The New Thing
Shortly after Other Planes of There had been recorded, the painter/musician Bill Dixon and the filmmaker Peter Sabino started to present concerts at the Cellar Cafe, a coffeehouse on West 91st Street, New York. They booked Sun Ra on 15 June, who turned up with a 15 piece Arkestra featuring Pharoah Sanders (replacing an errant Gilmore) and Black Harold. The crowd that turned up for this concert, and one for Archie Shepp, persuaded the promoters to instigate a four night festival of the 'New Thing', which would later become defined as Free Jazz. Without advertising - or electricity - Dixon organised over 40 musical acts, including John Tchicai, Cecil Taylor, Roswell Rudd and Jimmy Giuffre. Whilst there were no mainstream reviews, word slowly spread that Jazz had 'announced the arrival of its modernism.' [7]
Sun Ra himself always distanced the Arkestra from Free Jazz - "My music is the music of precision. I know exactly the rhythm that must animate my music, and only this rhythm is valid, I have in my mind a complete image of my work... [8] " - but benefitted enormously from the new interest these concerts generated. As well as being among the first to join the resulting Jazz Composers Guild, (a cooperative aiming to bring the new music to the public), the arkestra continued to play increasingly high-profile concerts throughout the winter of 1964. One of these, with the John Tchicai-Roswell Rudd Quartet, New Year's Eve 1964, was reviewed for the Nation;
'They present a reviewer with a difficult problem, how to render a sympathetic appraisal for what was one of the more exciting series without making this group seem either utterly insane or sickeningly corny?... [Sun Ra's philosophy] leads him to some really wild and original effects in his music, though it sometimes gets in the way, as when the musicians start talking in the middle of the piece about getting off at Jupiter and about martian water lilies. yet in these instances the spoken word itself will have a musical value, as Sun Ra's concept is well worked out, though the words will have no literary value to anyone except Sun Ra's people. His musicians were in African costumes, and they did a great deal of walking around under blinking, multi-colored lights... Yet, yet... well, you had to be there.' AB Spellman [9]
One person in the audience at the Cellar Cafe sessions was Bernard Stollman, a lawyer and proponent of Esperanto, who was so overwhelmed by the new music that he dreamed up a plan to record all of the artists working within the new style for his label ESP-Disk. First up was Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity , followed by albums by Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders and the Fugs. Sun Ra would record the first of his contributions to the label on 20 April 1965; The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume One .
Le Sony'r Ra, better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led "The Arkestra", an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up.
The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume One is a 1965 album by the jazz musician Sun Ra. The back cover describes it as an "album of compositions and arrangements by Sun Ra played by Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra".
The Magic City is an album by the American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra. Recorded in two sessions in 1965, the record was released on Ra's own Saturn label in 1966. The record was reissued by Impulse! in 1973, and on compact disc by Evidence in 1993.
Atlantis is an album by American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Astro-Infinity Arkestra, released in 1969 by El Saturn Records.
Sound of Joy is an album by Sun Ra and his Arkestra. It features the Arkestral lineup during the last few months of 1956, after trombonist Julian Priester left to join Lionel Hampton, Charles Davis became a regular member of the band, and Victor Sproles took over on bass. It was intended as the follow-up to Jazz By Sun Ra but Transition Records ceased to operate before it could be released.
Super-Sonic Jazz is an album by Sun Ra, recorded in 1956 at RCA Studios, Chicago. Super-Sonic Jazz was the first album to be released on Saturn Records, the label run by Sun Ra and Alton Abraham, and was one of only three albums by Sun Ra to have been available in the 1950s.
Featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold is a jazz album by Sun Ra, recorded live on December 31, 1964, but not released until 1976, on Ra and Alton Abraham's El Saturn label. An expanded version of the album was reissued in 2009 by ESP-Disk, and again in 2017 by Superior Viaduct. A complete version of Sun Ra's performances on December 30 and 31, 1964 were released in 2012 on the Pharoah Sanders album In The Beginning 1963-1964.
Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra Visits Planet Earth is a jazz album by the American musician Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra. Recorded between late 1956 and 1958, the album was originally released on Ra's own Saturn label in 1966, and was reissued on CD by Evidence in 1992. In keeping with many Saturn releases, one side features cuts from the arkestra c.1958, whilst the other side comes from the 1956 sessions originally intended for Sound of Joy but still unreleased in 1966.
Interstellar Low Ways is an album recorded by the American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra, mostly recorded in Chicago, 1960, and probably released in 1966 on his own Saturn label. Originally titled Rocket Number Nine, the album had acquired its present name, and the red-on-white sleeve by Claude Dangerfield, by 1969. The album is known particularly for the two songs featuring space chants - Interplanetary Music and Rocket Number Nine Take off for the Planet Venus - that would stay in the Arkestra's repertoire for many years;
Rocket Number Nine points toward the music that the Arkestra would be playing on the lower East Side of New York City. The tenor sax solo isn't the work of John Coltrane in 1962, but of John Gilmore in 1960. And not even Ornette Coleman's bassists were playing like Ronnie Boykins at this date.
The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra is an album by the American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Arkestra, recorded on October 10, 1961, for the Savoy label and released in 1962.
Bad and Beautiful is an album by the American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Arkestra. Recorded in 1961 in New York City at the Choreographers' Workshop, 414 W. 51st St., the album was the second to be recorded in New York by the Arkestra after leaving Chicago, but would remain unreleased until 1972. The album is considered to represent an important transition between the big band approach of the Chicago recordings, and the more 'outside' approach of Ra's smaller bands recorded later in the decade:
'Aside from "Exotic Two," the tunes are split between standards and blues originals, but there are indications of the direction the Arkestra would take throughout the '60s. "Search Light Blues" has some interesting percussion accents finding their way into the arrangement, and "Exotic Two" alludes more clearly to the percussion-heavy sound that dominated many of the '60s recordings. Sun Ra plays piano exclusively on this recording, and Gilmore gets lots of room to shine. A significant transitional LP, this is probably the last "inside" record the Arkestra would record as they forged new sonic paths into the mid-'60s.' Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide link
Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow is an album by the American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra. Often considered the first of Ra's 'outside' recordings, the album was the first to make extensive use of a discovery by the Arkestra's drummer and engineer Tommy Hunter:
'Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow.... contained "Cluster of Galaxies" and "Solar Drums", two rhythm section exercises with the sound treated with such strange reverberations that they threatened to obliterate the instruments' identity and turn the music into low-budget musique concrète. While testing the tape recorder when the musicians were tuning up one day, Hunter had discovered that if he recorded with the earphones on, he could run a cable from the output jack back into the input on the recorder and produce massive reverberation:
"I wasn't sure what Sun Ra would think of it... I thought he might be mad - but he loved it. It blew his mind! By working the volume of the output on the playback I could control the effect, make it fast or slow, drop it out, or whatever." [Tommy Hunter]
'By the 1950s commercial recording companies had developed a classical style of recording which assured that the recording process itself would be invisible... but Sun Ra began to regularly violate this convention on the Saturn releases by recording live at strange sites, by using feedback, distortion, high delay or reverb, unusual microphone placement, abrupt fades or edits, and any number of other effects or noises which called attention to the recording process. On some recordings you could hear a phone ringing, or someone walking near the microphone. It was a rough style of production, an antistyle, a self-reflexive approach which anticipates both free jazz recording conventions and punk production to come.' John F Szwed
Secrets of the Sun is an album by the American Jazz musician Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra. The album is considered one of the more accessible recordings from his 'Solar' period. Originally released on Ra's own Saturn label in 1965, the record was unavailable for many years before being reissued on compact disc by Atavistic in 2008.
'Marking a transition in its development between the advanced swing of the early Chicago-era recordings and the increased free-form experimentation of its New York tenure, this album also reveals the first recorded versions of two Ra standards, "Friendly Galaxy" and "Love in Outer Space." Accessible, yet segueing into vanguard territory, this album highlights a fertile period in the Arkestra's history. Looser and more aggressive than its Chicago recordings, these pieces find the Arkestra pushing at the limits of harmony and tonality.' Troy Collins
For the song by Harold Arden and Ted Koehler, see When the Sun Comes Out
When Angels Speak of Love is a music album by the American Jazz musician Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra. Originally released in 1966 on Sun Ra's own Saturn label, the record would have only been available by mail order or sold at Arkestra concerts, and is one of the rarest of all Saturn releases. The record was reissued on compact disc by Evidence in 2000.
Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy is an album by the American Jazz musician Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra. Recorded in 1963, but not released until 1967 on Sun Ra's own Saturn label, the record has become one of the most discussed of Ra's New York recordings. The record was reissued on compact disc by Evidence in 2000.
Strange Strings is an album by the American Jazz musician Sun Ra and his Astro Infinity Arkestra. Recorded in 1966, the album was released by 1967 on Sun Ra's own Saturn label. The record was reissued on compact disc by Atavistic in 2007.
Strange Strings is a somewhat legendary album from the mid-'60s. "Worlds Approaching" is a great tune, anchored by a bass ostinato and timpani and featuring several fantastic solos... Off and on throughout the tune, Bugs Hunter applies near-lethal doses of reverb, giving the piece a very odd but interesting sound. "Strange Strings" is one of those songs that is likely to inspire some sort of "you call that music?" comment from your grandmother, or even from open-minded friends. It sounds like they raided the local pawnshop for anything with strings on it, then passed them out to the bandmembers. It's difficult to tell if some of these instruments have been prepared in some way, or if they're simply being played by untutored hands. There are also lots of drums and some viola playing from Ronnie Boykins that is also treated heavily with reverb. Despite the cacophony, there is a definite ebb and flow to the piece and what seem like different movements or themes. Whatever you think of the music contained, there's no denying that it produced some of the most remarkable sounds of the mid-'60s. If you don't like "out," stay clear of this one.' Sean Westergaard
The October Revolution in Jazz was a four-day festival of new jazz music which took place at the Cellar Café in New York City. It occurred from October 1–4, 1964, and was organized by composer and trumpeter Bill Dixon. The success of the festival was directly responsible for the formation of the Jazz Composers Guild.
In the Beginning 1963–1964 is a 4-CD compilation album by American free jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders recorded in 1963-1964 and released in 2012 on the ESP-Disk label. It features previously-unreleased recordings of Sanders performing with groups led by Don Cherry and Paul Bley, complete concert recordings of Sanders' appearances with Sun Ra, a re-release of Sanders' first album, and various interviews.
New York Art Quartet is the debut album by the group of the same name. It was recorded on November 26, 1964, at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and was released in 1965 by ESP-Disk as the fourth item in their catalog, following Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity and Pharoah Sanders's Pharoah's First. It features John Tchicai on alto saxophone, Roswell Rudd on trombone, Lewis Worrell on bass, and Milford Graves on percussion. In addition, LeRoi Jones recites his controversial poem "Black Dada Nihilismus" on one track.
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
[2] 