. Adventure-Equation .: April 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Mystery, Mr. Ra (1984) (Video)

"I'm very tempted to simply write , 'Hey, this is a Sun Ra tape -- buy it for God's sake!'

Despite the epic scope of Sun Ra's 35-year career, and a depth of mystery that still surround him, Mystery, Mr. Ra is only the second program on videocassette that tries to document the wonder that is Ra. The other one -- Robert Mugge's A Joyful Noise -- is also a Rhapsody title; Mystery, Mr. Ra compliments it nicely. Mugge's 1980 film tried to bring you Sun Ra's worldwide view from inside Ra's own head, and the result was consequently more surreal and personal. Shot in France in 1984, Mystery, Mr. Ra sticks closer to traditional form, turning an interested outsider's eye on Ra as a musician, Bandleader, philosopher, shaman, commune leader, and cosmic messenger. Frank Cassenti comes up with a sort of extended news report on Ra: entertaining and informative, adeptly mixing on -- and off-stage footage, interviews, and the subtly dramatic juxtaposition of voice-overs with artful still photos. That the voice-overs are in French matters not: were they in English Ra'd be no less mysterious, and meanwhile, Ra of course does speak English -- and his music, of course, speaks universally.

There is rare footage of the orchestra tuning up and rehearsing, plus a rewarding spectrum of excerpts from Ra's Afro-psychedelic circus of a show. Highlights include that majestic Watusi fanfare Love in Outer Space; tenor sax titan John Gilmore's neo-Coleman Hawkins smoke on the classic Blue Lou; alto-sax alchemist Marshall Allen's free-form torching of the 20's standard Tea for Two; and especially, Nuclear War and 1984. Ra's frankly funky, at time downright bawdy (as in the Nuclear War reprise) forays into proto-rap/neo gospel social comment. In the interviews, Ra give forth with his stern -- yet -- whimsical space-age sermonizing, lamenting mankind's plight and his frustration at trying to remedy it, all the while carefully folding reality into myth, history into mystery -- bewitching, bothering and bewildering those who seek such mundanities as simple straight answers..

But the interview segments also contain some stunning bonanzas for Ra fans: He makes a rare statement on black-and-white race relations as regards his music and philosophy; and for the first time anywhere, in detailing his personal musical history Ra actually mentions not just his well-noted stint with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra in the 40's, but also the names of several well-known blues artists he backed in the 40's and 50's (What blues artists? You'll have to see the tape!)

Part 1

Finally, Mystery, Mr. Ra contains another first well worth noting: actual recorded commentary on Ra by another modern jazz master -- Archie Shepp, who speaks in fluent French, while riding in a taxi cab.

For both Ra cultists, and for the curious yet to be initiated, Mystery, Mr. Ra is heartily recommended."

-- Michael Shore

from the VHS Back Cover

This French documentary will mostly appeal to those already acclimated to the free and avant-garde jazz of Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra. Director Frank Cassenti examines the band both on-stage as well as off. The footage was shot primarily during their participation in the 1984 Parisian Jazz Festival. Although nearing 70 years old, Ra's playing is as funky and unfettered as it has ever been. With age, his recitations and philosophical discourse has also adopted a sage-like quality. Time has not, however, tempered the mix of political and social commentary within his music -- as evidenced by a rare recording of his raucous and ribald "Nuclear War" and "1984" holocaustic proto-raps. Joining Ra (electric piano) are notable and longtime Arkestra founders Marshall Allen (alto sax/flute/percussion), John Gilmore (tenor sax/percussion), Eloe Omoe (alto sax/bass clarinet/contra-alto clarinet/percussion), Danny Thompson (alto sax/bass sax/flute/percussion), James Jacson (bassoon/Ancient Egyptian Infinity Drum), as well as June Tyson (vocals). Along with an assortment of additional "floating" personnel, the band is seen and heard performing Arkestra standards such as "Love in Outer Space," "Astro Black," "Discipline 27," as well as a stretched-out and demented take of "Tea for Two" featuring some incendiary blowing, courtesy of Allen. The narration and interview segments are all done in French, which is also true of the subtitles. However, the answers given are usually general enough to allow for a contextual ascertainment of the questions. The sole exception is from an interview with Archie Shepp -- filmed during a Parisian cab ride -- as both the interviewer as well as artist fluidly converse in French. As there are only a handful of home videos featuring Sun Ra and his various Arkestras available, Mystery, Mr. Ra (1984) is a highly recommended find for the adventurous jazz enthusiast.

AMG Review by~ Lindsay Planer

401. [299] Sun Ra Arkestra

Sun Ra (p, org, voc); Ronnie Brown (tp, perc); Haji (tp); Tyrone Hill (tb); Marshall Allen (as, fl, kora, EVI, sticks, whistle); John Gilmore (ts, cl, timb, EVI); Eloe Omoe (as, bcl, cacl, EVI, maracas); Danny Ray Thompson (bars, fl, EVI, bgo); James Jacson (bsn, fl, EVI, Inf-d); James Glass (eg); Rollo Radford (standup eb); Clifford Jarvis (d); Marvin "Boogaloo" Smith (d); poss. Chris Henderson (d); Atakatune (cga); unidentified Cuban (cga, perc); June Tyson (voc, dance); Myriam Broche (dance); Greg Pratt (dance).

Freiburg, West Germany, November 6, 1983

404. [301] Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra
Mystery, Mr. Ra (film)

Same personnel, except Don Mumford may replace Clifford Jarvis (d); Chris Henderson (d) may replace Marvin "Boogaloo" Smith; Wilbur Little (b) replaces Rolo Radford (standup eb).

Paris Jazz Festival, Paris,
November 1983

untitled improvisation [kora]
untitled improvisation [EVIs]
Along Came Ra (Ra)/
Children of the Sun (Ra) [JT, voc; SR, ens voc]
Blue Lou (Sampson) [inc]
Nuclear War (Ra) [SR, JT, ens voc]
1984 (Ra) [SR, JT, ens voc]
Cocktails for Two (Coslow-Johnston)

405. [302] Same personnel, except Rollo Radford (standup eb) is back in place of Wilbur Little (b).
Le New Morning, Paris,

November or December 1983

Love in Outer Space (Ra)
untitled improvisation
[bars, tb, and bcd; p; falsetto ts]
Astro Black (Ra) [JT voc]
Nuclear War (Ra) [SR, ens voc; inc]
untitled improvisation [kora; perc and dance]
Mystery, Mr. Ra (Ra) [SR, JT, ens voc]
Discipline 27 (Ra) [inc]

Mystery, Mr. Ra is a 48-minute documentary, released in 1984, featuring footage from two Paris concerts and interviews with Ra, John Gilmore, and Archie Shepp. Produced by Hubert Niogret, directed by Frank Cassenti; issued on video in 1993 by Rhapsody Films with sleeve notes by Michael Shore. Date and tunes rlc. Personnel rlc with help from Danny Ray Thompson; Mumford and Little are mentioned in the film credits. This was a distinct performance from the Arkestra's March 1983 appearance at Le New Morning.

from The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 2nd edition

Part 2

(Unfortunately, after much trial and error, I was not able to upload Part 2 for streaming. The entire DVD, however is available for downloading here - albeit in a reduced size.)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Sun Ra - When Angels Speak of Love (1966)

WHEN ANGELS SPEAK OF LOVE is one of Sun Ra's most evocative titles and the music is equally poetic and intriguing. Like Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy, the album seems an experiment in a new classical music that incorporates jazz references rather than a jazz album per se. The only review I have come across that seems to appropriately describe this album is Rodger Coleman's review in his NuVoid blog's Sun Ra Sunday feature.

Check out the reviews below. Without fail, they refer to 'free' as the basis of the pieces though to my ear the parts seem interconnected and often complimentary. References to Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and John Coltrane's music are understandable but I doubt that Ra was influenced by them (in fact, I suppose the opposite). Perhaps that is a result of nearly 50 years difference in time. I can only imagine what this music sounded like to the the jazz listener of 1963 and can forgive their confusion but I'm surprised that the compositions are described by modern critics as 'free' and that 21st Century reviewers seem so confounded by the music.

The Arkestra's Tone Scientists develop hypotheses of discipline here and vibrations of beauty are what they create.

Sun Ra's music is often described as being so far outside the jazz mainstream as to be less a challenge to it than a largely irrelevant curiosity. But When Angels Speak of Love, an album recorded with his Myth Science Arkestra during rehearsals at the Choreographers Workshop in New York in 1963 and released on Ra's own Saturn label in 1966, is very much within then-current trends in jazz as performed by such innovators as John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. John Corbett, annotator of the 2000 CD reissue on Evidence, points out Ra's disdain for the term "free jazz," but this is music that fits into that style and even harks back to bebop on occasion. Walter Miller's trumpet playing on "The Idea of It All," for example, clearly indicates that he's been listening to Miles Davis, even as John Gilmore's squealing tenor suggests Coltrane, and, on "Ecstasy of Being," what Corbett calls Danny Davis' "excruciated alto" suggests Coleman. Ra himself frequently plays busy, seemingly formless passages that are reminiscent of Cecil Taylor. An even closer approximation of a traditional approach can be found on the relatively brief title track, a ballad that, while not exactly sweet, is surprisingly sober and expressive. Of course, that's followed by the band chanting "Next Stop Mars" and going off in all directions on the 18-minute final track. The album's rarity on vinyl may be not only because few copies were pressed initially, but also because this is a Sun Ra album that is more conventionally unconventional than most, with tracks you could program next to those of his 1960s contemporaries and have them fit right in.

AMG Review by by William Ruhlmann

This recording catches Sun Ra in 1963, when he and the key personnel of his Arkestra were well settled in New York and in their most creative period. It's unusual in illustrating just how elements of the city's free jazz were entering the Arkestra's music, just as they were influencing it. Sun Ra's piano is far more animated than usual, at times resembling the dense percussive playing of early Cecil Taylor, while "The Ecstasy of Being" suggests the direct influence of Ornette Coleman and his drummer Ed Blackwell on Danny Davis and Clifford Jarvis. Several short tracks feature a single reed player along with trumpeter Walter Miller and the rhythm section. Marshall Allen's oboe is suitably exotic on "Celestial Fantasy," while Pat Patrick's baritone brings a rugged beauty to the ballad "When Angels Speak of Love." "The Idea of It All" is an intense, twisting line that inspires a coiling, kinetic solo from tenor saxophonist John Gilmore. The whole reed section is present in all its brilliance on "Next Stop Mars," chanting "We'll take a trip to space/The next stop Mars" before Sun Ra's piano leads them into a diverse, extended journey where saxophone multiphonics and mechanical reverb are just part of the scenery. Originally released on Sun Ra's Saturn label in 1966, this has been one of the rarest of his LPs.

--Stuart Broomer - Amazon review

When Angels Speak of Love, they speak of higher minded beingness. Ecstatic sound vibrations interwoven by the mastery of SUN RA and his Arkestra into a cosmic tapestry of warmth, beauty and illumination. Sound that calms the nervous system so that you can REALLY listen. Color that "blues your aura" so that you are in harmonious attunation with yourself. An otherness of existence. A beingness of complete unity where one really becomes a living, pulsating part of the Cosmos.

For When Angels Speak of Love they speak of the freedom gained from Cosmic Discipline.

They speak of the freshness of not being possessed, as in the condition of earth-love.

When Angels Speak of Love they speak of the accomplishment of evolving to a higher plane and reveling there with other Cospatriots -- the strength and beauty of an association with biped beings who have an attunation of mind and spirit that is so all encompassing as to render all earthly pursuits as dull and meaningless.

When Angels Speak of Love they speak of a dimension that is beyond the scope of ordinary earthmen. They speak of Tomorrow's World. And who should know better than Sun Ra, an angel who has come back to show us!

Natel Juni (from the original notes)

107. [93] Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra
When Angels Speak of Love

Sun Ra (gong -1; p -2; Selmer Clavioline -3); Walter Miller (tp); Marshall Allen (ob -1, perc); Danny Davis (as -3); John Gilmore (ts -2, perc); poss. Pat Patrick (perc); Ronnie Boykins (b); Clifford Jarvis (d); Tommy Hunter (reverb -1,3).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1963

Celestial Fantasy (Ra) -1
The Idea of It All (Ra) -2
Ecstasy of Being (Ra) -3

108. [94] Sun Ra (p.); Walter Miller (tp); Marshall Allen (as, perc); Danny Davis (as, perc); John Gilmore (ts -1, perc); Pat Patrick (bars); Robert Cummings (bcl -1); Ronnie Boykins (b); Tommy Hunter (perc, reverb -1,3).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, 1963

When Angels Speak of Love (Ra)
Next Stop Mars (Ra) [ens voc] -1

Saturn LP 1966, When Angels Speak of Love, was released (in mono) in 1966. All known copies have a red portrait of Sun Ra pulled sideways in a copier to create streaks. The first edition had this portrait on a gold cover, and a black liner with notes by Natel Juni and a personnel list (thanks to Gilbert Hsiao and Len Bukowski for information on this edition). The second edition used the same portrait on a white cover but left the back blank. A cover with a black ameboid figure was advertised in the 1967 Saturn catalog, but no copies with this jacket have yet turned up. All copies of the album have the red Saturn label, which supports the 1966 release date. In 1967 the album was given the catalog number 405. It is not known how many Saturn LPs were pressed, but two lots of 75, for a total of 150, is a good guess. In 1971 the master tape for at least one side of this album was sold to Black Lion, but it was never issued by that label (according to Julian Vein). At least side B was originally recorded in stereo.

The two tracks from the second session were reissued (in stereo) on Blast First BFFP 42 [CD] and Restless 71427 [CD] in 1989. The last 4:40 of "Next Stop Mars" has been edited out on these reissues; Blast First BFFP 42 [LP] and Torso 33132 include only "When Angels Speak of Love."
From The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra 2nd ed.

When Angels Speak of Love (1966)

                                                       Celestial Fantasy   5:55
                                                       The Idea Of It All   7:32
                                                       Ecstasy Of Being   9:53

When Angels Speak Of Love 4:34

Next Stop Mars 17:56

FLAC

320

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Monday, April 25, 2011

Sun Ra - Toward the Stars: Pioneering in 1955-56 (2007)

This collection takes a close look at two pivotal years in the music of keyboardist, composer and bandleader Sun Ra. In 1955-56, Ra had started his own record label, Saturn Records, and had started to develop a stable of sympathetic musicians, some of which would stay with him for decades to come. The music here foreshadows many of the themes he would investigate throughout his career, ethnic musics, spiritualism and Afro-centrism all played a big part in the Sun Ra worldview and are all represented here in greater for lesser quantities. The interesting piano and horn voicings and the unusual tympani break give “Call for all Demons” a distinctive flavor and the percussion work also enlivens the exotic “India.” The hand-clap fueled swing of “Lullaby for Realville” and “Kingdon of Not” shows the Ra band engaging in some of the heart on its sleeve righteous jazz of akin to the Mingus bands that produced Blues and Roots and Ah-Um. Ra's classic ode to Chicago “El is a Sound of Joy” starts out as a ballad here, before moving gracefully to mid-tempo swing. In fact, swing is the primary element here. Mainstream jazz who may have shied away from Ra in the past due to his cosmic myth-making and 70's free jazz would find quite a bit to enjoy on this disc. Also wonderful is the full-throttle big band bebop of Julian Priester's “Unrack.” The only soft spots on the collection are the some recordings from rehearsals in Ra's apartment, which suffer from muddy sound. This is an interesting glimpse into the formative years of Sun Ra as a bandleader. While it may not be the perfect place for neophytes to make his acquaintance (that may best be served by the superb Jazz in Silhouette) fans of the man from Saturn will find a fascinating glimpse of Ra's early years and much to savor here.

from Music and More

Toward the Stars: Pioneering in 1955-56 (2007)

                                                     1.    Spaceship Lullaby    2:21
                                                     2.    Can This Be Love?    6:05
                                                     3.    Call For All Demons    5:16
                                                     4.    Future    2:53
                                                     5.    Sun Song    3:40
                                                     6.    Lullaby For Realville    4:45
                                                     7.    Urnack    3:49
                                                     8.    Demon's Lullaby    2:36
                                                     9.    Piano Interlude    1:55
                                                   10.    Indian Love Call    4:51
                                                   11.    Advice To Medics    2:04
                                                   12.    Kingdom Of Not    5:35

13. El Is A Sound Of Joy 3:59

14. Dreams Come True 3:07

FLAC

320

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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Concerning That Which Is Called Life And Death

Concerning That Which Is Called Life And Death

If the death of death is life

(for how can death die unless it becomes alive?)

And if death becomes alive

Is it not active on another plane?

The life of death.....

Is it not the inversion of the death of death?

Or is the death of death, the life of life

It is varied mathematics in permutation forms.

--Sun Ra

Friday, April 22, 2011

Sun Ra - Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow (early 1960s)

Of all the outlandish and evocative titles in Sun Ra’s discography, Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy stands out in its audacious, baldly prescriptive claim. But, to be sure, the title is no idle put-on. In fact, Ra had presciently been involved in what would nowadays be known as "music therapy” back in the late-1950s:

[Manager] Alton Abraham arranged through his medical contacts for Sonny to play for a group of patients at a Chicago mental hospital…The group of patients assembled for this early experiment in musical therapy included catatonics and severe schizophrenics, but Sonny approached the job like any other, making no concessions in his music. While he was playing, a woman who it was said had not moved or spoken for years got up from the floor, walked directly to his piano, and cried out, ‘Do you call that music?’ Sonny was delighted with her response and told the story for years afterwards as evidence of the healing powers of music (Szwed, p.92-93).

While the term “music therapy” may conjure up some kind of dulcet, inoffensive, New-Age-y pabulum, the Cosmic Tones marshaled here are anything but easy-listening. Ra practices a kind of electro-shock treatment to the soul, seeking to, as with the catatonic mental patient, “touch the unknown part of the person, awaken the part of them that we’re not able to talk to, the spirit” (Szwed, p. 257). Ra did not consider the Arkestra to be musicians so much as “tone scientists” (Szwed, p. 112) whose investigations and manipulations of musical phenomena could help mankind in its earthly struggles. “People are disturbed and need your help 24 hours a day,” he would lecture the band (quoted in Szwed, p. 374).

People are just like receivers, they’re like speakers, too, like amplifiers. They’re also like instruments because they got a heart that beats and that’s a drum. They’ve got eardrums too, and they some strings in there, so they actually got harps on each side of their head. If you play certain harmonies, these strings will vibrate in people’s ears and touch different nerves in the body. When the proper things are played in each person, these strings will automatically tune themselves properly and then the person will be in tune. There will be no discord, they will be tuned up perfectly, just like each automobile have to be tuned according to what kind of automobile it is. My music does have a vibration somewhere within it that can reach every person in the audience through feeling (quoted in Szwed, p. 345).

Electro-shock treatment is also an appropriate metaphor in that electronic technology was always an important tool in Ra’s medic bag. On Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy, Ra eschews the piano altogether for the mewling whine of the Clavioline (an early keyboard synthesizer) and the swirly Hammond organ. Further, electronic echo is slathered onto the proceedings by recordist/percussionist Tommy “Bugs” Hunter, who had accidentally discovered the effect while fooling around with the Ampex 602 tape recorder he had purchased at a pawn shop in 1962. By plugging in a cable from the output jack into the input on the machine, massive reverberant echo was produced.

(Continue reading at NuVoid's amazing Sun Ra Sundays blog)

109. [95] Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra
Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy
Sun Ra (Clavioline, cosmic side drums -1); Bernard Pettaway (btb -1); Marshall Allen (ob); John Gilmore (bcl -1, sky tone drums -2); Robert Cummings (bcl); Pat Patrick (bars -1, fl -2); Danny Davis (fl); James Jacson (fl, log drums); Ronnie Boykins (b -2); Tommy Hunter (perc, reverb); Clifford Jarvis (perc).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, late 1963

And Otherness (Ra) -1
Thither and Yon (Ra) -2

110. [96] Sun Ra (astro space [Hammond B-3] org); Marshall Allen (astro space drums -1); Danny Davis (as -3); John Gilmore (bcd, sky drums -1; sky tone drums -3); Ronnie Boykins (b); James Jacson (log drums -1, 3); Clifford Jarvis (drums -2, 3); Tommy Hunter (reverb -1, 3).

Tip Top Club, Brooklyn, NY, late 1963

Adventure-Equation (Ra) -1
Moon Dance (Ra) -2
Voice of Space (Ra) -3
unidentified titles (unissued)

Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow tacks on two leftover tracks from 1961’s Bad & Beautiful recording session but mostly consists of a 1962 rehearsal recorded in the basement of the Choreographer’s Workshop where there was a good piano and better acoustics. The sound quality is notably improved even if the source tape for this CD is significantly degraded. More importantly, Ra’s music is clearly moving in a new, exciting direction. Drummer/recordist Tommy Hunter had been recording rehearsals on his Apex reel-to-reel and accidentally discovered the feedback/echo effect that appears here for the first time. So while Bad & Beautiful was a somewhat traditional jazz combo album full of show tunes and semi-conventional Ra originals, Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow lives up to its title, moving forward into the kind of experimental avant garde music that would cement Ra’s reputation in the 1960s and 70s while also retaining a connection to the living tradition that would continue to center the Arkestra’s aesthetic throughout its career. To paraphrase Michael Shore’s comment in the liner notes to this Evidence CD, if Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy is a Rosetta Stone, then Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow is Ra beginning to carve it in earnest.

“Cluster of Galaxies” is a brief but portentous opening with its spacey “thunder drums,” “sun harp,” and “spiral percussion gong” all drenched in thick cosmic echo and reverb. Afro-psychedelia starts right here – in 1962! P-Funk mastermind George Clinton once remarked, “[Sun Ra] was definitely out to lunch – the same place I eat at!” (quoted in Szwed, p. 264). Shifting gears, the next track is another remake of “Ankh” which originally appeared in a more florid arrangement in 1956 on the Delmark LP, Sound of Joy and more recently on Bad & Beautiful. This composition was obviously important to Ra and the various renditions are fascinatingly diverse. Here, baritone saxophonist Pat Patrick shares solo space with a rare appearance by Ali Hassan on trombone. The mood is brighter, less ominous than usual with some funky gospel handclaps supporting the lumbering riffs. “Solar Drums” is another brief space-out featuring echoing drums, small percussion, bells and faintly tinkling piano. The hissing feed back ebbs and flows across the sonic landscape, sometimes threatening to overwhelm everything until Tommy Hunter suddenly turns a knob, bringing things back into focus.

(Continue reading at NuVoid's amazing Sun Ra Sundays blog)

77. [66] Mr. Sun Ra and his Arkestra
Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow
Sun Ra (p.); John Gilmore (ts -3); Pat Patrick (bars -5); Ronnie Boykins (b); John Ore (b -7); Tommy Hunter (d).

Choreographers Workshop, NYC, November-December 1961

Lights on a Satellite (Ra) 3,5,7
Kosmos in Blue (Ra) 3,7

78. [67] Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra
Sun Ra (sun harp, spiral percussion gong); Pat Patrick (thunder drums); Tommy Hunter (thunder drums, reverb).