Asolutely stellar jazz from Sun Ra alongside John Gilmore, Luqman Ali & Michael Ray. This quartet version of the title song appeared on 1978’s ‘New Steps’ LP. Over on the flip is the ‘Alien vocal version’ of Somewhere In Space, recorded in 1957. Two expertly plucked out (fully licensed) Sun Ra essentials, presented on a heavyweight (70gram) Art Yard styled 7″.
You can count on Art Yard to replenish our jazz charts with the very best material from the great Sun Ra, whether that’s them putting out previously unreleased material or simply reissuing some of their already excellent material. This time, we have a tidy repress of the mythical “Disco 3000”, cited by many as Ra’s nuttiest piece of work or, in fact, a segment of music which totally made – and arguably finished – the free jazz sound. It’s a ride – if you haven’t heard it already then pounce on it! On the B-side, the magnificent “Third Planet/Friendly Galaxy/Dance Of The Cosmos-Aliens” is pure heaven for all those with an itch for some innovative drum machine patterns, as Ra goes further than anyone else ever did with some drums, organ and…are those effects? Legendary stuff!
A mixture of live recording and studio post-production, ‘On Jupiter’ sounds unique to any other album Sun Ra made. The Arkestra reflects a disco pulse right back on itself, and delivers one of the most cohesive albums of their career. The title track is a masterpiece of gentle atonal harmony, while ‘UFO’ pushes along at a cracking disco-ish pace with fierce brass and spacey dub effects. This a timeless Ra classic.
Strut and Art Yard present another exclusive from the vast catalogue of cosmic jazz pioneer Sun Ra: a previously unreleased radio session most likely recorded at the WXPN FM radio studios in Philadelphia, 1974-5. This newly discovered session features a new version of Ra’s earlier ‘Island In The Sun’, a romping, raucous rendition of ‘Unmask The Batman’ and the first studio recording of ‘I’ll Wait For You’ There is no bass player on the sessions and Ra’s left hand beats out a rhythmic bass pattern on the piano. All tracks are remastered directly from the original tapes. The album package features a newly commissioned painting by legendary Bristol urban artist Guy Denning and new sleeve notes by Paul Griffiths. Recently discovered in the Sun Ra archive, the recording forms part of a series of sessions that Ra and the Arkestra recorded for WXPN-FM between 1974 and 1980.
Thanks to some inspired detective work by Art Yard Records, an intimate trio performance by Sun Ra in Rome in 1977, ‘In Some Far Place’, is receiving its first release. Recorded from the sound desk and mastered from original reels, the album features Sun Ra on piano and Moog, drummer Luqman Ali and occasional Arkestra vocalist Thomas Thaddeus in fine form, exploring Ra staples and revisiting some of the traditional jazz pieces from his early Chicago days. Tracks include the reflective ‘Trying To Put The Blame On Me,’ ‘Spontaneous Simplicity’ and the first Sun Ra version of ‘I Cover The Waterfront’ to ever be officially released. New sleeve notes come courtesy of the Arkestra’s Knoel Scott with cover design by Lewis Heriz.
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