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- Date Released: January 1, 1965
- Genre: Jazz
- Style: Jazz/Blues
- Label: Atavistic / The Orchard
A treasure trove of previously unavailable, prime-era Sun Ra
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We Say...
Sun Ra fanatics are doing cartwheels over the sudden accessibility of this material, which was generally unavailable for over 40 years, or, in the case of the closing 17-minute opus "Flight to Mars," previously unreleased. The music is both historically significant and a stone-cold gas to hear, as goofy and good-humored as it is seminal and substantial. It catches Ra's Arkestra at a pivotal point, shortly after its 1961 move from Chicago to New York and its concomitant transition from squirrelly bop and sci-fi blues to freer, pre-psychedelic experimental workouts that added another dimension to the spacey title analogies. The earliest known recordings of classic Arkestra songs "Friendly Galaxy" and "Love In Outer Space" are included here, the former featuring some sizzling guitar (a rarity on a Ra record) by Calvin Newborn, the latter featuring an inspired John Gilmore on bass clarinet. "Solar Differentials" contains some trippy vocals from Art Jenkins, who sounds like he's singing into a trumpet mute. There's reverb galore, along with a cavernous sound mix that unintentionally adds to an ambiance that, like most of Ra's best work, is simultaneously astral, cheesy and visionary. Stellar Ra saxophone vets Gilmore, Pat Patrick and Marshall Allen squabble like a gaggle of geese on "Space Aura," and the lone closer "Flight To Mars," showcases Patrick's flute and the rhythm section that is superb throughout. Fans of Frank Zappa's more irreverent, adventurous work will find a kindred spirit here.
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They Say...
Secrets of the Sun consists of sessions recorded by drummer Tommy "Bugs" Hunter in 1962 at the Choreographer's Workshop in New York City, the Arkestra's regular rehearsal studio. Since they had only recently moved to New York (some decided to stay in Chicago), these are small-group Arkestra recordings. This is an interesting transitional album because you can still hear echoes of the Chicago sound in some of the pieces, but the sound is growing beyond merely "exotic," with percussion playing an increasingly larger role and the pieces starting to sound more amorphous. "The Friendly Galaxy" has the same sort of mysterious vibe as "Ancient Aetheopia," with nice trumpet and piano work as well as John Gilmore on bass clarinet (which he plays on a couple cuts). "Solar Differentials" has a similar but weirder feel because the horns change to "Space Bird Sounds" and Art Jenkins adds some of his distinctive "Space Voice." "Space Aura" is built on a great horn riff, while both Gilmore (again on bass clarinet) and Sun Ra both shine on a stripped-down version of "Love in Outer Space." Things head a bit more out for the last couple tracks, where percussion and reverb start to dominate the sound, as they would on several of the Choreographer Workshop recordings. This is an interesting album for Ra fans because it's such a small band and shows how new ideas were taking hold in the music, not to mention Gilmore's use of bass clarinet, which he stopped playing completely sometime in the '60s. [In 2008, Secrets of the Sun was reissued by Atavistic with an unreleased 17 minute bonus track.]
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| 01. |  |
Friendly Galaxy |
4:56 |
|
| 02. | |
Solar Differentials |
6:27 |
|
| 03. | |
Space Aura |
5:25 |
|
| 04. | |
Love In Outer Space |
4:40 |
|
| 05. | |
Reflects Motion |
9:12 |
|
| 06. | |
Solar Symbols |
2:48 |
|
| 07. | |
Flight To Mars |
17:36 |
|
07 Total Tracks, 51:04 Total Length
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Credits
- John Gilmore - Clarinet (Bass) // John Gilmore - Drums // John Gilmore - Sax (Tenor) // Eddie Gale - Trumpet // Marshall Allen - Flute // Marshall Allen - Sax (Alto) // Ronnie Boykins - Bass (Acoustic) // Al Evans - Flugelhorn // Thomas "Bugs" Hunter - Percussion // Thomas "Bugs" Hunter - Drums // Thomas "Bugs" Hunter - Engineer // Thomas "Bugs" Hunter - Reverb // Calvin Newborn - Guitar (Electric) // Pat Patrick - Flute // Pat Patrick - Drums // Sun Ra - Piano // Sun Ra - Piano // Sun Ra - Piano // Sun Ra - Piano // Sun Ra - Piano // Sun Ra - Piano // Sun Ra - Piano // Sun Ra - Piano // Sun Ra - Gong // Sun Ra - Gong // Sun Ra - Gong // Sun Ra - Gong // Sun Ra - Gong // Sun Ra - Gong // Sun Ra - Gong // Sun Ra - Gong // Sun Ra - Keyboards // Sun Ra - Keyboards // Sun Ra - Keyboards // Sun Ra - Keyboards // Sun Ra - Keyboards // Sun Ra - Keyboards // Sun Ra - Keyboards // Sun Ra - Keyboards // Sun Ra - Main Performer // Sun Ra - Main Performer // Sun Ra - Main Performer // Sun Ra - Main Performer // Sun Ra - Main Performer // Sun Ra - Main Performer // Sun Ra - Main Performer // Sun Ra - Main Performer // C. Scoby Stroman - Drums // Jimmy Johnson, Jr. - Percussion // Art Jenkins - Vocals
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