Browse by Artist: SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	Music From Tomorrow's World
Label:	ATAVISTIC
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	ALP 237CD

Completely unissued, much-speculated material from their 1960 Chicago-based era. "If the Wonder Inn recordings have been much speculated over during the four decades since they were made, a studio date from someplace called Majestic Hall rings only very distant bells, even for those who played on it. Majestic Hall was a fantastic session, with a slightly larger octet incarnation of the Arkestra, including Cohran on cornet, Gilmore again in gorgeous form, Marshall Allen and two other saxophonists: Gene Easton on alto and Ronald Wilson on baritone. Drummer Robert Barry is explosive on the latter track, and as with the Wonder Inn tracks, bassist Ronnie Boykins was the Arkestra's unfailing rudder. Behind it all looms the creative fireball named Sun Ra, concocting ceaselessly creative intros, comping imaginatively, or going without horns on the fragment of 'Interstellar Lo-Ways' that closes the disc. Here are two late-breaking installations from a single season in the story of Sun Ra's Chicago period, each focused on a different aspect of his concept. The Wonder Inn: Arkestra in motion, as part of the community, engaging the underground jazz intelligentsia on the south side. Majestic Hall: the grand scale of Ra's compositional and arranging genius, the heroic efforts of his band. Yet a couple more key pieces in the big puzzle that is Sun Ra's master-oeuvre."

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	Some Blues But Not The Kind Thats Blue
Label:	ATAVISTIC
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	ALP 265CD

"The third deluxe Ra reissue in the new O-Card format from the UMS, released in conjunction with El Saturn Records is here: a superb reissue of a delicious, seldom heard Saturn Records document from '70 -- replete with two alternate takes of a previously unissued classic AND an 'Untitled' piece from the original '77 sessions... all available for the first time on CD!" "Sun Ra's career-long commitment to his Arkestra allowed the pianist and bandleader little time for the elaboration of less populous projects. There were brief, tantalizing glimpses, however, into his small group concept -- including a rash of recordings made in the mid 1970s. There are, for instance, two great double-LPs of quartet music, tenor saxophonist John Gilmore gloriously forward, made for the Italian Horo label in 1978. A year prior, a stripped-down group made a set of studio recordings focused on standard jazz songbook material, as well as some original music by Ra, that was issued on Saturn as Some Blues But Not The Kind Thats Blue. As a special treat, to augment this extremely rare Saturn LP and show how Ra developed the idea for one of his arrangements, two alternative versions of the poignant 'I'll Get By' are included -- taken from a session slated May 3, 1973 by Gilmore. In the distance, the muffled remnant of a previous track appears, taped over on this home recording, the almost in-sync backwards drums providing a low-key element of surreality." --John Corbett, Chicago, October, 2007

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	The Cry of Jazz
Label:	ATAVISTIC
Format:	DVD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	ALP 2865DVD

"Filmed in Chicago, finished in 1959, the Cry of Jazz is filmmaker, composer and arranger Edward O. Bland's polemical essay on the politics of music and race, a forecast of what he called 'the death of jazz.' A landmark moment in black film, foreseeing the civil unrest of subsequent decades, it also features the only known footage of visionary pianist Sun Ra from his beloved Chicago period. Ample images of tenor saxophonist John Gilmore and the rest of Ra's Arkestra in Windy City nightclubs, all shot in glorious black & white. Rarely seen in cinemas, this is the first commercial release of the Cry of Jazz, transferred from a pristine print and featuring an otherwise unreleased Arkestral soundtrack." Region Zero; 35 min., 5.1 surround sound.

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	Jazz In Silhouette
Label:	DOXY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$23.00
Catalog #:	DOX 840LP

"Released on Ra's own Saturn label in 1958 and originally only available at gigs, until its re-release on Impulse in 1975. For its unique ability to look both forward and backward at the same time, Silhouette is one Sun Ra's finest of the period. Ra is able to revisit swing and be-bop while somehow still managing to stay at the forefront of jazz... perhaps Sun Ra's music really did come from his own experiences in outer space as he often claimed. Outstanding performances by tenor saxophonist John Gilmore, often called 'Sun Ra's Johnny Hodges', particularly on 'Blues At Midnight'. John Gilmore was one of the longest standing members of the Arkestra. Special mention is also due to trumpeter Herbert Dotson who can be heard on this early version of 'Enlightenment', one of Ra's greatest pieces, co-writtten with Dotson. Its theme was often chanted by Sun Ra & members of the Arkestra as they ran down through the theatre at the end of their sets. Also featuring standout track 'Ancient Aiethopia', which alone makes this album an important entry in Sun Ra's voluminous discography."

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums: Cymbals/Crystal Spears
Label:	EVIDENCE
Format:	2CD
Price:	$27.00
Catalog #:	ECD 22217

"This 2-CD box is comprised of two albums originally intended for release on ABC's Impulse Records but never issued. After Impulse abruptly ended a licensing agreement with Sun Ra's El Saturn label, the two unreleased album masters were boxed up and returned to Saturn, where they languished in obscurity for the next 27 years. Evidence has remixed the original four-track tapes down to two-track stereo. Former Impulse Records head Ed Michel wrote the notes, which chronicle the short, strange history of Sun Ra's major label tenure."

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	Live At Montreux
Label:	INNER CITY
Format:	2LP
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	IC 1039HLP

Exact repro reissue on 180 gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold sleeve. Originally released in 1978, recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1976. "A full 20-member Arkestra (plus dancers) turns in a typically freewheeling set. From 'Take the 'A' Train' (featuring a killer solo from Marshall Allen), to the gospel-influenced 'El Is a Sound of Joy,' to the almost exotica 'Lights on a Satellite,' to the free and raucous 'Gods of the Thunder Realm,' and on to 'We Travel the Spaceways,' the Arkestra covers as much musical territory in this set as anyone would expect from a live Sun Ra show. This is considered to be another classic in a vast discography."

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	Interplanetary Melodies
Label:	NORTON RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	CED 352CD

Subtitled: Doo Wop From Saturn And Beyond Vol. One. "Norton recently took a rocket ride into the vaults of El Saturn Research and arrived back on Earth with a motherlode of unissued early R&B, doo wop, soul and general weirdness featuring Sun Ra and his Arkestra backing a variety of artists. This series consists of two albums of Doo Wop from Saturn and Beyond entitled Interplanetary Melodies and The Second Stop Is Jupiter plus a set of totally twisted sides called Rocket Ship Rock featuring Yochanan 'The Outer Space Vocalist' (with his demented Saturn 45 Muck Muck/Hot Skillet Momma) and his way out friends backed by Sun Ra and his Arkestra! Atomic outer space genius from yet another Norton turban headed star!" Tracklist: Cosmic Rays - Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie/Dreaming*/Bye Bye/Somebody's In Love*/Summertime*; Crystals - Honey In The Bee Box*; Nu Sounds - Spaceship Lullaby*/I'm Through With You*/Africa (extended version)*/Dabba Dabba Dabba Du Day*; Qualities - It's Christmas Time/If I Only Hadn't Sunned*; Juanita Rogers - A Love Letter Full Of Promises*/Teenagers Letter Of Promise/Sun Ra - Tony's Wife* (* = previously unissued).

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	The Second Stop Is Jupiter
Label:	NORTON RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	CED 353CD

Subtitled: Doo Wop From Saturn And Beyond Vol. Two. Tracklist: Cosmic Rays - Somebody's In Love/Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie*/Dreaming/There's A Small Hotel*/The Second Stop Is Jupiter*; Nu Sounds - Spaceship Lullaby*/Honeysuckle Rose*/Baby Won't You Please Be Mine*/Black Sky And Blue Moon*/Dreams Come True*; Qualities - Happy New Year To You!/ She's My Moonglow*; Crystals - Little Sally Walker*; Juanita Rogers - I'm So Glad You Love Me*/I'm So Glad You Love Me; Sun Ra - Stuff Like That There* (* = previously unissued)

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	Rocket Ship Rock
Label:	NORTON RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	CED 354CD

"...a set of totally twisted sides called Rocket Ship Rock featuring Yochanan 'The Outer Space Vocalist' (with his demented Saturn 45 Muck Muck/Hot Skillet Momma) and his way out friends backed by Sun Ra and his Arkestra! Atomic outer space genius from yet another Norton turban headed star!" Tracklist: Yochanan - Muck Muck/Hot Skillet Momma/Rocket Ship Rock*/Is That Me?*/Hot Skillet Momma (alt. take)*/Muck Muck (alt. take)*/The Sun Man Speaks/Message To Earthman #1/Message To Earthman #2 (alt. take); Little Mack - Tell Her To Come On Home; Lacy Gibson - I'm Gonna Unmask The Batman (extended version)*; Ebah - I'm Gonna Unmask The Batman*; Don (Dino) Dean - The Space Stroll (* = previously unissued)

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	Strange Worlds In My Mind
Label:	NORTON RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	ED 365LP

"Three volumes of incantations by Sun Ra and his cohorts, sent to sparse music backdrops, 1957-1982. Unknown, unhinged-- let alone unheard recordings from the mystic mind of Sun Ra. This recently unearthed and meticulously restored series compliments our previous trio of early Sun Ra rarities." This first volume includes a 1961 performance of Yochanan's 'Message To Earthman,' the only recordings vocalist Roy Stubbs did with the Arkestra (1962), 1957/58 recordings made in Chicago and a 1966 poetry suite.
Tracks: Message To Earthman/I Seek A New World/I Am Trying To Find Myself/The Damned Air/I Am Strange/My Children/If They Only Knew/I'm Not To Blame/I Am An Instrument/Once Upon A Time/All In The Realm Of Death/Death Speaks To The Negro/I'll Wait For You/At Night/They Can't Accept Me/I Am Not A Fantasy/My World Is The Space Way/Strange Worlds In My Mind

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	The Sub-Dwellers
Label:	NORTON RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	ED 366LP

Featuring 1982 recordings made for WXPN-FM, a 1966 medley of six poems and a 1968 NYC recording of "If You Are Not A Myth."
Tracklist: The Sub-Dwellers/The Music Is A Universal Language/When The Word Was Spoken/The Past Is A Dream/The World Comes To An End/Pretense Desires/The Universe Is Endless/What Are Words?/There Is Music Everywhere/All Men Are Equal/We Must Not Say No To Ourselves/They Taught Me To Share/The Worship Of A Statue/This Planet Of Death/A Cosmic Dimension Of Music/If You Are Not A Myth/I Speak Of Everything/The Truth About Planet Earth/The Universe Sent Me

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	The Outer Darkness
Label:	NORTON RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	ED 367LP

"Our third volume of Sun Ra spoken word opens with a rare space story that I discovered on an unmarked five inch reel of tape. When I played the recording, I discovered an incredible story recited by an unknown artist, with Sun Ra going beyond the call of duty on keyboard. Included are two complete lengthy performances from this 1967 session.... The group recitation, 'The Outer Darkness,' is a reworking of the poem 'I Seek A Better World' originally recited by Ray Stubbs on the first volume.... We close this interplanetary poetry series with an extended piece, 'The Cosmic Visitor,' incorporating 'This Is My Day,' The Scheme Of Words,' Black Holes In Space,' and 'A Better World,' performed live on-air on April 11, 1977 at radio station WXPN-FM... Sun Ra's poetic incantations are accompanied by percussive musical arrangements or by a deliberate organ soundtrack, working with the rhythm of his words." -- Michael D. Anderson, The Sun Ra Music Archive
Tracklist: I Gotta Get Away/Know What It's Like On My Planet/The Outer Darkness Part One/The Outer Darkness Part Two/This Is My Day/The Scheme Of Words/Black Holes In Space/A Better World

Artist:	SUN RA & HIS ARKESTRA
Title:	The Other Side Of The Sun
Label:	SWEET EARTH
Format:	LP
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	SER 1003HLP

Exact repro reissue on 180 gram vinyl. Recorded 11/1/78 and 1/4/79 at Blue Rock Studios, NYC. "The music on this album features a version of the Arkestra consisting of six reeds (including John Gilmore and Marshall Allen), three trumpets (including Michael Ray and Eddie Gale), two trombones (with a young Robin Eubanks), the French horn of Vincent Chancey, guitarist Dale Williams, three bassists, four percussionists, singer June Tyson and the leader's keyboards. A stimulating set." -- All Music Guide

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