Sun Ra, Accompanist

[Rabshakeh]

Currently listening to A Tribute To Stuff Smith by Billy Bang, which has Sun Ra playing second to Bang's fiddle. 

I don't normally associate Mr. Ra with other people's records (well, at least not post-Swing era). Nor does Wikipedia apparently: it doesn't even have a "sideman" section for his discography. 

Can anyone think of any other examples of Sun Ra playing in an accompaniest's role on another musician's record? 

[jazzbo]

He accompanied Walt Dickerson

And co-led here

[randyhersom]

and Wynonie Harris:

http://campber.people.clemson.edu/sunra.html

Sun1. Wynonie (Mr. Blues) Harris / Wynonie (Mr. Blues) Harris with Jimmie Jackson and His Orchestra*

Wynonie Harris (voc, d); Jackie Allen (tp except -1); Jimmie Jackson (as except -1); Herman “Sonny” Blount (p).

WSM Studio B, Nashville, March 1946

	Dig This Boogie (Harris) -1		Bullet 251A, Krazy Kat KK783, Classics 1013 [CD], Bear Family [Ger] BCD 15864 HL
	Lightnin' Struck the Poor House* (Harris)		Bullet 251-B, Krazy Kat KK783, Classics 1013 [CD], Bear Family [Ger] BCD 15864 HL
	My Baby's Barrel House (Harris)		Bullet 252-A, Route 66 KIX 20, Classics 1013 [CD], Bear Family [Ger] BCD 15864 HL
	Drinkin' by Myself (Harris)		Bullet 252-B, Route 66 KIX 3, Route 66 RBD 3 [CD], Classics 1013 [CD], Bear Family [Ger] BCD 15864 HL

Bullet 251 and 252 were 78 rpm singles, both released on April 14, 1946 (thanks to Sam Byrd for the exact release date). They were the second and third releases on the label, immediately following Bullet 250 ("Nashville Jumps" b/w "Loose as a Goose") by R and B pianist Cecil Gant, who at the time was also managed by Harold Oxley. For Bullet 252, we follow the A and B designations on the labels. In the trailoff shellac, "Barrel House" shows 252-B and "Drinkin'" shows 252-A.

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[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

[jazzbo]

Good points Aric.

[clifford_thornton]

yeah, Dickerson was my first thought as well. Maybe Campbell has other info, don't have access to it at the moment.

[randyhersom]

That Clemson link is fascinating.  Several tracks on a Coleman Hawkins Classics have Sonny as sideman.  A lot of the other citations are for Sonny as arranger only, though.

Edited October 23, 2020 by randyhersom

[Enterprise Server]

I remember the first time I heard "Impressions of a Patch of Blue". It was in Chicago of 1983. I was blown away! At the time, I had never heard of Walt Dickerson. He was the first advant garde style of vibraphonist I had heard. LOVE THAT RECORDING!

[sidewinder]

The ‘Batman’ album I guess - if you view this one as a Blues Project album.

[mhatta]

Long time ago, I bought a CD called "The Hawk Returns" by Coleman Hawkins.  Very obscure and personnel except Hawk was not listed at all (well, one "Body Smith" was credited, I guess it actually was a Chicago drummer Buddy Smith). I kinda loved it but forgot about it soon.

Now I realized that this CD contains music by two legendary figures -- the first half by Les Strand (Jimmy Smith once called him "Art Tatum of the Organ"), and the latter by Sun Ra.  I thought the mysterious pianist was Junior Mance or someone like him...

[Rabshakeh]

  On 11/1/2020 at 3:22 PM, mhatta said:

Long time ago, I bought a CD called "The Hawk Returns" by Coleman Hawkins.  Very obscure and personnel except Hawk was not listed at all (well, one "Body Smith" was credited, I guess it actually was a Chicago drummer Buddy Smith). I kinda loved it but forgot about it soon.

Now I realized that this CD contains music by two legendary figures -- the first half by Les Strand (Jimmy Smith once called him "Art Tatum of the Organ"), and the latter by Sun Ra.  I thought the mysterious pianist was Junior Mance or someone like him...

Expand  

Was he playing on the album or is it his compositions? 

[mhatta]

  On 11/1/2020 at 7:09 PM, Rabshakeh said:

Was he playing on the album or is it his compositions? 

Expand  

 

http://campber.people.clemson.edu/sunra.html  See the entry "Sun31. Coleman Hawkins and His Orchestra". It claims that the pianist is Ra...not in his usual outer-space style, but very boppish piano.  Sounds like young Junior Mance (I still have some doubt that it was actually Mance).  Also, I think the bassist sounds like Wilber Ware.  And the arrangements for both sessions might be done by him  (some weird vocal choruses reminds me of his early doo-wop works).  Except the standards, there are two original tunes: "Flight Eleven" (blues) and "Modern Fantasy".  The credits are  given to one A.M. Brunner, but looks like this is an alias for Herman Lubinsky, the owner of Savoy Records.  So they might be written by Hawk or Ra.

[Dub Modal]

Re: The Hawk Returns, it's this Savoy CD: 

More Images

Coleman Hawkins ‎– The Hawk Returns

Label:

Savoy Jazz ‎– SV-0182

Recorded in Chicago, August - September 1953

See: Geerken, Hartmut & Trent, Chris (2015) - Omniverse Sun Ra: p177#16

[mjzee]

These six tracks also appear here; it lists other personnel as unknown except for Buddy Smith, drums, and it lists the recording date as 5/27/54: