Free Jazz Music

With nearly 165 minutes of music, the 2-CD set captures the incredible performance art of Sun Ra and the improvisational splendor of the Arkestra to make every concert a sonic experience, with a personal message.

Released in December 1998, the first CD - Black Myth - is paced by Black Forest Myth and We'll Wait For You. Out In Space finds Sun Ra stretching themes within an avant-garde soundscape, as Myth Versus Reality and Theme of the Stargazers are pathways to Space Chants Medley and We Travel the Spaceways.

The quenching of thirst through knowledge gained for the mind, body and soul are brought forth by the musical majesty of Sun Ra.

Sun Ra and his various Arkestras have a well-earned reputation for being ahead of thier time. Never more so than on this set which captures them live in two complete concerts in the early 1970s. The first piece on the second CD, "Out In Space," sums up the various moods of Ra's music of the period. It begins with a spacey drone; June Tyson then enters chanting Ra's poem followed an earth-shattering blare from the entire Arkestra that will either set your hair on end or send chills up your spine, depending on how you feel about this sort of "free" playing. Solos by all of the Ra stalwarts are played that explore most the tonal possilitites of their various instruments. The CD's notes are particularly helpful here, listing each soloist in his/her order of appearance. This music is not for everyone. But die-hard Ra fans, or music fans who like envelope bending should not pass this one up!

Mephista is a percussion trio of unusual composition: Susie Ibarra's incredibly nuanced drumming, Ikue Mori's alien drum machines, and Sylvie Courvoisier's modernist-tinged piano playing (about evenly split inside and outside the instrument). All three of them are brilliant composers and improvisers, and the music they create on _Black Narcissus_ is masterful, original, and eerily powerful free-improvisation.

The heart of the group is its glorious improvisational tension, almost always perched tenuously at the edge. It's like a brewing storm, but not always threatening or scary -- it's just as often meditative, pretty, or sorta wacky. Tonality is virtually disregarded, but the trio still sometimes gravitates towards some harmonic centers, where it rumbles for a while, then moves along. There are some moments where it does erupt with freaky, dense atonal clatter, and these moments are spontaneously beautiful and amazing, feats of aural and technical qualities that will leave you lightheaded from the wonder of it all.

Musicianship and performance of the highest order -- highly recommended.

I ALWAYS LAUGH AT THE WAY PEOPLE REVIEW ANY RELEASE BY A BLACK GUITARIST. THEY ALMOST ALWAYS REFER TO COMPARISONS WITH JIMI HENDRIX. LET ME STRAIGHTEN EVERYONE OUT ON THIS...HERE ARE THE COMPARISONS...MR. ULMER IS A GUITARIST AND HE IS BLACK. THAT'S IT. THERE IS NO - AND I REPEAT - NO COMPARISON WITH JIMI. ANY FIRST TIME LISTENER WILL HEAR THAT. SO DON'T BE SUCKED INTO THINKING THIS IS HENDRIX-LIKE MUSIC. IT IS,HOWEVER, MIND BLOWING STUFF AND THERE IS REALLY NO WAY TO DESCRIBE THIS MUSIC EXCEPT LISTEN AND HAVE AN OPEN MIND AND YOU WILL PLAY IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IF I HAD TO DESCRIBE IT, IT WOULD BE FUNK FROM BLACK MARTIANS. THAT'S ABOUT IT. (AND IF YOU WANT HENDRIX COMPARISONS LOOK FOR RONNIE DRAYTON, THE SECOND GUITARIST ON THIS ALBUM - HE USED TO PLAY WITH NONA HENDRYX.)

at last "black rock" is on cd.Ulmer combines funk, rock and free jazz into one unbelievable sound.his music is probably more accessible to rock fans but i recommend it to everyone who wants to hear unique high intensity music.i also recommend "tales of captain black", "are you glad to be in america?" and anything Ulmer did with music revelation ensemble. i hope that the album "free lancing", which Ulmer released prior to "black rock",will be released on cd also.

If you are not familiar with James Blood Ulmer, you are certainly missing an important artist in your collection. This particular albumn is his best work though I would recommend some of his other albumns as well. With Calvin Weston as one of two drummers, the music drives forward at a frenetic pace, while Ulmer dives in and out with short riffs. Irene Datcher, who sings on a few of the cuts with the gravel voiced Ulmer, has the vocal power to rise above the busy music and is a real stand out. When it comes to guitar mastery, James Blood Ulmer should be better known. Pay particular attention to his work with the waw waw pedel. This album is not for the faint of heart, Ulmer's melding of Harmonolodic Jazz (a la Coleman) and rock takes some listening effort. I suggest that the listener relax and focus on James' Guitar as the rest of the band comes at you like a steamroller.

this is one of the most facinating,and inspiring cd's,i have heard in years.steve coleman,and the 5 elements,hit a homerun with this recording.group improvisation at it's best,exploring the parameters of jazz music,this cd is packed with great rythums,and odd time signatures,as well as brilliant interplay within the band.wonderful recording,highly recomended.

This album was my first introduction to Steve Coleman. It is simply amazing in both its complexity and groove, which it does in every song. Mr. Coleman used to offer transcriptions of his compositions. I don't believe he does so any more. Too bad, because some heads boggle the brain while keeping you fascinated and attentive. Marvin "Smitty" Smith's drumming is on top of the beat, never missing, and some grooves you'll want to imitate if you're a musician.
I have heard many of Mr. Coleman's other recordings but this remains my favorite. Do whatever you can to find it! It's amazing to me that it is out-of-print.