Sun Ra is best known for the extensive archive of recordings he made with his Arkestra, and most Ra enthusiasts are probably first attracted to his work by the sui generis imagination he brought to arranging for large ensembles. These span the recalibrated swing-band tropes of Jazz In Silhouette (Saturn, 1959), a perfect choice for an advanced-level Blindfold Test, through off-planet takes on exotica such as those compiled on the previously reviewed Exotica (Modern Harmonic, 2018), and on to such spectacularly experimental albums as The Heliocentric Worlds Of Sun Ra Vol. 1 (ESP, 1965).
The band was formed in 1989 by Rick Eddy and Tim Drumheller, an American duo of multi-instrumentalists who handle keyboards, guitars, percussions, flute and trumpet, although they regularly enlist the contribution of talented guest musicians on drums and percussion. Heavily keyboard based (especially the piano), their style is a curious mixture of jazz, rock and classical (symphonic) music with dark, mysterious overtones without being sinister - more like suspenseful. Even when the guys kick into high gear the atmosphere remains tension-filled. As far as comparisons go, names such as Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator or ELP have surfaced but none truly convey the originality of this twosome, whose sublime interplay and strong emphasis on counterpoint cleverly blends all of these bands' styles and more, resulting in a unique contemporary sound of its own.
PROVIDENCE were formed in 1985. For some years around their foundation they had changed the members or produced some demo tapes but they could not appear upon major scene in those days. In 1989 they saw the light with solidifying their members and recording their debut album 'And I'll Recite An Old Myth' (released in the following year), in that Madoka TSUKADA (keyboards) composed all songs. This album has got renowned also with the collaboration of Christian Beya (ex-Atoll). After replacing some members in 1991, PROVIDENCE had got more active on stage or production. In 1996 they released their second work 'There Once Was A Night Of Choko-Muro The Paradise'. PROVIDENCE had gigged in Japan actively until 2002 but sadly been disbanded without any notice.
When Angels Speak of Love, released in 1966 on Sun Ra's Saturn label, is a rarity, there having been limited pressings (150 copies, by one estimate), which were sold thru the mail and at concerts and club dates. The tracks were taped in New York during two 1963 sessions at the Choreographer's Workshop, a rehearsal space/recording den with warehouse acoustics. Ra spent countless hours at the CW from 1961 to 1964 sharpening the Arkestra during exhaustive musical huddles. John Corbett calls this "one of the most continuous, best-documented periods of Ra's work"; much tape from these seminal sessions has survived and been issued on LP, CD and digitally.
With the arrival of Adrian Willaert at St Mark’s Cathedral in 1527, Venice at last boasted a musician of international reputation to match its growing image as a ‘city rich in gold but richer in renown, mighty in works but mightier in virtue’. The establishment of Venice as the world leader in music publishing, and the coming and going of international musicians, made the Floating City anything but insular, and artistic competition was order of the day, with organists duelling to outdo each other in invention and grace; while on the streets a different culture of lively dances gave rise to more opportunities for instrumentalists to show off their improvisational skills.