Sun Ra solo piano

[Alexander Hawkins]

I wondered if anyone could please recommend any of Sun Ra's solo piano albums? I'm just getting into Ra, and am really curious about these!

Thanks as always!

[Chuck Nessa]

FWIW, I feel the Ra solo dates are "feeble". Better to "get to know" the band dates and spread out.

[7/4]

What Chuck said.

[Д.Д.]

This on is probably the best:

SunRa covers a lot of ground here - from touching reading of standards to fairly free pieces. All played with humor, melodism and great imagination. The sound is not perfect though. It's on Leo Records.

[BruceH]

I've always kind of liked Monorails and Satellites. Nice album.

[Chuck Nessa]

I have had this since the '60s, like it and stand by my post.

[Saxophone__Vagina]

I've always kind of liked Monorails and Satellites. Nice album.

Yes, i really dug this album, quite different than his band sets, but similar in other ways.

[brownie]

Tend to agree about the piano solos albums not being Sun Ra's forte.

There is one album I really like, not a solo but the two musicians are so compatible; 'Visions' the SteepleChase album by Walt Dickerson with Sun Ra on piano. A very good duo date.

Edited June 29, 2004 by brownie

[Alexander Hawkins]

Thanks for this - if I see any going at a good price, I'll be sure to have a listen, but perhaps the thing to do would be to get to know the Arkestra stuff a little better!

[Rooster_Ties]

I like the two AIA solo piano discs. They're understated, sure, but they're both grown on me over the years.

(Wish they had released them on one CD, since they're both short enough to fit both on one disc.)

[Clunky]

I enjoyed Sun Ra piano on the Arkestra session "Live at the Pitt Inn" DIW so much that I was intrigued by a reviewers suggestion ( in 1988 The Wire when it still had decent jazz content) that Ra's piano was like Herbie Nichols. Back then I'd never heard of Nichols but one "Love gloom cash love" later I was hooked and of course shortly after I discovered Mosaic . 20 or so sets later none quite match up to the first.

So Ra's piano playing cant be all bad. i've got Monorails, two good things about

a) It's short B) nice cover

Edited June 29, 2004 by Clunky

[Chuck Nessa]

I like the two AIA solo piano discs. They're understated, sure, but they're both grown on me over the years.

(Wish they had released them on one CD, since they're both short enough to fit both on one disc.)

small correction - IAI.

[Rooster_Ties]

small correction - IAI.

Oops, got confused with the AIA: American Institute of Architects. Thanks for the correction...

[RDK]

While I enjoy Ra's solo piano work, it's definitely not the place to start. His Arkestra stuff is where it's at.

[Guest ariceffron]

DO NOT LISTEN TO "RDK"---- SUN RA SOLO PIANO IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT NOT ONLY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND RA'S MUSIC BUT JAZZ IN GENERAL.

I WOULD RECOMMENED GETTING ALL SUN RA SOLO PIANO STUFF YOU CAN FIND-- THERE ISNT TOO MUCH BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF TITLES.

I AM HAPPY BEACUSE I JUST LOCATED A COPY OF THE VERY VERY RARE MONRAILS AND SATELITTES VOL. II. EVERYONE KNOWS VOL. 1 (RE-ISSSUED ON THE EVIDENCE SERIES) BUT VOL II IS GOOD TOO.

I HIGHLY RECCOMENED THE VOL 1 CD FOR A 1ST SOLO SET IT IS ONE OF MY MOST LISTENED TO SUN RA CDS.

[Alexander Hawkins]

Well, I followed the advice in the opening few posts, and got deeper into the band stuff before venturing into the solo piano music.

BUT - I've recently been really enjoying Monorails and Satellites and the Teatro La Fenice gig; the former especially. IMHO, an interesting point of comparison is Muhal Richard Abrams, e.g. Young at Heart/Wise in Time.

Ra sounds much much more introverted on the solo sessions.

Edit: hang on - is it self-evident that he would be on solo sessions ? Oh well, I stick by the gist...

Edited April 22, 2005 by Red

[Kalo]

Monorails and Satellites is my favorite. Here's something I wrote about it a few years ago on another site:

I don't play the piano, except in my dreams. And I mean that literally: sometimes, when I'm asleep, I dream that I'm playing the piano. And when I do, it sounds just like this Sun Ra record. So much so that I experienced a shock of recognition upon first playing this disc. Piquantly dissonant Ellingtonian note clusters struggling towards form and fitfully finding it; a species of stride with a dreamy deliquescence reminiscent of Dali's melting watch; a sidelong slipperiness of phrasing that brings to mind the impressionistic ballads of Andrew Hill or, again, Ellington. The previous reviewer found this recording too dissonant and abstract, and it's true that the first two tracks are among the disc's most daunting, but the more ballad-like numbers are quite accessible. There's even a relatively straightforward rendition of the standard Easy Street. This is one of Ra's few solo piano recordings and my nomination for the best. In fact, it's one of my favorite Ra albums period. (And you've got to love the classic cosmic cover art.)