but with applause. Now more space boogie from xpost Night of the Purple Moon(flute, piano, oboe at the moment, in reverberating jellyfish jello). Oh yeah, and this, from this morning's Morning Edition--incl audio--music &interview excerpts--and a video; see prev. NPR on Ra linked at the bottom of text)http://www.npr.org/2014/05/22/314593139/saturn-still-swings-celebrating-sun-ra-at-100 Commotion now.

From Dow's descriptions I think I want to add Nothing Is to my modest Ra library. Emusic has a thing on ESP Disk called The Complete Nothing Is... Am I well served if I get that?

Whoa, really digging this synth thing on right now (after "My Favorite Things")! Anyone know what it's from?

It was from either New Steps or Other Voices, Other Blues; both are 70s quartet sets.This afternoon's focus on smaller groups is now curving back through the the 50s: "Deep Purple," a duet with Stuff Smith (overdubbed? Seems to be plucking and bowing simultaneously)(now it sounds like a modified organ), and others from Sun Sound Pleasure.
Jon, The Complete Nothing Is is worth checking out, if you like that approach, and prob more easily available than the original, at this point (reminds me I still haven't looked up Ra on Spotify).

Cool, thanks! I don't have much late-70s Ra, for some reason. Definitely gonna seek those out.

Just saw on Twitter than Fenway Park's organist Josh Kantor has played "Space is the Place" at today's game.

This is getting to be like supper club music (right now: "Don't Blame Me," with an unpretentious chanteuse), but really well done of its kind: like Tarfumes says, Ra really is a good pianist, whatever the context.

couple tracks with congas!

Just saw on Twitter than Fenway Park's organist Josh Kantor has played "Space is the Place" at today's game.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, May 22, 2014 4:45 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yup, posted upthread.

And of course, back up to the rooftop gardens/stations: Live At The Wonder Inn, Chicago 1960.

xpost -- Roxor. I caught that, I was more posting confirmation (and ergo, search YouTube...)

Aha, got it.

Mr.Ra providing most cogent replies to astute, erudite interviewer Phil Schaap right now (from 1980s, I think.)

The interview continues, but every now and then he pulls out something like this excursion with Wilber Ware, times the Ra core combo ( the sometimes vibes-like keys reminding me to hope that the marathon or Sunday's slight return will incl. tracks from Visions, with Vic Dickerson). This Ware shot is tip-toe through the trigger warnings, keep on keeping on.

He's also brought along an edit of the overture from nine-volume Manhattan Undertones, reminding me of the star of that movie Q The Winged Serpent, with a nest in the top of the Chrysler Building--but really, going by the tone of the preceding comments, it's tough love from the tone scientist, as he calls himself now (also a restored outtake from the Space is The Place documentary: refreshing ballad, headed upstream)

Overnight, the next five hours or so, anyway: concerts, starting well in Helsinki.

Like I said, I was wondering if some of these were the iTunes remasters--obviously some weren't, judging by occasional surface noise, tape hiss, distance, distorion (barely noticed the first two, liked the effects of the d. and d.). Well, this morning, we got a bunch of remasters announced as such, by the series co-producers, Irwin Chusid and Michael D. Anderson (keeper of the Ra-mandated sub-archive of masters, incl. material still being released for the first time). The xpost Wonder Inn tracks were brought forward a bit, closer to our table, without (any of the tracks played) losing any of their pungency. Digital has come a lonngg way.
So, they're offering samplers, as well as original albums, with prev. unreleased bonus tracks on some sets in both series. The samplers are theme-y, but even the Exotica tracks sounded fine, for the most part: the flute on one started out as watery as expected, but got a lot better, and whatever the subgenre etc,Ra always likes lots of bass (frequently arco) and percussion (frequently tympani, also timbales and whatever's handy).
Chusid said he's also working with Sun Ra LLC (in the Schaap interview, Ra said he set that up early on), "to find out where the money's going," and get some of it for Ra's heirs, like those very early members of the Arkestra still touring, and maybe not always entirely by choice.

I only have cosmic tones, magic city, Atlantis and (forgot the title) but it's p tempting to rebuy them if the sound is really refreshed.

Now: Monorails and Satellites Volume Two-- so far, more suspenseful than Volume One,, which was just played all the way through, as this will be, I assume. More about the reissues:
http://jazztimes.com/sections/news/articles/130149-sun-ra-music-archive-reissues-21-albums-exclusively-for-itunes

Solo Piano, Volume One, from 1977, produced by Paul Bley, and now Solo Piano Recital, which so far sports shorter pieces, aimed at live audience: the former (a studio set) occasionally too reliant on spaces between notes (dramatic pauses; encouraged by the usually excellent Bley's more ECM-ish influences? Surely Ra's not susceptible, so no excuse), but more often with varied ways of playing the same note, outbursts like a self=starting player piano, undertow-defying/shading waves though "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child"--overall, both albums have me thinking of Mondrian's "Broadway Boogie Woogie" and weather.

(The live album's not as deep, maybe, but carries me along like a live album should.)

Actual title: Solo Piano Recital: Teatro la Fenice Venizia.

Same album, in the home stretch with "Free Improvisation"("I want to invite you to a party on Jupiter"). He'll be back Sunday afternoon. Also: five tracks, supposedly essential (reasons provided):http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2014/05/22/314363815/act-like-you-know-sun-ra

Oops well like it says upthread, Sunday goes like this: with an in-depth look at some of Ra's earlier controversial, avant-garde work on the early morning "Jazz 'til Dawn" (1-6am) and a focus on notable Arkestra members with significant distinct careers on the afternoon "Jazz Profiles" (2-7pm).

Back for the Ra edition of "Jazz til Dawn," leading off with Of Mythic Worlds(1979) which is a space swing sandwich of "Over The Rainbow and "Inside The Blues," between the suave exotica of "Mayan Temples" (invitation to a beheading, perhaps) and the relative outness of "Intrinsic Energies" and the somewhat further out/crisply frictional title track. Good stuff, though I'm more into the more combustible cohesion and momentum of Life Is Splendid, from the 1972 Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, with six drummers and plenty of strong male and female voices, rolling though light and dark: "If this is the Planet of Life, why are people dying? You dare call this life! Ha ha ha ha!" Horns laugh too, mountains ripple. "Why don't you come on to Outer Space with me? Every day down here is the same old thing. Come with me, to the Imm-measurablllle--Endless! Immeasurable!"
1. Enlightenment 2. Love In Outer Space 3. Space Is The Place 4. Disciple 27-11/What Planet Is This?/Life Is Splendid/Immeasurable 5. Watusi
6. Outer Spaceways Incorporated

Sorry, the medley starts with "Discipline (not Disciple) 27-11."

This afternoon's "Jazz Profiles": spotlight on Marshall Allen (90th birthday is today, I think; maybe they'll get around to his centennial too). Started with him and James Moody, in 1949, and later on Paul Bley Quintet's Barrage(ESP, '64), but mostly with Ra. Think I'll try to make more of my notes for other wheres of else, but here's news on Allen's new album Two Stars In The Universe,, with current Arkestra collegue Kash Kallion, who plays, cello, sarangi, and kabong (MA plays Casio as well as sax and flute, whole thing reportedly mellower than expected, but with some "freaky" too). Ltd, ed, get it while you can:http://www.thewire.co.uk/news/30281/new-marshall-allen-album-to-be-released-by-swiss-sun-ra-collector

Mark Sinker's interview with Ra: http://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/loving-the-alien_black-science-fiction

One last: "If we came from nowhere here, why can't we go somewhere There." Not as much a question, as strong suggestion!

Will Friedwald, with a good overview of Ra, and exploring the iTunes reissues:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/sun-ra-still-out-of-this-world-1401313219

"Space is the Place" at Fenway!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n8vhu36B9U

!!!

AMAZING

http://www.wnyc.org/story/happy-100-sun-ra-its-been-23-years-live-concert-has-been-heard/

Was anyone else kind of. . . I don't know. . . *annoyed* by this piece on Pitchfork?

http://pitchfork.com/features/starter/9447-sun-ra-10-essential-tracks/

To me, the picks feel a little obscure for obscurity's sake.

Thanks so much for that show, Daphnis!

uh imo those aren't exactly obscure albums austin