Playlist, Week of 2021-01-10

A word about the new studio recording from the Sun Ra Arkestra, Swirling: it's excellent... Marshall Allen's excellent arrangements serve these compositions proud... these are fresh and invigorating takes, even on old chestnuts like "Rocket No. 9"... Tara Middleton's vocals are outstanding, with just the right amount of space-iness... Allen's solos are great, but the true star of the album is pianist Farid Barron... truly building on the spirit of Ra, he is constantly adding spice and color to every moment of this album, with an ongoing stream of imaginative statements throughout all the ensemble passages and each solo... I was unfamiliar with him since I don't do Marsalis, and I am not sure if he was with the Arkestra when they played at the Richmond Folk Festival the first night (Terry Adams played keyboards the second night)... his playing here is utterly superb and, at times, staggering... overall, a masterful album and absolutely the best from Marshall Allen's tenure... Beyond that, I am back to digging into Duke and Miles...

Playlist 2021-01-11:

*AMM: The Crypt: 12th June 1968, the Complete Session (disc 1)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: We Are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (disc 1)
*Beatles: Hard Day's Night (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Revolver (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Solo (Skopje) 1995
*Rodger Coleman and Sam Byrd: 2015-05-14 Nashville (wav) track 3
*Miles Davis: Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings 1951-1956 (disc 1)
*Miles Davis: Rare Miles (CDR compilation) (discs 3, 4)
*Miles Davis: 'Round about Midnight
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Blue Light (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington (disc 2)
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Presents…
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Festival Session
*Duke Ellington: The Great London Concerts
*Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn: Great Times!
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Concert in the Virgin Islands
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Berlin '65/Paris '67
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live in Maui (discs 1, 2)
*Junk Magic: Compass Confusion
*Ingrid Laubrock: Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt (disc 2)
*Roscoe Mitchell: Splatter
*Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington
*Pere Ubu: Dub Housing
*Matthew Shipp: The Piano Equation
*Sun Ra & His Solar-Myth Arkestra: The Solar-Myth Approach Vols. 1 and 2 (disc 1)
*Sun Ra & His Arkestra: The Cymbals​/​Symbols Sessions (New York, 1973) (side 1)
*Sun Ra: On Jupiter (side 2)
*Sun Ra: A Fireside Chat with Lucifer (side 2)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Swirling