Sun Ra,

[AllenLowe]

les baxter was a real musician and did a lot of great stuff; he was way superior to most of the rest of the Exotica school.

[Teasing the Korean]

les baxter was a real musician and did a lot of great stuff; he was way superior to most of the rest of the Exotica school.

Absolutely. I rank him up there with any of the great jazz arrangers. Lots of people assume he is schmaltz because of his 50s pop hits, but all of those Capitol exotica LPs are among my favorites in any genre. There is something about his combinations of Debussy/Ravel orchestration and Latin percussion that is irresistible.

But that track above is fascinating. It is from 1957, and it's just Les on an electric celeste with percussion, no bass or other instruments. The Sun Ra bio sites Les as an influence, and I'm sure Sonny must have listened to that track.

But back to Sun Ra:

Hot Ptah, did you see my previous post where I listed the Sun Ra 1960s albums I have? I'd like to know where they rank among his 60s work (based on your earlier post about his 60s work being inconsistent). Thanks

[sidewinder]

As for the 1980s, I have a hard time buying anything by anyone dating from that most dreaded of decades, and rarely waste the shelf space on 80s albums even if I find them in the dollar bin. I'm sure I must be missing out on some good stuff, but I do have aesthetic principles.

'Nuclear War' is worth checking out - if mainly for the vibe..

[Hot Ptah]

les baxter was a real musician and did a lot of great stuff; he was way superior to most of the rest of the Exotica school.

Absolutely. I rank him up there with any of the great jazz arrangers. Lots of people assume he is schmaltz because of his 50s pop hits, but all of those Capitol exotica LPs are among my favorites in any genre. There is something about his combinations of Debussy/Ravel orchestration and Latin percussion that is irresistible.

But that track above is fascinating. It is from 1957, and it's just Les on an electric celeste with percussion, no bass or other instruments. The Sun Ra bio sites Les as an influence, and I'm sure Sonny must have listened to that track.

But back to Sun Ra:

Hot Ptah, did you see my previous post where I listed the Sun Ra 1960s albums I have? I'd like to know where they rank among his 60s work (based on your earlier post about his 60s work being inconsistent). Thanks

Les Baxter gets heavy airplay on The Retro Cocktail Hour, a radio program DJed, created and selected by Darrell Brogden, the program director of

Kansas Public Radio. You can read his playlists and listen to past shows at kpr.ku.edu/retro He is a very knowledgable guy. He slips jazz into the mix and I have learned about some great jazz cuts from his show--such as the time he played Buddy Collette's "Polynesia" album.

I like your list of Sun Ra 1960s albums. I have never enjoyed "Atlantis", but that's just probably me. The others are all fine.

[Teasing the Korean]

I like your list of Sun Ra 1960s albums. I have never enjoyed "Atlantis", but that's just probably me. The others are all fine.

Of all of them, Atlantis was initially the hardest one for me to really get inside of, but I've been rewarded with repeated spins.

[Hardbopjazz]

Reading through this thread, there are polar recommendations from everyone. I guess I will dab a bit in each decade to start.

[.:.impossible]

Thanks for that Les Baxter link TTK!

[Teasing the Korean]

Two other tunes from the Les Baxter "Skins" album that have a Sun Ra vibe are "Brazilian Bash" at about 2:45 in the above video and "Mood Tattooed" at about the 29:55 mark. Happy listening!

[Hot Ptah]

John Szwed, in his Sun Ra biography "Space Is The Place", discusses Les Baxter at some length on page 151, and also the influence of Martin Denny and other post-war exotica music on Sun Ra.

About Baxter, Szwed writes on page 151, "for Sunny, it was music rich with imagination and suggestion, and free of material constraints."

At page 155 of this book, Szwed notes that "Possession", from "Jazz by Sun Ra" (reissued on Delmark as "Sun Song") was a waltz written by Harry Revel for Les Baxter's "Perfume Set To Music" album. Szwed writes about this Baxter recording, "Sunny was struck by the lush string writing, the mysterious sound of the theremin, the interpretations of senses the arrangements provoked." Szwed explains that Sun Ra requested an arrangement of "Possession" after hearing it on the Les Baxter album.

Edited August 16, 2011 by Hot Ptah

[JohnS]

Coming in a little late here but Heliocentric Worlds Volume 1 always pleases. Not only my favourite Ra record but one that has a permanent place in my top ten.

I saw Ra's band twice,both times a magical experience. I was also lucky enough to sit in when Ra was interviewed by the late Peter Clayton. Not much musical information was imparted during the hour or so but there was a lot pf philosphy from the softly spoken Ra. The tape ran out after 30 minutes and I don't believe any of it was broadcast.

Edited August 16, 2011 by JohnS

[Face of the Bass]

Inspired at least in part by this topic, over a week ago I started up a new blog, that is at least tangentially dedicated to writings on the music, life, and philosophy of Sun Ra, though as it develops I find ways to include other dimensions of my thoughts as well. Anyway, for those who are interested, you can check it out at http://otherplanesofthere.blogspot.com

Thanks!

[jazzbo]

An email last night from Michael at Transparency Records announces the next Sun Ra Transparency release:

SUN RA

Live At The Red Garter

New York City, July 1970

Transparency 0319

(Two audio CDs - 86 minutes total - Includes nine minutes not circulated among collectors - Plus a slide show of 82 black & white photos of the event by Lee Santa on the second disc)

UPC #716205031922

A superb performance by the Arkestra at NYC's The Red Garter (later known as The Bottom Line). Dragging the folder of 82 photos to your computer desktop and viewing the slide show while listening to the audio discs takes you right there to the concert - for a very unique documentation like no other.

Please order now using the paypal address meridianavenue@yahoo.com

We anticipate shipping during April 2012.

$15 first class postpaid within the U.S.

$18 airmail postpaid to Canada and Europe

July 1970 The Red Garter, NYC

(Earthly Recordings #150)

UNIDENTIFIED TITLE

This is a lovely understated duet between Ra on organ and Alan Silva on cello. It's nice that Ra gave Silva so much solo space during the latter's relatively short tenure with the Arkestra.

UNIDENTIFIED TITLE

Horns and flutes come in, still in keeping with the subdued mood of the previous duet but clearly playing a different piece (RLC calls it a "slow minor key theme"), before the drums pick up the tempo and the horns and organ dig into a cool swinging riff. This would have fit perfectly on My Brother The Wind Volume II. Like so many compositions here, this is one I really wish Ra had recorded officially. He lays down cool organ grooves and Kwame Hadi plays a gorgeous trumpet solo, compelling and exciting like all of his playing. This is followed by sumptuous Pat Patrick baritone sax solo. The groove here is simply incredible. Flutes comment in riffs in the background, and other horns come in. After Patrick stops, the riffs take over for a bit before we return to the opening slower ensemble theme. Dissonant flutes lay down a blanket of chords for the main theme to rest on as it builds to a nice finish.

LADIES AND GENTLEMULES

What a quirky song! Accompanying himself on organ, Ra introduces the piece by saying he has something to say to the gentlemules. Then the band eases into a slinky jump groove, and they chant "Things ain't gonna change like they did," and something indecipherable. At intervals they stop and Ra makes special announcements about members of the congregation not having themselves together -- but it's okay, because "another ******* gonna take your place!" All through the groove, Ra's organ cooks; we get an abrupt ending as the tape cuts off.

SOMEWHERE ELSE

A nice, tight rendering of this piece, one of my favorites from this era. The trumpet solo, by Kwame Hadi, is tight and focused. It's followed by some cool organ, with the band sustaining the groove before returning to the head. (You can tell my bag of musical vocabulary terms is running out. Oh well -- my language may run dry, but Ra's musical ideas never do!)

SOMETIMES I'M HAPPY

This is the earliest known live Ra version of this song, which he first recorded in 1962 at the Choreographer's Workshop (on the CD Standards). Later to be sung so beautifully by June Tyson, here it's all instrumental, with a really nice Gilmore solo, backed by Ra's organ comping. Did I say "really nice"? Gilmore swings like a mutha, turning in a heart-thumping whopper of a solo. I'm going to quickly run out of laudatory language to describe his superlative playing, I can't tell. Words really don't do him justice. Silva does some cool out bowing as the song draws to a close.

PLEASANT TWILIGHT

This piece is easily the highlight of this volume. Ra starts it by playing the melody on solo organ, slowly but straight through, followed by meditative ruminations on the melody. Then the band comes in at a swift swinging tempo, faster than the studio version (which is the only known recording of this piece at all!). After the band plays the head, something magical occurs: the tempo drastically slows down, the horns play through the chord changes slowly, and Gilmore takes off, laying down a simply glorious solo that shows him at the peak of his powers. It's one of those solos that's all over the place while at the same time fitting firmly in the flow of the song, and it's one of his most amazing ever. As he reaches the upper stratosphere of the high register, Ra's organ joins the horns, then, as on the studio version, the band plays the melody at a slower, statelier pace. But it's not over yet -- the tempo picks back up and we get the added bonus of another hot trumpet solo, I'm guessing by Kwame Hadi. Besides Walter Miller, the dynamic duo of Kwame Hadi and Akh Tal Ebah are my favorite Ra trumpeters, and it's great to get whatever solos we can from them. The head comes back, but played even faster than at the beginning. Overall, a fantastic performance.

________________________________________ ____

TRACK LISTING:

01. unidentified

02. Somewhere Else

03. Ra Improv - Sometimes I'm Happy

04. Pleasant Twilight

05. unidentified

06. Love In Outer Space

07. unidentified

08. Ladies And Gentlemules

[rockefeller center]

LOL