June Tyson

Sun Ra and his Intergalaxtic Arkestra - Second Star to the Right: Salute to Walt Disney (1989) {Leo Records CDLR230 rel 1995}
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© 1989, 1995 Leo Records | CD LR 230
Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Avant-Garde Jazz / Progressive Jazz

Sun Ra and his Intergalaxtic Arkestra's Second Star to the Right: Salute to Walt Disney goes way beyond novelty. Novelties are hardly this entertaining or enduring. Ra got into a Disney phase around 1989 when asked to interpret "Pink Elephants on Parade" from Dumbo for a pop tribute album to Disney called Stay Awake. Ra was so taken with Disney's music and images that he started to play shows dedicated exclusively to the man. When performing this material, the Arkestra went so far as to wear the patented Mouseketeer ears and had a dancer dressed in a Dumbo costume! The chosen compositions run the gamut from the more obscure to themes every kid of all ages could sing along with: "I'm Wishing," "Second Star to the Right," the eerie "The Forest of no Return," and "Someday My Prince Will Come."

Sun Ra - Live from Soundscape (1979) {2CD DIW-388 Japan Limited Edition rel 1994}
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© 1979, 1994 DIW Records Japan | DIW-388
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

This CD should be essential for anyone who is a fan of Sun Ra. It is a live concert from Soundscape (recorded on November 11, 1979), featuring such classics as "Astro Black" "Discipline 27," and "Space is the Place," among many others. While the concert could have been recorded or mixed a little better (some of the vocals and instruments are occasionally hard to hear), the performance is brilliant. Mr. Ra, June Tyson, John Gilmore et al. really give the music a vitality that is inspirational and at times staggeringly beautiful.

Sun Ra - Astro Black (2018) {Modern Harmonic MHCD-080 rec 1972}
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© 1972, 2018 Sun Ra LLC / Modern Harmonic | MHCD-080
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Space-Age / Jazz Funk / Progressive Jazz

One of the darkest Sun Ra albums of the early 70s – and a set that's also a bit unusual in his catalog as well! The album was issued during Ra's run with Impulse Records – a period that mostly saw the label reissue previous records from the Saturn catalog – save for a rare few like this one, which was an unusual all-new batch of material for Impulse! Because of that, it's been a bit overlooked in later years – maybe missed as less authentic, but actually some of the most striking sounds that Ra created at the time! There's a very strong tension here between electric and acoustic elements – not in the usual fusion-based way, but instead with this vibe that often has the electric instruments providing darker areas of sound, while the woodwinds and percussion have a way of humanizing the proceedings. June Tyson's also at her moodiest on the title track, "Astro Black" – and other titles include "Hidden Spheres", "Discipline 99", and the long improvisation "Cosmo Fire".

Sun Ra - Mayan Temples (1990) {Black Saint 120121-2}
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© 1990 Black Saint | 120121-2
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

One of the finest Sun Ra recordings from his final years, this effort is particularly recommended due to the many Ra keyboard solos and John Gilmore features, the latter of which include a tenor showcase on "Opus In Springtime." Trumpeters Michael Ray and Ahmed Abdullah, altoist Marshall Allen and singer June Tyson also have their spots, and the repertoire consists of ten Ra originals (including a remake of "El Is the Sound of Joy") and three standard ballads. Overall, this is a fine all-around studio set. Recommended.

One of the towering figures of 20th century's music, Alabama-born pianist and organist Herman "Sun Ra" Blount (1914) became the cosmic musician par excellence. Despite dressing in extraterrestrial costumes (but inspired by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt) and despite living inside a self-crafted sci-fi mythology (he always maintained that he was from Saturn, and no biographer conclusively proved his birth date) and despite littering his music with lyrics inspired to a self-penned spiritual philosophy (he never engaged in sexual relationships apparently because he considered himself an angel), Sun Ra created one of the most original styles of music thanks to a chronic disrespect for both established dogmas and trendy movements.