Sun Ra

DE-LUXE 4-LP BOX SET

"Ra and his Arkestra recorded and performed prolifically during its entire run, so it's no surprise that we've been showered with great reissues and previously unreleased material. One of the most satisfying documents—and a stellar example of what a primo Arkestra set was like during the band's final decade—is The Sun Ra Arkestra in Nickelsdorf 1984 (Trost), a whopping three-CD set that captures the entirety of a multiset performance in Austria. The group moves easily between standards like Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," a raucous "Mack the Knife" (with what appears to be winds player James Jackson doing his best Louis Armstrong impersonation), and Fletcher Henderson's "Big John's Special" to originals like "Nuclear War" and "Fate in a Pleasant Mood" and disciplined but wild group improvisations—with especially excellent playing from Allen, John Gilmore, Danny Thompson, and the pianist himself. There's also a bounty of great call-and-response passages, with Ra improvising his lyrics and the Arkestra never missing a beat. The breadth, fluidity, and sense of fun are nothing less than breathtaking. I was lucky enough to see the Arkestra many times during the 80s and 90s, and I always came away from those performances certain I had just seen the greatest band on earth, and the most entertaining one too. Below you can listen to a typically charismatic, soulful take on another Arkestra classic, "Love in Outer Space."  - Peter Margasak

PERSONNEL:

SUN RA, piano
JOHN GILMORE, tenor sax, clarinet, vocal
MARSHALL ALLEN, alto sax, flute
DANNY RAY THOMPSON, baritone sax
ELO OMOE (LEROY TAYLOR), alto sax, bass clarinet
JAMES JACKSON, basson, flute
RONNIE BROWN, trumpet
ROLLO RADFORD, standup eb
DON MUMFORD, drums
MATTHEW BROWN, congas

Live in Nickelsdorf, March 11, 1984

SIDE A:

01. Untitled Improvisation
02. Discipline 27-II/Children of the Sun
03. Nuclear War

SIDE B:

01. Unidentified Blues
02. Sophisticated Lady
03. East of the Sun
04. Springtime Again

SIDE C:

01. Yeah Man!
02. Mack the Knife
03. Day Dreams
04. Love in Outer Space

SIDE D:

01. Space Is the Place/We Travel the Spaceways/No News Is Good News/Outer Spaceways Incorporated/Closing 1st Set
02. Space Infinity Drum Intro 2nd Set
03. Pleiades
04. Untitled Improvisation 1
05. Untitled Improvisation 2
06. Untitled Improvisation 3

SIDE E

01. Unidentified Piano Solo
02. 'Round Midnight
03. Unidentified Blues
04. Happy As the Day Is Long

SIDE F

01. Carefree
02. Big John's Special
03. Days of Wine and Roses

DIE G:

01. What's New?
02. Fate in a Pleasant Mood
02. Fate in a Pleasant Mood Part 2

SIDE H

01. Retrospect
02. Enlightenment/Strange Mathematics/Rhythmic Equations