Sun Ra Music

THIS should be the one! I've been patiently waiting for this to be reissued on CD as the LP has been out of print for many years.

From the opening vocal chant/percussion to the abrupt segue into wailing reeds and horns to John Gilmore's technically and musically adept gallop through Ellingtonia to Star Wars-like "Lights on a Satellite" to the closing "We Travel The Spaceways" singalong, this disc is the epitome of Sun Ra's group as they sounded live in 1976. Powerful, emotive, creative and challenging, this disc keeps your attention for the two hours + of its length. Aside from the portions listed above, "El is the sound of joy" brings a fanfare of trumpets that for some reason invokes the spirit of live ARt Ensemble of Chicago to mind for me.

There isn't one minute of music on this disc that is superfluous. It will alternately tear you up and tearDROP you up. I consider this disc essential listening not just for Sun Ra fans, not just for fans of avant garde jazz, but for everyone who would like their ears and musical conceptions stretched a bit. As the proud owner of nearly 5000 pieces of avant garde jazz music, this disc is #1 on my list and has been since I first heard it in 1981. It just might become a favorite of yours as well.

Though Sun Ra was well into his third decade of artistry, this 1976 live set was an introduction to a wider audience.

The double album - back in a period when such releases were all the rage - features the 15 piece Intergalactic Cosmo Arkestra and has 14 selections that were familiar to fans, such as On Sound Infinity Spheres, El is the Sound of Joy, We Travel the Spaceways and Take the "A" Train, Sun Ra's salute to Duke Ellington.

With a hefty catalog of albums - but many on independent labels or limited editions only available at concerts - this release then and now is an outstanding way to begin the journey into the influential and amazing career of an iconic jazz performer.

The historic Myron's Ballroom was home to the big bands in the 1940's, rock bands in the 1950's and 1960's and disco in the 1970's; but is was the genius of Sun Ra who created a sonic landscape from those genres for a legendary 1981 avant-garde performance that is captured on three CD's.

With more than 180 minutes of music, the listener truly captures the unique structure of Sun Ra's art, as he guides the Arkestra from a methodical build-up into an explosion of soulful sounds.

There is no track listing for this first Los Angeles appearance in a decade, but Space Is The Place figures prominently in the set. A rare multi-CD set that was released in May 2006, it is breathtaking in scope and essential for anyone interested in the free jazz movement.