TUNES: DISC 1 (67:03): ANKHNATON/ THE MAYAN TEMPLES/ EL IS A SOUND OF JOY/ FATE IN A PLEASANT MOOD/ HOCUS POCUS/ LOVE IN OUTER SPACE/ NAMELESS ONE N.2/ PRELUDE TO A KISS/ THEME OF THE STARGAZERS. DISC 2 (36:31): UNIDENTIFIED/ LIGHTS ON A SATELLITE/ THE SHADOW WORLD/ SPACE IS THE PLACE/ WE TRAVEL THE SPACEWAYS/ OUTER SPACEWAYS INCORPORATED/ THEY’LL COME BACK/ DESTINATION UNKNOWN/ CALLING PLANET EARTH/ THE FOREST OF NO RETURN.

PERSONNEL: Ahmed Abdullah, Michael Ray (t, vcl), Tyrone Hill (tb), Marshall Allen (as, fl), James Jacson (bassoon, fl, oboe, d), Sun Ra (p, kybd), Bruce Edwards (el g), Jothan Callins (el b), Buster Smith (d), Elson Nascimento Dos Santos (perc), Atakatune (cga); March 1992, Ulm, Germany.

Live In Ulm 1992 is a newly unearthed recording by the Sun Ra Arkestra from their final European tour with Ra himself in March 1992. It’s clearly an audience tape, with talking here and there. The sound is reasonably clean, though, and without much distortion except in the muddy and indistinct bottom end. But this was a stripped-down 11-piece edition of the Arkestra that was unusually biased in favor of the brass, with Michael Ray and Ahmed Abdullah on trumpets and Tyrone Hill on trombone, and they generally come through clearly. So does electric guitarist Bruce Edwards, whose energetic soloing is a welcome voice in the ensemble. Particularly spirited are the band’s rendition of Will Hudson’s “Hocus Pocus,” from a 1934 Fletcher Henderson date, “Nameless One n.2,” a Sun Ra original first recorded by the band in 1982, and The Shadow World,” with some spooky Sun Ra organ. There are plenty of better Sun Ra albums on the market, including no fewer than a previous dozen releases on Leo Records and their related imprint Golden Years of New Jazz, and dozens more from nearly as many labels. But the Arkestra has always inspired real fanatics and completists who have to hear it all. I had the immense pleasure of witnessing many Sun Ra performances over the years, so I’m always glad to add a new recording to the collection. Sure wish it sounded better though.

                                                                                                                                             Stuart Kremsky
CD review from Volume 41, No. 2, 2015 
 www.cadencemagazine.com

CD REVIEW: NEW RELEASE

 

ARTIST: SUN RA ARKESTRA

TITLE:  LIVE IN ULM 1992

LABEL: GOLDEN YEARS GY 30/31