Sun Ra Arkestra- Media Dreams
Here's the last of my Saturn Records, which I am posting to celebrate the 90th birthday today of Marshall Allen, alto saxophonist and electronic wind instrument player, current leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra- still going strong!
On a personal note:
I had the opportunity to play with Marshall Allen on the 15th in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Sun Ra's birth. Also in attendance was Danny Ray Thompson, playing flute on this occasion, and I had a very fine time, one high point being at the rehearsal where Marshall took the mic and a few of us had a sing-along, Arkestra-style, to the tune of Fate In A Pleasant Mood, which Marshall also seemed to enjoy very much.
Marshall has a penchant for saying things like- "You've gotta do what you can while you can with what you've got", and "You've got to take hold of this one life"; things you hear often enough nowadays.
But when you consider that, the day after playing this gig with the Ratchet Orchestra, Marshall and Danny were off to Italy, and from there all around Europe,to Turkey, Japan, Croatia, and all with only a day's rest here and there (see Sunraarkestra.com for the tour dates) you know this man LIVES by these words.I have little doubt that it is precisely this attitude which is at least partially responsible for his amazing energy and longevity.
I can only say "keep saying what you've got to say while you can say it" , and
"Happy Birthday, Marshall Allen!"
About the record:
This is a weird one,
MysterRa plays a keyboard with an "auto-arpeggio" feature (a2) and gets downright goofy with it, getting it to arpeggiate clusters and the like.
There is also some very celestial synthesizer work (a1,a3) and piano (b2) and a couple of fine solos from John Gilmore on Tenor (a2,b2) and Michael Ray on funky Trumpet (a2).
Altogether a very fine and varied record, from Bop and Ballad to the outer limits, and with good sound quality and presence.
Sun Ra Arkestra- Media Dreams
a1- Saturn Research (3:10)
a2- Constellation (13:52)
a3- Yera Of The Sun (4:39)
b1- Media Dreams (13:54)
b2- Twigs At Twilight (7:30)
b3- An Unknowneth Love (4:43)
(1)
Today is Sun Ra's 100th birthday.
Here is another of the Saturn Records which Ra and the Arkestra released independently.
These records are very often entirely unique, with the hand-made artwork sometimes being silk-screened stickers, sometimes magic-marker scribbles, and sometimes both or neither.
This one, as you can see, has magic-marker scribbles on the front cover and on one side of the l.p. center label, which I have presumed is side one.
Both center labels bear the suffix "b" after the serial number, which is almost certainly* the recording date: 72881- July 28th, 1981.
On the one occasion when I met Sun Ra, I brought this and my other two Saturn Records (and a postcard of Saturn) and asked him to sign them.
He said "These record covers are meant to be looked at under different colored lights" just as I was pulling out a bunch of different colored large-tipped felt markers, so I said "choose your colors, then".
Thus the very pale blue signature on the back: Le Sun Ra.
(These, along with a signed copy of The Residents' "Mark Of The Mole" are among my most treasured records- not for sale at any price).
Anyway- I have not split the tracks on this record, which alternate between solo synthesizer improvisations and duos with trombone or trumpet, and (on side two) an extended solo with a brief Arkestra explosion as well as an hilarious moment of commentary on Ra's excursions by (I think) John Gilmore and the rest of the band.
From what I can glean from info about the cd release of (among other concurrent work) side two of this l.p. by the Art Yard label, the personnel
(not all of whom are heard on this l.p) is:
Sun Ra And His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra:
Sun Ra { synth, organ, vocals }
John Gilmore { tenor sax, percussion, vocals }
Marshall Allen { alto sax, percussion }
Michael Ray { trumpet, vocals }
Danny Thompson { baritone sax, flute, percussion }
Noel Scott { alto sax, vocals }
June Tyson { vocals }
Tyrone Hill { trombone, vocals }
Eloe Omoe { bass clarinet }
Craig Harris { drums }
Tommy “Bugs” Hunter { drums }
Al Evans { flugelhorn }
Jaribu Shahid { bass }
Samarai Celestial { drums }
Vincent Chancey { french horn }
Francisco “Ali” Mora { drums, percussion }
Tani Tabbal { drums, percussion }
Bright Moments { congas }
The Bell Brothers { bells }
John Ore { bass }
James Jacson { vocals, Ancient Egyptian
Infinity Lightning Drum }
Recorded at the Detroit Jazz Center**
(*note: It may be the production or release date and not the recording date-info on this and similar matters is often sketchy or downright contradictory.)
(**The date problem makes this uncertain.)
Put on your Outer-Space
flac
jacket!
