Ratchet Orchestra with Marshall Allen and Danny Ray Thompson

As a small number of you out there know, I am a part-time musician.
Living where I do, I get the chance to play with some pretty incredible musicians, both those who live here and those who pass through.

I have been playing with the Ratchet Orchestra, an ever-changing monster led by Contrabassist Nicolas Caloia, for about 20 years now, and this past May 15 we were all honored to play with two long-standing members of the Sun Ra ("insert name here") Arkestra.

Marshall Allen has been playing with the Arkestra since 1958 (and leading it since the death of John Gilmore).
Danny Ray Thompson ("Pico" to his friends) has been a member since 1967.
These two fine gentlemen joined with the Ratchet Orchestra to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sun Ra's arrival on Planet Earth.

The music heard here is a sort of "Suite" arranged by Nicolas Caloia, comprised  almost exclusively of Sun Ra compositions, some heard in something like a standard presentation, while others have been fractured and overlayed with other themes and material and may be unrecognizable to all but the most ardent Sun Ra fanatics.

In any case, I believe that this is some very fine, exciting and beautiful music and deserves to be heard and (I hope) enjoyed by fans of Sun Ra and visitors to the Closet of Curiosities.

Marshall Allen and Danny Ray Thompson with Ratchet Orchestra
Festival International de Musique Actuelle, Victoriaville
May 15, 2014

THE BOARD MIX/ZOOM BOOTLEG

They Dwell on Other Planes/We Must Not Say No To Ourselves
Eve
Thither and Yon
Discipline No. 15
El Is A Sound of Joy
El Victor
Love on A Faraway Planet/Life is Splendid/Angels and Demons
The Shadow World
Fate in A Pleasant Mood/Life is Splendid/We'll Wait for You/Space is the Place

Marshall Allen :alto saxophone, evi, voice
Pico : flute
Lori Freedman : clarinets, wx7, voice
Ida Toninato : bassoon, baritone saxophone
Damian Nisenson : saxophones, shenai
Yves Charuest : alto saxophone
Jason Sharp : bass saxophone, flute
Ellwood Epps : trumpet
Scott Thomson : trombone
Jacques Gravel : bass trombone, tympani
Joshua Zubot : violin
Guido Del Fabbro : violin, recorder
James Annett : viola
Chris Burns : guitar, voice
Guillaume Dostaler : piano, JX3P
Ken Doolittle : percussion, voice
Michel Bonneau : percussion
John Heward : drums
Isaiah Ceccarelli : drums, tympani
Nicolas Caloia : doublebass, maxikorg, arrangements


Nic Caloia also has a site where you can download, stream and purchase other music and video (and etc) which you may very well also enjoy.
If you like this concert, visit his page
and go nuts.

 (Sorry, links removed.)