Sun Ra on Bandcamp

[APeacefulWarrior]

I'm relatively certain I'm not the only person here who's hip to the greatest Saturnian jazz bandleader in history, so I just wanted to share a recent discovery: Sun Ra's label has begun publishing a big load of albums on Bandcamp, with free streaming as well as generally having some purchase options.

Enjoy!

For those who haven't stumbled upon Sun Ra before, well, he's far out even by the standards of far out freaky jazz - as well as being a pioneer who influenced folks ranging from Miles Davis to George Clinton, on top of being arguably the grandfather of all Fusion. And that's without even getting into how he spent his life insisting he was an alien from Saturn who'd come to Earth to spread comic vibrations of love and enlightenment via his music. I'd suggest starting with his earlier, more accessible 50s work like "Interstellar Low Ways" or "Visits Planet Earth" or "Fate In A Pleasant Mood" before risking having your mind melted by his later albums. Although if bebop isn't your thing, "Cosmos" is a pretty decent midpoint between his earlier, more traditional albums and his noisier 60s experimentation.

[smc]

and the Arkestra

arrrrkessstrrrrraaaaah

! thanks


love this person/group/thang and (relatively) few know of the music

alien visitor brother

[APeacefulWarrior]

Yeah, and that Bandcamp page has some very recent discoveries on it too. The label has really been working overtime in the last few years to uncover\remaster rare recordings which haven't been seen since their original short-run vinyl pressing. I suspect you'll see some albums you've never heard before if you go looking! I know there are some I hadn't heard of, when I started getting into Sun Ra around a decade ago.

Also, they've got some great notes on pretty much all the albums too!

Really, my only complaint is that the Bandcamp page seems totally disorganized. Doing a bit of curation -or at least breaking up the recordings by decade or something like that- would make discovery easier, particularly for newcomers.

[Night Owl]

I already knew of Sun Ra but haven't been real deep into it. What would you recommend for the already trained listener? I don't need to go from the most accessible song to the most obscur at this point I just want the diamond right away.

[APeacefulWarrior]

I already knew of Sun Ra but haven't been real deep into it. What would you recommend for the already trained listener? I don't need to go from the most accessible song to the most obscur at this point I just want the diamond right away.

Heh, that's the tricky thing about Sun Ra. He went through so many phases and was so inventive that it's hard to pick out just one "diamond." Not to mention that there's a lot of material in that collection I haven't gotten a chance to hear either. And for the record, the albums I mentioned are also ones I genuinely like. But let's see...

"The Magic City" - particularly the title track - is generally considered among his most important recordings, and a milestone in free jazz.

"Jazz in Silhouette" is probably the best "traditional" bebop style album he did. (I would have mentioned it above, except I overlooked it. Haha.)

If you're into solo piano, both volumes of "Monorails And Satellites" have some amazing work.

"Space Is The Place" has all kinds of goodness on it. (I love his collaborations with June Tyson, the female vocalist.)

That should keep you busy for awhile. I'm figuring I'll update this thread from time to time as I discover gems in their collection.

[Dekalb_Blues]

~


(Recorded Nashville, 1946, Herman Poole "Sunny" Blount at the keys)

http://www.furious.com/perfect/sunra.html
https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/webexhibits/sunra/
http://campber.people.clemson.edu/sunra.html





 



( http://www.englishact.com/Permutation/in...=bullshits )

[Dekalb_Blues]

~




I'm gonna tell y'all
    a story
I'm going to tell y'all
    a story of the story
They say your story
    is your story
They say his story
    is history
But Sun Ra say: my story
    is mystery









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