Short Cuts

The name Sun Ra and the term “free jazz” can conjure up all manner of strange musical imagery, especially amongst those unfamiliar with his music. Alternate identifiers such as “free improvisation” and the more umbrella-like “modern jazz” might ease those anxieties, but the reality is, a lot of Ra’s spirited music is not as random and difficult as some might think. In fact, much of his music falls closer to the spaces that the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Phish, and many other fairly mainstream artists have traveled.

With all that in mind, this Short Cuts combo-review installment focuses on five new and recent Sun Ra-centric vinyl releases that we hope will intrigue listeners to explore this fascinating artist’s music with fresh ears and open minds. Two of the releases covered here — one new for RSD Black Friday back in November 2024, and the other from last April’s RSD — are driven by the award-winning acclaimed “jazz detective,” Zev Feldman. Another is a brand-new release celebrating the Sun Ra Arkestra continuum, an ensemble that soldiered on after Ra’s passing in 1993 under the direction of longtime saxophonist Marshall Allan, who himself turned 100 last year! We also explore a recent Verve By Request/Third Man reissue of a highly collectable, and quite important, 1973 Sun Ra release, plus the latest release by thr Ra-inspired multi-instrumentalist, Idris Ackamoor. Let’s get right into it!

SUN RA
LIGHTS ON A SATELLITE: LIVE AT THE LEFT BANK
180g 2LP (Resonance)
MUSIC: 9
SOUND: 7.5

Lights on a Satellite is a fine — and fun! — new archival 1978 live recording by Sun Ra and his Arkestra. But does it warrant attention as a “great” recording you need to own? Well, that answer, friends, will depend on your personal interest in this artist. If you are looking for a generally solid-sounding but probably acoustically imperfect live album that captures the essence of a group being recorded for a film documentary in an club environment, then you will very much dig this particular RSD Black Friday 2024 release. I know that I have been enjoying this 2LP set a whole lot right from get-go — something I can’t always say when it comes to archival releases!

The official press materials for Lights on a Satellite spell out the scenario as remembered by filmmaker Robert Mugge, who was then making his debut as a music documentarian: “[It] went surprisingly well, our only unresolved question being, could we successfully record a large ensemble without multitrack recording equipment, or even the cables we needed to patch into the mixing board of Vernon L. Welsh’s house PA system? But sound man Bruce Litecky improvised, coming up with usable audio by pointing one mike at the house PA speakers and another at whichever musician or vocalist was currently taking the lead.”

Given this upfront and potentially quirky DNA, the final recording we hear on this nicely pressed, quiet and dark-black double-vinyl set sounds remarkably good and full-bodied. Tape transfers (to digital, we assume) were conducted by Michael D. Anderson of the Sun Ra Music Archive, and the LP mastering was led by Matthew Luthans at The Mastering Lab. The RSD Exclusive Lights on a Satellite 2LP set is a limited edition of 1,500 copies, and you can scout its currently availability here.

Lights on a Satellite is big-band Sun Ra spinning futuristic jazz sounds, and even spinning his web around standards such as Harold Arlen’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (LP1, Side A, Track 3) plus tunes by Fletcher Henderson (“Yeah Man” – LP1, Side B, Track 2), and a blend of Miles Davis (“Half Nelson”) with Tadd Dameron (“Lady Bird” — both in one cut! — LP1, Side B, Track 5). Perhaps most notable is the album closer, Thelonious Monk’s “’Round Midnight” (LP2, Side D, Track 4), which swings unlike any version of this tune that I’ve heard. Propelled by Ra’s Farfisa-like organ and Marshall Allen’s impassioned saxophone soloing, I have to assume those finger bells chiming in the background are from the “Jingle Brothers” who are credited in the liner notes! (Remember what I said about fun?)

These Lights on a Satellite performances were culled from a concert presented by Baltimore’s Left Bank Jazz Society at the Famous Ballroom on July 23, 1978. Two tracks captured at the concert were previously featured in Mugge’s above-noted documentary. As with most Resonance LP releases, you can expect much useful information to accompany the album, this one including essays by noted music critics J.D. Considine (who was at this show) and Dan Morgenstern, as well as reminiscences from bandmembers and others involved in the original production.

All in all, I’m finding the Lights on a Satellite 2LP set to be one of the overall most enjoyable live Sun Ra releases I’ve heard to date. I say this with the slight caveat that I am by no means a deep Sun Ra expert per se, but perhaps my joy here might pre-echo your own future joy of discovery when exploring this fascinating, prolific artist’s music. This RSD 2024 collection is a fine place to start.

SUN RA
AT THE SHOWCASE: LIVE IN CHICAGO 1976-1977
180g 2LP (Jazz Detective/Elemental Music)
MUSIC: 9
SOUND: 6.5

Issued for April 2024’s RSD, At The Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 is a compelling 2LP collection of good-quality stereo recordings made from a variety of inconsistent sources — as detailed in the informative booklet included with the album — including reel-to-reel and cassette, mono, stereo, 3¾ to 7½ips, etc. Captured by Richard Wilkerson and edited/compiled by aforementioned longtime Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson, this 180g 2LP set presents choice Sun Ra moments from Chicago’s Jazz Showcase in the mid-late 1970s.

The official RSD site offers more detail to consider: “Live in Chicago 1976-1977 contains previously unreleased live recordings of the legendary intergalactic composer/pianist Sun Ra captured live at Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago. This is an official release on producer Zev Feldman’s Jazz Detective record label, in partnership with Elemental Music, and in cooperation with the Sun Ra Trust. [. . .] transferred from the original tape reels, this limited-edition 180g 2LP set includes an extensive insert with rare photographs; liner notes by Grammy-winning author and historian Ashley Kahn; and interviews and statements from a who’s who of music icons.”

It seems fair to assume that there was some digital stage inevitable in the making of this collection, given the “transfers” from original tape reels and remastering by Joe Lizzi. The lacquers were cut by Matthew Lutthans at Cohearant Audio. The RSD First release of Live in Chicago 1976-1977 ran at 3,000 copies, and you can glean its current availability here.

Sonics aside, the music is what matters most, and the band is smoking here. Ra’s electric piano soloing sets an overall vibe that, at times, veers into wild Mingus territory, such as on the swinging “Velvet” (LP1, Side B, Track 3) from November 1977. The February 1976 show has plenty of free-range skronk going on, notably on the 17-plus minutes of “Calling Planet Earth & The Shadow World” (which takes up all of LP2, Side C). Not to be missed is Dale Williams’ seriously twisted, ripping, and trippy guitar soloing during “Theme of the Stargazers” (LP2, Side D, Track 1), which leads into a jaunty “Space Is The Place” (LP2, Side D, Track 2).

Overall, At The Showcase: Live in Chicago 1976-1977 sounds very good for what it is, featuring surprisingly good separation and balance coming from essentially raw soundboard and perhaps even audience-originated recordings. If I have any complaint here, it is that the bass and midranges were not well-captured, so the music sounds somewhat thin and indistinct at points. That said, it’s the performance we are ultimately seeking — and this one sure has some smokers!

SUN RA
SPACE IS THE PLACE
180g 1LP (Verve By Request/Third Man/Blue Thumb)
MUSIC: 9
SOUND: 7.5

Sun Ra’s 1973 Blue Thumb release Space Is the Place is iconic. I mean, even I, a relative newbie to Ra fandom, have seen rare original copies of this album gracing the walls of many a collector’s shop for decades. Of course, now that I am getting that much further into his music, finding original pressings is extra-challenging.

At the time of this posting, there were just nine originals on Discogs, with prices ranging from $105 for VG to $180 for a VG+ copy. Clearly, there was need for an affordable reissue for those who just want to get this music on vinyl — so, enter UMe’s Verve By Request series. Pressed at Third Man in Detroit and reportedly “newly remastered from original analog sources,” we can likely read between the lines that the remastering for this 2023 edition of Space Is the Place was done in the digital realm. That said, the album has some of that bright digital edge but nothing so terrible that would make it unlistenable. It’s a pretty good recording at its root, with the 21-minute title track (which takes up all of Side 1) a particular centerpiece, featuring Ra’s classic chant workout on the all-important phrase, “Space is the place.”

Despite the album title and otherworldly cover design, this LP is not all “space music,” as the tracks on Side 2 are swinging, more accessible shorter pieces, such as “Images” (Track 1) and the bluesy “Discipline 33” (Track 2). Ra’s classic album closer “Rocket Number Nine” (Track 4) is a fun romp — and, it’s also worth noting here I first heard that song covered by NRBQ on their eponymously titled 1969 Columbia debut!

For a very reasonable SRP of $29.99 at Music Direct and other retailers, Space Is the Place is quite a decent reissue, reproducing original album graphics and even re-interpreting the Blue Thumb label design. (If it’s currently sold out on MD, you can put in a restock reserve request for it, check for it on other sites like Acoustic Sounds, or, of course, visit your local record store!)

SUN RA ARKESTRA UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MARSHALL ALLEN
LIGHTS ON A SATELLITE
180g 2LP (In+Out Records)
MUSIC: 7.5
SOUND: 8

Despite bearing a similar title to the RSD Black Friday release reviewed at the beginning of this roundup, the Sun Ra Arkestra’s 180g 2LP set Lights on a Satellite does not actually have Sun Ra playing on it. Longtime Sun Ra associate and legendary alto saxophonist Marshall Allen has been the one leading the Arkestra for more than 30 years after Ra’s death in 1993, and this recording features the current incarnation of the band. (It’s also notated on the hype sticker as this release being the Marshall Allen 100 Years Jubilée Edition.)

Official press materials issued by the label, In+Out, offer these insights to consider: “From the free playing attitude of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Lights on a Satellite lands with a full groove right in the heart of swing. The recording is a tribute to the life’s work of Marshall Allen, who celebrated his 100th birthday on May 25, 2024. Recorded in Studio A at New York’s Power Station on June 16, 2024, the album honors the mastery of this exceptional musician as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, bandleader, teacher and keeper of Sun Ra’s legacy.”

In short, this is a well-made modern recording of a band carrying on the spirit of Sun Ra, with analog mastering and vinyl cutting handled by Thorsten Scheffner at Organic Music Studio, Obing, Germany. The typical SRP for Lights on a Satellite is $40, and you can find it via most reputable online retailers and/or your local record store.

This is a good-sounding session, to be sure, but it also doesn’t feel quite the same as the Ra-led Arkestra (which may be an unfair expectation). In some ways, it reminds me of the officially sanctioned Charles Mingus Big Band and Mingus Dynasty projects, which were both created after the maestro’s departure. The intent is there and the delivery noble, but the music doesn’t always lift off to that special zone unique to the original artists.

That said, Lights on a Satellite sounds quite nice indeed, and if you are a deep fan of Allen’s work and enjoy his version of the Arkestra, then, by all means, snap this 2LP set right up.

IDRIS ACKAMOOR & THE PYRAMIDS
AFRO FUTURISTIC DREAMS
180g 2LP (Strut Music)
MUSIC: 9
SOUND: 8

If you want to hear some Sun Ra-influenced music that carries on his spirit with a layer of twists and its own compositional approach, look no further than the music of multi-instrumentalist Idris Ackamoor, who has been working with various incarnations of his group The Pyramids since 1972. Their latest 2LP set, Afro Futuristic Dreams, was issued on Strut Music in September 2023 — and it is a wonderful grower of an album, recorded in San Francisco and London by British producer Malcolm Catto at Quatermass Studios.

I only recently became aware of Ackamoor’s music in the past 5 years or so, having seen him perform live twice in some of the first pandemic-era out-of-doors concerts I went to here in San Francisco. Liberating, freewheeling, spirited, and ultimately very positive fun — just like Sun Ra (whom I sadly never got to see live) — Ackamoor is probably best appreciated in a concert setting.

That said, Afro Futuristic Dreams has proven itself to me via numerous listens over time. I just put on the album again after months of waiting for this logical opportunity to review it. Hearing it anew, and right after listening to the four previous Sun Ra-related titles above, proved revelatory. Ackamoor’s music sounded at once familiar, yet fresh!

From a booklet I received with a copy of the album that a friend gave me, it appears this was the first time Ackamoor had composed music for orchestral musicians including a string quartet. According to the booklet, this album “Pays homage to AFROFUTURISM movement that has embraced science fiction writers Octavia Butler and Samuel Raney and musician Sun Ra.” (Space is the place indeed!)

Some of the grooves here on Afro Futuristic Dreams are funkier than much of the Sun Ra music I’ve heard to date, but the free vibe is certainly there. Some favorite tracks include the lyrically poignant funk of “Police Dem” (LP1, Side 2, Track 1), which features wailing saxophone soloing, and “Truth to Power” (LP2, Side 3, Track 1), which has some badass distorted electric guitar stabs punching through the syncopated afro-groove. The album’s title tune (LP1, Side 1, Track 1) is also lovely, bringing you directly into Ackamoor’s universe.

The SQ on this modern studio recording is very good and enjoyable. Probably made in the digital realm, the ensuing vinyl pressing is solid, and the mastering feels sympathetic to the music. So, you can turn this one up to dance your non-analog worries away with free abandon. You can find this 180g 2LP set selling very reasonably online for about $25 to $30, but also check your favorite indie music retailers, which I have noticed frequently stock Ackamoor’s albums these days (at least here in San Francisco!).

And with that — happy Sun Ra-related listening, everyone!!

Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for AudiophileReview.com, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.