For German readers: some thoughts and notes and quotes on the music I'm listening - to be found
on my new blog:
ubus-notizen.blogspot.com

Also check out the great new, independent magazine get happy!?, reporting on music, movies and more:
gethappymag.de

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Music from Outer Space - Sun Ra, Newport 1969

This is not in good sound, but hey, it's Sun Ra! And it's from 1969! There are many Sun Ra shows in circulation from later on, including many good soundboards and some great audience recordings as well, but this here's one of the earliest live shows of his that I've come around, hope you'll enjoy!

Some stuff on Ra:

Saturn Web
Sun Ra Discography
Sun Ra Arkestra homepage

Sun Ra
Newport, Rhode Island (USA), Jazz Festival

July 3, 1969

Sun Ra - farfisa organ, hohner clavinet, spacemaster organ, voice
Walter Miller, Kwame Hadi - trumpet
Akh Tal Ebah - trumpet, mellophone
Marshall Allen – alto sax, flute, oboe, piccolo
Danny Davis – alto sax, flute
John Gilmore – tenor sax, percussion
Pat Patrick, Danny Ray Thompson – baritone sax, flute
James Jacson - bassoon, oboe, percussion
Robert Cummings (or Eloe Omoe?) – bass clarinet, percussion
Alex Blake - bass
Nimrod Hunt, William Brister (Rashid Salim IV) - percussion
Lex Humphries, Clifford Jarvis - drums
June Tyson - voice

1. unidentified title (3:04)
2. unidentified title (3:13)
3. The Shadow World (Sun Ra) 5:41
4. Prepare for the Journey to Other Worlds (Sun Ra) 3:09
5. Velvet (Sun Ra) 3:16
6. Outer Space (Is a Pleasant Place) (Sun Ra) 3:41
7. untitled outside processional (Sun Ra) 6:59
8. Watusi (Pitts/Sherrill) 2:58
9. Enlightenment (Hobart Dotson) 2:06
10. Somebody Else's Idea (Sun Ra) 2:52 [inc]
11. Sun Ra & His Band from Outer Space (Sun Ra) 1:29

TT: 38:35

Source: private recording

3 comments:

ubu said...

http://rapidshare.com/files/125265033/Sun_Ra_1969-07-03_Newport.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/125343271/Sun_Ra_1969-07-03_Newport.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/125344085/Sun_Ra_1969-07-03_Newport.part3.rar

lc said...

you're right, ubu.
probably not the best of sounds, but definitely worth listening.
it's got plenty of that organ sound, that makes me think of The Shadow' soundtrack (the radio show), the one that got started by Orson Welles.
'wondering whether this is the kind of stuff Sun Ra was listening to when he was a kid.
thanks again, ubu.

Unknown said...

thank you, thank you and thank you. as you rightly say, recordings of this era as very rare (for me at least), so i can only show my appreciation. ciao