Search - Sun Ra Arkestra :: Sunrise in Different Dimension

Ra mostly in the Tradition with stripped down band-YES!

Joe Pierre | 12/05/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a really nice CD from Ra and Co. Mostly old swing charts with a few really nice Freakouts thrown in. The band is really and nicely stripped down. 4 saxes if I remember right, 1 trumpet, Piano (no synths at all!), and 2 drummers. That's it. No vocals, no trombones, no bass even!The extra space gives Ra, Gilmore, and Allen a great chance to stretch out, and there are no laser beams or 25 other horns to get in the way.Sound quality is very good by Ra standards, though the mix puts the piano out way in front, even when comping - a bit annoying. Also the heads on a couple of tunes are quite sloppy, especially their take on Round Midnight. But the blowing is great!This is a reissue of a Hat Art LP set, and 2 tunes were left off so the music could fit on 1 (71 minute) cd. I have not heard the LP so I don't know what I'm missing, but what's left is well worth the price of admission."

Otherwordly

Joe Pierre | Los Angeles, CA United States | 06/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is my favorite Sun Ra album, featuring a 10 person ensemble with Sun Ra sticking to mostly piano and including the essential Marshall Allen (alto, oboe, and flute) and John Gilmore (tenor, clarinet, flute). It is from a live concert in Switzerland recorded in 1980 and originally released as a double LP. The recording quality is excellent, and much better than the usual Sun Ra fare. The music includes a mix of standards (Take the A Train, King Porter Stomp, Round Midnight, etc.) with some freer orginals (Light From a Hidden Sun, Disguised Gods in Skullduggery, etc.) along with a requisite June Tyson vocal number (On Jupiter). The performances are excellent and provide a nice example of a latter day Sun Ra live set. I have heard some people pan the version of Round Midnight here, but I find it outrageous and quite enjoyable. I have awaited the re-release of this on CD for years, but unfortunately two numbers, "Provocative Celestials" and "Love in Outer Space" were deleted to fit the concert on a single CD. The former features some bombastic free jazz with an extraordinary solo of upper register wailing (Allen on oboe?), while the latter is a classic ethereal number with Sun Ra on organ. I can't bring myself to purchase the CD knowing that these performances are missing!"

If You Like Sun Ra & Arkestra, You Need This Too

Mojave Fan | Brooklyn | 01/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I like Ra's music, in general, for his playing on Keyboards, and for the work of Gilmore and Allen.



On the cut Silhouettes of the Shadow World, there is a break for Gilmore that literally sets my heart racing everytime I hear it. Some of Ra's thinking is lost on me, and I don't always make a spiritual connection to the music, even the stuff I love. That moment however, the long pinched arcs from the sax, endlessly cascading and then peaking again higher and higher; I feel it. It is a one soul trying to communicate with other souls. Wonderful. My first time hearing it was the first time I "got it".



If you are looking to bond with Ra's music, this might be the one."