SUN RA ARCHESTRA — Swirling (2020) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The planets align as the mighty Sun Ra Arkestra, under the direction of the maestro Marshall Allen, are releasing their first studio album in over twenty years, ‘Swirling’.

“We truly hope that this recording brings much joy to a planet which is so deeply in need of a spirit sound and vibration,” states saxophonist Knoel Scott. “We hope it contributes to a change in the ominous direction of man’s journey through the cosmos.”

“This new release is the Arkestra’s love offering to the world,” concludes Marshall Allen. “Beta music for a better world.”

Recorded at Rittenhouse Soundworks in Philadelphia, the new recording represents the continuation of a heartfelt rebirth of the Arkestra under Allen’s guidance since Sun Ra left the planet in 1993, gaining new generations of followers from their regular touring across the globe. With a big band line-up featuring long-standing Arkestra members including Danny Ray Thompson (RIP), Michael Ray, Vincent Chancey, Knoel Scott, Cecil Brooks, Atakatune (RIP), Elson Nascimento and Tyler Mitchell, the album is a full-blooded celebration of Sun Ra’s legacy. bandcamp.com 
Tracklist :
1.           Satellites Are Spinning / Lights On A Satellite 8:00
Written-By – Sun Ra
2.        Seductive Fantasy 11:49
Written-By – Sun Ra
3.        Swirling 7:42
Written-By – Marshall Allen
4.        Angels And Demons At Play 7:05
Written-By – Sun Ra
5.        Sea Of Darkness / Darkness 5:06
Written-By – Sun Ra
6.        Rocket No. 9 5:00
Written-By – Sun Ra
7.        Astro Black 4:51
Written-By – Sun Ra
8.        Infinity / I'll Wait For You 9:18
Written-By – Sun Ra
9.        Sunology 4:25
Written-By – Sun Ra
10.        Door Of The Cosmos / Say 7:29
Written-By – Sun Ra
Credits : 
Alto Saxophone – Knoel Scott
Alto Saxophone, Electronic Valve Instrument [EVI] – Marshall Allen
Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Danny Ray Thompson
Bass – Tyler Mitchell
Congas – Stanley "Atakatune" Morgan
Cover [Original Cover Artwork By] – Lewis Heriz
Directed By [Under The Direction Of] – Marshall Allen
Drums – Wayne Anthony Smith, Jr.
French Horn – Vincent Chancey
Guitar – Dave Hotep
Performer – Sun Ra Arkestra
Piano – Farid Barron
Surdo [Surdo Drums], Percussion – Elson Nascimento
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – James Stewart 
Text By [Poem "Calling Planet Earth", August 1990] – Sun Ra
Trombone, Vocals – Dave Davis 
Trumpet – Cecil Brooks, Michael Ray
Vocals, Violin – Tara Middleton 

SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA — Some Blues But Not The Kind That's Blue (2008) FLAC (tracks+.cue) lossless

Fantastic. Another rare Saturn release makes its way into the digital realm. This time, it's Some Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue, a nice 1977 date that's heavy on standards. Aside from the two Sun Ra tunes (one of which had been unreleased prior to this), this is a pretty inside date with some major statements from Ra on piano and John Gilmore on tenor. Everyone gets a bit of solo room, and the flutes and bass clarinet add some really nice colors, especially on "My Favorite Things," a song so closely identified with the John Coltrane Quartet that this version is almost startling in its contrast to Coltrane's myriad versions. Aside from the title track and the two earlier bonus takes of "I'll Get By," there is no bass player present, the low end falling mostly to Ra's piano. Luqman Ali's drumming, as always, is remarkable in its tasty understatement. The bonus tracks are a wonderful addition. "Untitled" was recorded at the same 1977 sessions but didn't make the album cut. The other tracks are rehearsals, presumably from the Ra house on Morton St. in Philadelphia. They're two takes on "I'll Get By" with Ra on organ and the great Ronnie Boykins on a particularly well-recorded bass with Akh Tal Ebah on trumpet on one take and John Gilmore on tenor on the other. It's interesting to hear these rehearsals in relation to the same song's arrangement from a few years later. Although recorded about a decade apart, Some Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue is of a piece with Blue Delight: mostly standards albums that really put the spotlight on Sun Ra's piano playing and the tenor artistry of John Gilmore. Although the Arkestra is notorious for its outside playing and cacophonous tendencies, this album shows they could play it straight as well as anyone in the game. Wonderful stuff. Sean Westergaard
Tracklist :
1    Some Blues But Not The Kind Thats Blue 8:15
Written-By – Ra
2    I'll Get By 7:18
Written-By – Ahlert, Turk
3    My Favorite Things 10:01
Written-By – Rodgers-Hammerstein
4    Untitled 7:06
Written-By – Ra
5    Nature Boy 8:52
Written-By – Ahbez
6    Tenderly 7:30
Written By – Morrison
Written-By – Lawrence, Gross
7    Black Magic 8:38
Written-By – Arlen, Mercer
8    I'll Get By [Alternate Take] 7:24
Written-By – Ahlert, Turk
9    I'll Get By [Alternate Take] 6:42
Written-By – Ahlert, Turk
Credits :
Bass – Richard Williams (tracks: 1), Ronnie Boykins (tracks: 8, 9)
Bassoon – James Jacson (tracks: 1 to 7)
Clarinet – Eloe Omoe (tracks: 1 to 7)
Congas – Atakatune (tracks: 1 to 7)
Drums – Luqman Ali (tracks: 1 to 7)
Flugelhorn – Akh Tal Ebah (tracks: 8)
Flute – Danny Davis (tracks: 1 to 7), James Jacson (tracks: 1 to 7)
Organ – Sun Ra (tracks: 8, 9)
Piano – Sun Ra (tracks: 1 to 7)
Saxophone – John Gilmore (tracks: 1 to 7, 9), Marshall Allen (tracks: 1 to 7)

WYNONIE HARRIS – 1945-1947 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1013 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The second Classics CD to feature blues singer Wynonie Harris' recordings as a leader finds him in the period right before he signed with the King label. The five four-song sessions on this disc (all quite jazz oriented) were cut for Hamp-Tone, Bullet, and Aladdin. First, Harris (who sounds quite enthusiastic in every setting) sings three numbers (including a two-part "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop") with a combo taken from the Lionel Hampton big band. The Bullet date was quite rare. Recorded in Nashville, it finds Harris backed by local players including Sun Ra in his first recording. Ra's piano is well featured throughout including on "Dig This Boogie." Harris is also heard with a Leonard Feather-organized band that includes trumpeter Joe Newman, altoist Tab Smith, and tenor-saxophonist Allen Eager ("Mr. Blues Jumped the Rabbit" is the best-known selection), with an obscure backup band in New York (including for "Ghost of a Chance," an odd departure with a vocal group) and sharing the spotlight with Big Joe Turner on three numbers (including a slightly disorganized two-part "Battle of the Blues"). Throughout, Wynonie Harris sounds like he was ready for stardom. Recommended. Scott Yanow
All Tracks & Credits :

COLEMAN HAWKINS - The Hawk Returns (1955-2001) RM | MONO | FLAC (tracks), lossless

This CD features Hawkins on a dozen selections (all around three minutes long) performing with an odd group (organ, piano, bass, drums and sometimes a vocal group). Despite the potentially commercial backing, he really digs into the tunes and creates some magic. Pity that this CD only lasts around 36 minutes. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1    Goin' Down Home 2:42
Ozzie Cadena
2    I'll Follow My Secret Heart 3:07
Noël Coward
3    On My Way 3:12     
Ozzie Cadena
4    I'll Tell You Later 3:01
Adam Brenner
5    What a Diff'rence a Day Made 3:16
Stanley Adams / María Mendez Grever
6    Last Stop 2:54
Ozzie Cadena
7    Should I? 3:07
Freed, Broun
8    Flight Eleven 2:57
A.M. Brunner
9    Modern Fantasy 3:01
A.M. Brunner
10    Confessin' 3:03
Neiburg, Daugherty, Reynolds
11    September Song 3:28
Weill, Anderson
12    You Can't Take That Away From Me 2:59
G & I Gershwin
Notas.
Recorded in Chicago, August - September 1953
Recording date and credits above according to Geerken, Hartmut & Trent, Chris (2015) - Omniverse Sun Ra: p177#16.
Back cover has Coleman Hawkins (ts), Boddy Smith (ds) with (p) (org) (b) (vo) (May 27, 1954).
Credits :
Guitar – Leo Blevins (pistas: 1 to 6)
Organ – Les Strand (pistas: 1 to 6)
Piano [Uncredited] – Sun Ra (pistas: 7 to 12)
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins

JOHN CAGE Meets SUN RA [1987]

Due to variety and musicality, Sun Ra heavily defeats John Cage on the performance. He opens the concert with a huge, furious, dissonant keyboard performance. The crowd cheers wildly and the spacey synthesizer sounds jump all around the range of the instrument and jump around in styles just as quickly. Elements of jazz flow in and suddenly a huge, orchestral sounding chord will overpower the recording instrument. The synth voices change frequently from a typical square lead voice to a bell sound to a synthesized voice. Sun Ra uses his range of voices perfectly, creating a heavy, metallic sound at some points which makes an even more frenzied sound to the already insane harmonic structure. He manages to jump from the most beautiful chords to the most dissonance in a matter of seconds. His first appearance goes on for 7 and a half minutes, garnering tumultuous applause from the audience. He later closes out the first half of the performance with a much more eastern tinged movement. Just when his playing couldn’t get any darker, he spends most of the second half making ambient, creepy noises. Much in the manner of the Mars Volta, he goes off without any sense of time or rhythm, creating whatever comes to mind. However, he lets the ambience slowly build into huge, crashing chords of either beauty or dissonance. Everything is going somewhere.

John Cage is just the opposite. His performance is much simpler. He merely steps up to a microphone and makes strange vocal noises. Cage’s voice sounds akin to an aging Johnny Cash. However, Cage never steps over saying more than 3 or 4 syllables at a time. He takes minute breaks before starting another few indistinguishable syllables. Of course, he relies on his “chance music” theory to get away with the minutes of silence. Sure, it’s a profound and intriguing idea, but it just gets old after a few minutes, especially when the recording buzzes in the background due to the quality. In truth, Cage is reciting excerpts from one of his poems in some strange language, known as Empty Words IV. However, who knows what he is saying? Luckily, Sun Ra saves the performance on the second half by filling in where Cage leaves silence. He fills with light, dainty keyboard lines way up high on the keys. He lets Cage have the show, not doing much of anything, but neither Cage still does less than Sun Ra. Cage proves a better composer and philosopher than a performer. Regardless, the crowd eats everything up, probably being mostly young, profound college kids themselves.

Side A:
John Cage Meets Sun Ra (Cage-Ra)
Side B:
John Cage Meets Sun Ra (Cage-Ra) (cont.)

Alternates performances by Sun Ra-Yamaha DX-7; and John Cage-voc. Sideshows by the Sea, Coney Island, NY, 6/8/86. [Album jacket plus Andrejko]

Rarely heard live recording of a John Cage and Sun Ra performance from 1986. It was recorded at Sideshows by the Sea, the last surviving freak show along the Coney Island boardwalk. A carnival barker and a snake lady hawked the show outside and there was free pizza served, too. Can you imagine?!?! This concert took place on June 8th and pressed as a limited edition LP the following year. by Tyler Fisher writes on Sputnik Music

 John Cage Meets Sun Ra

]1987] Meltdown MPA-1 / LP / FLAC / scans

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