June Tyson

Sun Ra and His Arkestra - Strange Celestial Road (1979) {Rounder Records 125742 rel 2019}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Official Digital Download (prestomusic.com) -> 221 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 85 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 1979, 2019 Rounder Records / Concord / Enterplanetary Koncepts | 125742
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Jazz Funk / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

These recordings originated at the same Variety Studio sessions that resulted in the 1979 Saturn release SLEEPING BEAUTY (a.k.a. Door of the Cosmos). Based on known departures and arrivals of various players in the Arkestra, Sun Ra historians have cited a likely recording date of June 1979. These three tracks were sold to Rounder and issued on LP in 1980; Sun Ra retained "Springtime Again," "Door of the Cosmos," and "Sleeping Beauty" for release on Saturn.

Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Solar Research Arkestra - Helsinki 1971: The Complete Concert (2009) {2CD Set Transparency 0314}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 897 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 355 Mb
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© 1971, 2009 Transparency | 0314
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

The complete document of a rare Finnish performance by the Sun Ra Arkestra – material recorded in Helsinki on October 14, 1971 – presented here in a 2CD package. The CDs feature both the first and second sets of the evening – and the material was recorded by the Finnish broadcasting company, so the quality is pretty good – well-recorded, and with as much clarity as some of the better-known live Arkestra albums of the time. The group's in wonderful form – a fairly large lineup, given the Scandinavian trip – and they run through modes that are spacey, spiritual, and straight. Players include Kwame Hadi, Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, James Jacson, Pat Patrick, Danny Davis, and Danny Ray Thompson – and June Tyson sings some really wonderful vocals on the record too.

Four different groups led by Sun Ra are featured on this intriguing if generally ragged set. Although Ra's usual band members of the period appear on most of the cuts (including singer June Tyson, trumpeter Michael Ray, altoist Marshall Allen and tenor saxophonist John Gilmore), this CD also has many musicians one would not expect in this setting during 1988-89: drummer Billy Higgins, trombonist Julian Priester, Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, altoist James Spaulding and (briefly out of retirement) trumpeter Tommy Turrentine. The ensembles perform some typically eccentric Ra compositions, including "Stardust for Tomorrow," "Love In Outer Space" and "Hole In the Sky," in bands ranging from four (the unusual quartet of Cherry, Spaulding, Ra and singer Tyson) to 22 pieces.

Sun Ra & His Arkestra - Discipline 99 (Out Beyond the Kingdom Of) (1974) {2018 Enterplanetary Koncepts}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (tidal.com) -> 274 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 119 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 2018 Enterplanetary Koncepts / Sun Ra LLC
Jazz / Space-Age / Avant-Garde Jazz / Jazz Funk / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

On June 16, the Arkestra performed at Hunter College in New York City and the concert was recorded, possibly by the college itself (the sound quality is remarkably good). Portions were compiled by Ra for release as Out Beyond The Kingdom Of (Saturn 61674) later in the year (although some copies are titled Discipline 99) (Id.). The first thing you notice is the school has provided Sonny with a decent grand piano, and he relishes in the opportunity to tickle the ivories. “Discipline 99” is given a stately, confident reading by the band and features a long piano solo, alternating pretty harmonies with flurries of dissonant tone clusters.

For more than two decades, the disciple that has most visibly carried on Sun Ra Arkestra’s legacy and sound is their musical director, alto saxophonist Marshall Allen, the iconic fire breather and life force that restored the Arkestra’s vitality in the massive vacuum left by Ra and John Gilmore’s death in the ‘90s. Allen turned 98 in 2022 and, as evidenced by Living Sky, his influence and leadership remain undiminished. Marking the Arkestra’s first new recording since their 2021 Grammy-nominated album Swirling, Living Sky was recorded on June 15, 2021 at Rittenhouse SoundWorks in Philadelphia and features a total of nineteen musicians, including a strings section. It was mixed and mastered by three-time Grammy winner Dave Darlington (Eddie Palmieri, Brian Lynch, Wayne Shorter).