Initially mainly focusing on the'50's and '60's, the pair have set up the Enterplanetary Koncepts labelto release 24-bit transfers from the original analog tapes whichAnderson has been archiving since he was appointed tape librarian by Rain the late '70's. Original tapes have been restored and corrected,tracks reinstated to full length with some in stereo for the first timeand previously unreleased tracks added; all thoroughly annotated withvintage covers restored. Even with this masterful new re-direction,Ra's catalogue could still look like an impossible mountain too high toeven dare the foothills so I endeavored to list key releases fromthroughout his life and beyond as both beginners guide and entertainingroundup for more weathered space travelers. In part one, we left Sun Raand the Arkestra leaving the Sun Palace in New York City's East Village,where they had spent most of the '60's. Their new domain was alto saxmanMarshall Allen's father's large house on Morton Street in the decliningGermantown section of Philadelphia, which remains the Arkestral home andHQ to this day. Part two picks up at the dawn of the '70's. Man hadlanded on the Moon the previous year and Robert Moog had invented a newgizmo called the synthesizer. Maybe the rest of the world was startingto catch up with Sun Ra's visions... The Night Of The Purple Moon (Saturn 1970; Atavistic2007)Fun-packed curio credited to Sun Ra and his Inter Galactic InfinityArkestra but actually just the man on his Mini Moog and Rocksichord inprime space noodle mode, plus Danny Davis on alto and clarinet, electricbassist Stafford James and tenor man John Gilmore on drums!Space Probe (Saturn 1974; Art Yard 2008) Space Probe first appeared amidst the chaos of an initial run ofSaturns released in the early '70's, finally solidifying as athree-track LP consisting of the epic title blowout and two sparse handdrum outings recorded at Choreographers Workshop on April 29, 1962('Earth Primitive Earth' and 'The Conversation Of J.P.'). The monolithictitle track was recorded in August 1969 as a first test run for Ra's newMoog synthesizer when he got it home. Typically, this quickly balloonedinto more than a few squirty doodles as, for 17 minutes, he reflected aspaceship scouring outer space looking for a landing place. As many havesaid, the synthesizer (especially the huge early models which lookedlike a spaceship's control panel) could have been invented just for SunRa. Art Yard's reissue saw the original album joined by offcuts from theSecrets Of The Sun sessions.The Solar Myth Approach Volumes 1 & 2 (BYG 1975; Atom 2005)Ra gave these recordings to BYG/Actuel after he didn't make it to makeBelgium's 1969 Festival Actuel. Captured in NYC around 1970-71, theSolar-Myth Arkestra stretch around galactic themes and invoke fearsomecosmic behemoths on "The Utter Nots," Ra showing his increasing masteryof his Mini-Moog on several interstellar overdrive tear-ups. Althoughjazz-rock had now caught on to synths, Ra was the one really tramplingbarriers between the two forms of music, while continuing to take musicinto unchartered realms.Nuits De La Foundation Maeght Volumes 1 & 2 (Sandar 1971;Recommended Records 2003) In August 1970, Ra took a nearly 20-piece Arkestra to debut in Europe atFrance's Fondation Maeght museum, St-Paul-de-Vence, as captured on thesetwo vibrant volumes. The Arkestra on full beam sufficiently impressedpromoters to land a full tour, including UK dates in Liverpool andLondon (the Queen Elizabeth Hall is documented on Transparency's bootlegLive In London 1970). Black Myth/Out In Space (Motor City,1998) comprises two German festival sets at Berlin and Donaueshingen.The Creator Of The Universe (The Lost Reel CollectionNumber One) (Transparency 2007) First actual release on the press-anything-and-bugger-the-legalities butoften valuable Transparency was drawn from Ra's Spring 1971 trip to theUniversity of Berkeley, whose African American Studies Departmentinvited him to be artist-in-residence as a major first move by thehard-fought for new Ethnic Studies department. For three months, Rataught a course called 'The Black Man in The Cosmos,' lecturing beforean Arkestra or his keyboard performance. He caused a sensation, embracedby black, hippie and new age communities, going on to mesmerize SanFrancisco and Southern California, living in Oakland with Bobby Sealeand the Black Panthers, while also influencing the likes of Frank Zappa.The shows introduced a new series of complex, numbered compositionscalled 'Disciplines,' which eventually numbered over a hundred. The Creator Of The Universe stands out for thesparsely-experimental San Francisco warehouse show from June, 1971(including 20 minutes of declarations peppered with volcanic spacechords), while disc two features one of Ra's lectures. AnotherTransparency CD called Intergalactic Research captures a looser,spacier Arkestra at Berkeley's Native Son and unidentified 1972 showfeaturing Ra on Moog overdrive.Nidhamu (Saturn 1971; Art Yard 2009) After playing Denmark in December 1971, Ra spontaneously decided tovisit Egypt, without arranging anything or knowing anyone there(predictably getting problems at customs for the name on his passport!).While he fulfilled his ambition to visit the pyramids, the Arkestrahooked up with writer-musician Hartmut Geerken, who kicked them off witha paying gig at his house, followed by a Cairo TV concert and shows atthe Ballon Theatre, American University and Versailles Club. Recordingsmade from the visit originally appeared on Saturn as Live InEgypt, Dark Myth Equation Visitation and Horizon. Thefirst two make up Art Yard's Nidhamu set, showing the AstroIntergalactic Infinity Arkestra magnificently rising to the occasion asdrummers pulse under sepulchral horn ensembles on stellar performancesincluding a hypnotic "Friendly Galaxy," three "Discipline" excursionsand radically different "Space Loneliness," plus Ra's synthesizedconversations with the Pharoahs on the epic "Nidhamu" itself.Soundtrack To The Film Space Is The Place (Evidence 1993);Space Is The Place (Blue Thumb 1973; MCA 1998) While in Oakland, Ra was approached by producer John Coney to make adocumentary for PBS, resulting in Space Is The Place, whichcaptured his philosophies, humour and music in suitably surreal style.Featuring the Arkestra and actors, it's draped inB-movie/blaxploitation/biblical epic ambience as, traversing theuniverse in a spaceship fueled by music, Ra finds a planet suitable torevive the black race, returning to Earth to land in 1972, whilebattling with mega-pimp the Overseer who, along with the FBI and NASA,send him back to space after he offers black people an 'alter-destiny'.Production was tortuous, the heavily edited film sneaking out anddisappearing fast, destined to be a cult classic. Evidence unofficiallyreleased the soundtrack in 1993 - nothing to do with the album of thesame name (featuring the 21 minute title track) recorded in Chicago inOctober 1972 and released by Blue Thumb.Wake Up Angels: Live At The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival1972-73-74 (Art Yard 2011) Sun Ra enjoyed a special relationship with Detroit after playing therewith the MC5 in June, 1967 at the Community Arts Auditorium on WayneState University. When they returned in May-June 1969 to play theDetroit Rock and Roll Revival with Chuck Berry, the MC5 and Stooges atthe invitation of Five manager John Sinclair, they stayed next door tothe large Victorian house occupied by the band and White Panther partymembers. The MC5 were major fans, having used Ra's "There" poem aslaunch-pad for their own "Starship" on Kick Out The Jams. InSeptember 1972, the (Solar-Myth) Arkestra were invited back by Sinclairto play opening night of the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in frontof 12,000 punters, their biggest U.S. crowd yet. They turned the placeout, flitting between space chants, squalling chaos and Ra's synthassaults. The date led to further dates around the world and returnappearances at the next two Ann Arbor festivals. Sinclair licensed tapesof these performances to Alive/Total Energy, including 1972's Life IsSplendid, 1973's Outer Spaceways Employment Agency and 1974'sIt Is Forbidden, all three contributing to Art Yard's stupendousWake Up Angels: Live At The Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival1972-73-74; which cataclysmically chronicles Ra's triumphs in thehome of high-energy rock 'n' roll.Astro Black (Impulse! 1972; Mastered For iTunes 2014);The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums (Evidence 2000); Pathways ToUnknown Worlds (Evidence 2000) In a concerted effort to put his music on the map, 1972 saw Ra'sill-fated liaison with ABC's Impulse!, foremost label for new jazzpioneers such as Coltrane. Ra prepared 30 reissues and recorded four newalbums but, for various reasons, the deal lasted only two years beforebeing guillotined by money men, sending the Impulse/Saturn titles whichwere released to the cutout bins. 1973 was to have seen new albumsCymbals, Crystal Spears and Pathway To UnknownWorlds. While the first two were never released, the third sneakedout in the deal's dying days and a fourth lay hidden. But there wasalso the transcendental Astro-Black, which has never beenreissued until this years Mastering For iTunes campaign. Originallyreleased in quadrophonic sound, the album boasted four synth-splatteredspace jams beautifully underpinned by Ronnie Boykins' bass, 'Bugs'Hunter's featherlight drums and batteries of percussion, overlaid withfirefly brass vapour trails and skronkarama. June Tyson's voice uncurlsthe main theme of the title track over swelling aural jazz orchestraocean led by Ra's synthesized submarine, while side two consisted ofjust an 18 minute intergalactic blowout called "The Cosmo Fire." Two 'lost' albums finally saw release on Evidence in 2000. Recorded atVariety, Cymbals intoxicatingly detours into surreal lounge vampsled by Ra's night-stalking organ and woozy brass, with titles like"Order Of The Pharoanic Jesters." Recorded at the same session withpercussively-expanded band, Crystal Spears featured pre-writtencompositions, Ra wielding electronic vibes and Mini-Moog on shimmeringdream processionals lashed with spectacular shooting solos from anuncaged Gilmore. Pathways To Unknown Worlds (one of the fourSaturn master tapes offered to Impulse! which never got chosen) featuredsimilar lineup on guided improvisation, highlighting Boykins' unerringbass dexterity on outings such as the subterranean title track,climaxing with the major freak out of "Extension Out." The Evidencereissue pairs the album with the previously-unknown FriendlyLove. With no drummer or bass, congas lead the luminescent way on afour part suite based on cued in improvisations.Concert For The Comet Kohoutek (ESP-Disk 1993) On December 22 1973, Ra and the Arkestra played New York Town Hall incelebration of a comet which brushes the Earth every 127 years. The gigwas sponsored by ESP-Disk, which subsequently released the set's mixtureof staples and Space Is The Place music which would dominateshows for the next two years. They had toured Europe again in September,1973, including Paris' Olympia and Gibus, captured on Live In ParisAt The Gibus (French Atlantic, reissued Universe, 2003). Ra wasstarting to feature swing standards in the live shows, here throwing ina spirited take on Fletcher Henderson's 'King Porter Stomp'.The Antique Blacks (Saturn 1974; Art Yard 2009) Recorded in Philadelphia in August 1974, The Antique Blacksfeatured Ra's newly-introduced vocal expounding [somewhere betweenpreaching, rapping and lecturing], often expanded on by June Tyson andthe Space Ethnic Singers. It's one of his more outstanding '70'screations, mixing Latin jams, calm-to-storm instrumentals and Ra's calmspace philosophising on tracks such as "There Is Change In The Air."Dance Of The Living Image (Transparency 2007) Another missive from Transparency's Lost Reel series, taken from aDecember, 1974 rehearsal in San Francisco, boasting standards"Sometimes I'm Happy" (hallucinogenic with jagged discords and far outRa vocal), Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," old time ensemblewhoopee on Charles L. Bates' "Hard Hearted Hannah," a sublimely loosebrass shuffle called "Passin' Gas" and gorgeous slow "Watusi."Live In Cleveland (Leo 2009) Wildly on-form Arkestra captured in Cleveland on January 30, 1975. Theclap-a-long "Astro Nation (Of The United World In Outer Space)" chantleads into an ebullient, percussion-heavy set of Ra standards,highlights including his expounding on "I, Pharoah," circuit-singeingsynth solo [with early rhythm box under-pulses] and spirited rompthrough "Sophisticated Lady." Dale Williams's bubbling electric bassvirtuosity is wildly to the fore throughout.Live At Montreux (Saturn 1976; Universe 2003) Originally a Saturn double album, this record of the Intergalactic CosmoArkestra at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival has been called one of thebest live sets ever captured. Ra and the 15 piece band are on fire,blazing through standards and an incendiary take on Duke Ellington's"Take The A Train." Ra's performances are among his most forcefullydynamic on record and the Arkestra are roaring.A Quiet Place In The Universe (Leo 1994) A Quiet Place In The Universe fleshed out tracks already releasedon Leo's A Night In East Berlin with the whole concert, thoughtto be from early 1977 in the U.S. The Arkestra are low-key andmulti-layered, the title track a dense, reflective brass-flutes carpet(including Vincent Chancey's French horn), "I, Pharoah" another extendedRa cosmo-drama (as also heard on the late '70's Saturn album of thatname) over elements of "Friendly Galaxy Number 2," while "Images"typifies the duets Ra would play with Chancey during his late '70'sstint with the Arkestra.Cosmos (Cobra 1976; Spallax 1999) Cosmos presents a sumptuously textured Paris date recorded atParis' Studio Hautefeuille in August 1976, drummer Larry Bright givingthe music the lightly-driven swing which characterizes tracks such as"The Mystery Of Two" and "Neo Drift," which harks back to 1950'sworkouts [coated in hazy space mist]. 'Interstellar Low Ways' gets asparkling Rocksichord-draped new take, while the perfectly-titled"Moonship Journey" unveils a new chant. Maybe best summed up by the songtitle "Jazz From An Unknown Planet."Solo Piano Volume One (Improvising Artists; ImprovisingArtists CD 1992); St Louis Blues: Solo Piano (ImprovisingArtists; Improvising Artists CD 1993) Having mastered the synth, Ra returned to the piano, recording SoloPiano Volume One at a New York studio on May 22 1977 at theinvitation of free jazz pianist Paul Bley for his Improvising Artistsimprint. Ra beautifully reworks standards such as "Sometimes I Feel LikeA Motherless Child" and "Yesterdays," along with his own compositions.This was swiftly followed by St Louis Blues: Solo Piano, recordedat Axis-in-Soho as part of the Newport Jazz Festival that July, againmixing standards such as the boogie-woogie title track with his own.Some Blues But Not The Kind That's Blue (Saturn 1977;Atavistic 2008) Although joined by a full Arkestra, Ra stuck to piano on the unreissuedSaturn Somewhere Over The Rainbow (recorded in Bloomington,Indiana in July), and Some Blues But Not The Kind That's Blue[Saturn 101477], recorded at NY's Variety studio on October 14, 1977. Raagain reinterprets the jazz songbook, including "My Favourite Things"(with Gilmore flying) and "Nature Boy."Unity (Horo 1978) A roaring 1977 show at New York's Storyville sees Ra taking the Arkestraback to big band roots on organ and Rocksichord, finishing with"Halloween in Harlem" and "My Favourite Things." The following month'sgig at Chicago's Jazz Showcase provided two Saturn albums,schizophrenically split between racing between galaxies on The SoulVibrations Of Man (debuting the funereal "When There Is No Sun"chant) and standards on Taking A Chance On Chances (debutingtrumpeter Michael Ray, straight from backing the Stylistics).Piano Recital: Teatro La Fenice, Venezia (Leo/Golden YearsOf New Jazz 2003) Ra gave a mesmerising solo concert at the Teatro La Fenice, Venezia in1977, unleashing an outrageous display of piano pyrotechnics on anythingfrom his topsy-turvied classics to ravishing treatments of "Take The "A'Train," the dazzling intro to "Penthouse Serenade" swooping past CecilTaylor in the fast lane before gliding down to the lounge.Disco 3000 (Saturn 1978; Art Yard 2007) Media Dreams(Saturn 1978; Art Yard 2004) Still charting self-imposed diversions, Ra took a quartet to Italy inJanuary 1978, his Crumar Mainman wonder-organ joined by Gilmore, Ray anddrummer Luqman Ali. The quartet's concerts and studio dates produced aclutch of fascinating, often widely differing albums. New Stepsand Other Voices, Other Blues (including ballads and another "MyFavourite Things") were recorded at the Horo label's studio for theirrelease, while The Sound Mirror, Disco 3000 and MediaDreams were released (along with rare single "Disco 2100"/"SkyBlues") on Saturn. For years, Philly's Third Street Jazz store was theonly place to get these new custom-made Saturns, sold C.O.D. by theregularly visiting Arkestra. Media Dreams, named after thestudio, is a remarkable exercise in spacing out, the three musiciansletting Ra forage and stretch, sometimes weighing in beautifully fortheir own solo flights. Confusingly, improvised space-floater "Of OtherTomorrows Never Known" appeared on The Sound Mirror then uneditedon this album's reissue. Disco 3000's reissues started with thetruncated vinyl version before 2008's double CD recording of whole Milanconcert on January 23, when the band played behind a screen showingSpace Is The Place. For the concert, Ra hauled out his awesomeCrumar Mainman and rhythm box, which he used like a rave DJ on the 26minute title track, which sounds like Suicide-go-techno on thespeed-percolating "Dance Of The Cosmo Aliens" (actually built around"Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child").Languidity (Philly Jazz; Evidence 2000) 1978 also saw Ra record the Visions team-up with Walt Dickersonfor the vibraphonist's Steeplechase Records and landmarkLanguidity, recorded in a single marathon session at Bob Blank'sBlank Tapes in New York. Ra was considered a major figure in the city'spost-punk movement and recorded the latter's hazy beauty in one of itsspawning ground epicenters with renowned producer Bob Blank. The albumintroduced a rarely multi-tracked Arkestra playing decidedly languid,unusually funk-flavoured grooves, Ra's new Fender Rhodes shimmering andstarbursting with Dale Williams' guitar, floatation horns (includingtrumpeter Eddie Gale) droning and swelling on the title track's morningskyline serenade, while "Where Pathways Meet" and "Twin Stars Of Thence"see the Arkestra reconstructing jazz-funk with hallucinogenic sprawl.The woozily whispery "There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told YouOf)" ranks among Ra's greatest spatial tone paintings. Released on localradio engineer Tom Buchler's nascent Philly Jazz label, the initial run[sold at an Atlanta college show] came with just a photocopied Ra picstuck on the plain cover. 1978 also saw Philly Jazz release OfMythic Worlds, recorded live in Chicago 1968. Released on SweetEarth (reissued on Universe), The Other Side Of The Sun comprisedswing-centric recordings made at NY's Blue Rock Studios in November 1978and January 1979, including serene treatments of standards "Flamingo"and "The Sunny Side Of The Street," plus a dreamy lounge crawl throughRa's "Manhattan Cocktail" and funky take on "Space Is The Place." Therewere more solo or trio outings, including Saturn's with 1979's God IsMore Than Love Can Ever Be and 1980's solo Aurora Borealis.On Jupiter (Saturn 1979; Art Yard 2006); SleepingBeauty (Saturn 1979; Art Yard 2005) On Jupiter's dreamy trio of space-jazz escapades were channeledthrough a 20-piece Arkestra, although "UFO" was closest Ra got to disco,riding Steve Clarke's electric bassline (hijacked by downtown geniusArthur Russell for Loose Joints' NY club smash "Is It All Over MyFace"), its disarming chorale fondling new stratas of jazzed-outspace-funk, dropping to a pastoral whisper on the beautifully-controlled17 minutes of "Seductive Fantasy." Almost a sister album, SleepingBeauty plumbs similar lush furrows with mellow chants stroking "Doorof The Cosmos" and languorous melancholy of "Springtime Again." THE '80's AND '90'sBy the '80's, the Arkestra were touring the world and recordingincessantly, releasing albums on a variety of labels, including a welterof Saturn's (never reissued). Maybe these are best dealt with as abroader overview... Strange Celestial Road (Rounder) againcentered on a massed Arkestra sifting rich textures behind chants,including the perennial "I'll Wait For You" signaling freeform liftoff.I Pharoah (Saturn) saw the concert fave given a whole side, Raruminating on the Egyptian people and immortality over drums and fluteswhile the chants get more disembodied. There was also Live AtSoundscape, its concert disc joined by a Ra lecture on the first DIWpressing. 1981 Saturn releases included Aurora Borealis,Beyond The Purple Star Zone and Oblique Parallax. The lasttwo captured the Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra at Detroit Jazz Center in1980, a return booking from Ra devotee Rick Steiger after they sold outthe city's Recital Hall the previous October. One show turned into asix-day, eleven performance residency, running from Boxing Day to NewYear's Eve. The whole stint, with core Arkestra joined by a stream ofguest musicians and dancers, was released by Transparency on 28 CD's! A February 1980 Swiss show, released by hat Hut as Sunrise InDifferent Dimensions is a fabulous snapshot of peak Arkestra,balancing standards ("Cocktails For Two," "Round Midnight," "Take The'A' Train," "King Porter Stomp") with originals, the reliables joined byoutings such as "Disguised Gods In Skullduggery Rendezvous" and"Pinpoints Of Spiral Prisms." Alarmed by 1979's Three Mile Islandnuclear accident (close to Ra's Philly HQ), Ra wrote thecall-and-response shuffler "Nuclear War," presaging political rap withlines like, 'Nuclear war/It's a motherfucker/Don't you know/If they pushthat button/Your ass gotta go.' Recording at Variety in September 1982,Ra believed he had a hit here, so he approached Columbia Records. Afterthey declined, he sold it to Dick O'Dell's Y Records, home of the Slitsand Pop Group, who released Ra's first 12-inch single, c/w June Tyson'svibrant take on standard "Sometimes I'm Happy." The planned NuclearWar album on Y Italy mixed more songbook faves ("Smile," Ellington's"Drop Me Off In Harlem") with Ra originals such as "Retrospect,""Celestial Love" and "Nameless One Number 2." Without properdistribution, it became an instant rarity but Ra cheekily placed itstracks on two albums released on his Philly version of Saturn, SaturnGemini: A Fireside Chat With Lucifer (with its epic title track)and Celestial Love. The Arkestra returned to Egypt in 1983,recording Sun Ra Meets Salah Ragab In Egypt (Leo), a jointventure between Ra and the composer with the Cairo Jazz Band. Ra usedtracks from November 1983 Montreux shows (part of a week's Europeansortie where his Sun Ra All Stars included Allen, Gilmore, Archie Shepp,Don Cherry, Lester Bowie, Philly Joe Jones and Clifford Jarvis) on twoSaturn volumes of Stars that Shine Darkly, adding tracks fromother gigs, including the 14 minute pipe organ solo "Hiroshima" (whichbecame title track of both volumes released on the same set). There werealso three volumes of Live At Praxis '84, recorded at the OrpheusTheatre, Athens that February and released on Greece's Praxis imprint. In 1984, UK label Recommended Records released Cosmo SunConnection, mixing piano blues jams and organ shenanigans with bandblowouts, recorded live in the U.S. that year. A mainly standardsDecember session in Milan produced Reflections In Blue andHours After for Black Saint, showing that the Arkestra were stillunbeatable playing their version of straight jazz. In early 1986, Ra andthe Arkestra recorded three Cab Calloway-style tracks with singer PhilAlvin of the Blasters for his Unsung Stories album on Slash. In1986, the two giants of modern sonic exploration, Ra and John Cage, wereinvited to play the Coney Island Museum for the new Meltdown Records.Both supplied individual pieces, Ra accompanied by dancers, and releasedthe results as John Cage Meets Sun Ra (reissued 1997). InJanuary 1988, the Arkestra played New York's Knitting Factory,reportedly doing mad sets which saw Ra driving the band to match hisintensity on new or improvised material and the weirdness compounded byArt Jenkins' intoning through a metal megaphone. The shows wouldcomprise the last two Saturn albums, Hidden Fires Vols I & 2,which were only sold at gigs so that they became instant collectables.Only "My Brother The Wind" and "Sun #9" resurfaced on Leo's second CDpressing of A Night In East Berlin. In complete contrast, Ra'snext project was covering "Pink Elephants On Parade" from Dumbofor Hal Wilner's Stay Awake various artists set of Disney coversfor A&M. Ra diligently studied the movie, identifying with its lonelyelephant, suitably enthralled enough to teach the Arkestra an entire setof Disney tunes to take on tour as the Disney Odyssey Arkestra, mousehats and all. Such a performance was recorded in Austria in April 1989and released on Leo as Second Star To The Right (Salute to WaltDisney), where it's possible to hear the Arkestra squeak and bellowthrough such classics as "Heigh Ho!," "Someday My Prince Will Come" and"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." The Arkestra made their first visit to Japan inAugust, 1988, recorded in riotously jaunty, big band form on CosmoOminiverse Imaginable Illusion: Live at Pit-Inn (DIW), whichstratospherically elevates Ellington's "Prelude to A Kiss" and otherwhoopee at Tokyo's Pitt-Inn. That December saw a Variety sessionproduce enough material for 1989's Blue Delight on A&M, plus halfof Somewhere Else for Rounder, completed with tracks from theNovember, 1989 session which resulted in 1990's marvelous second A&Mset, Purple Night. The first session, which saw the return ofearly trombonist Julian Priester and pocket trumpet maestro Don Cherryjoining up, marked a shift in Ra's sound, typified by revisiting "LoveIn Outer Space" as a rich, multi-layered tapestry, reflective ratherthan explosive. The Purple Night session (at NY's modern BMGstudio) continued this lustrous direction, including Ra singing ahaunting version of standard "Stars Fell On Alabama" with a 23-pieceArkestra, like Ra was gazing back at his last 30 years' achievements.1990 began with a punishing gig schedule, Ra now 76 but traversing toall corners of the U.S., Europe five times and to Moscow's first jazzfestival. Albums which came from these travels include thestandards-reworks of Mayan Temples (recorded in Milan for BlackSaint), Live In London 1990 (Blast First, recorded at London'sMean Fiddler in June), Pleiades (Leo, playing specially-arrangedoutings with a 19-piece orchestra plus Arkestra at Theatre-CarreSaint-Vincent, Orleans, France in October), Live At The HackneyEmpire (Leo, London, same month). The last two shows added TalvinSingh on tablas. The following month, Ra suffered a series ofstrokes and was admitted to Philly's hospital, where he famously gavehis birth-place as Saturn, verified by a knowing doctor. After threemonths rehabilitation, he had willed himself back on the road but wasconfined to a wheelchair with his left hand impaired. Ra was a moresubdued figure, not speaking onstage but declaring, "the show must goon" off it, even appearing again in the UK and Europe (April's BenlieuesBleues in Montreuil, France recorded and released on Leo as FriendlyGalaxy. In November 1991, John Gilmore had a small group showbooked at NY's Village Vanguard, but he gave it to Ra, who could onlymanage to play synth to beautifully sensitive pianist Chris Anderson,who he knew from Chicago. Completed by drummer Buster Smith, bassistJohn Ore and guitarist Bruce Edwards, the sextet stretched with subtlerestraint on a 21 minute "Round Midnight," "S' Wonderful" and "Autumn InNew York" plus "Sun Ra Blues" and "Theme Of The Stargazers." Resultingalbum Sun Ra Sextet At The Village Vanguard on Jazz Door makes amuted, poignant footnote to Ra's story, although he continued touringwith the Arkestra. The March 1992 show in Aarburg was released asDestination Unknown (Enja), with Ra's contributions being sparsebut spectrally evident in the big band bombast. In September, Rarecorded A Tribute to Stuff Smith (Soul Note) with violinistBilly Bang at Sear Sound, NYC. Among standards such as "Yesterdays" and"A Foggy Day," they covered "Deep Purple," the first song Ra 'recordedunder his name back in 1948 with Stuff Smith. It was to be his lastrecording session on this planet. After Sun Ra and his IntergalacticHarmonica Divergent Jazz Arkestra played NY's S.O.B.'s on October 21, hewas hospitalized with another stroke. It was agreed Ra should be senthome to Birmingham to be looked after by his family. His conditionworsened and he was admitted to the Baptist Medical Center-Princetonwith pneumonia, suffering a heart attack in March. Sun Ra left thisplanet on May 30, 1993 and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery, accompaniedby music by the Arkestra. Of course, this was not the end of the Sun Raalbum releases; if anything they've intensified over the years, asalready seen. Apart from shamelessly re-plugging my own 3-CD Sun Ra,A Space Odyssey; From Birmingham To The Big Apple; The Quest Beginsset for Fantastic Voyage (which focusses on his earliest days) the mostrecent biggie is Marshall Allen Presents... In the Orbit Of Ra,released as a collaboration between esteemed UK label Strut andRa-chivists Art Yard. Current bandleader Marshall Allen, who joined theArkestra on alto saxophone in 1957, rummages in the archives to come upwith his own selection to mark his old boss's centenary in stratosphericstyle. With an emphasis on ancient tribal slinkiness and full-borespace-blast whoopee, Marshall presents faves from between 1958-78, whichinclude many of the afore-mentioned landmarks, from "The Lady With TheGolden Stockings" to "Astro Black." Heard in one fell swoop, it'spossible to again appreciate the genius of Sun Ra and unearthly cosmicinterplay of the musicians who clambered into his orbit all over again.45 years since I first heard this music, I can still feel like anythingfrom that boggle-eyed 15-year-old or lifelong Saturn resident soaking inthe space rays. If you've experienced neither, it's time to dive in,starting here and with the inter-galactic iTunes bonanza.The full Sun Ra catalog can be viewed at itunes.com/SunRaMusic. Also watch the skies for SunRa.com, the new website being set up.
the slits live at the gibus club rar
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