Allen Lowe on Sun Ra as a Pianist

 Allen Lowe on Sun Ra:

...as a pianist, Sun Ra is one of my absolute favorites. I own all of his solo piano records; he has that same thing that I love in Jaki Byard, a brilliant way of abstracting theme and harmony, of redistributing them as perceived in fragments, in such a way that he seems to be putting together the pieces of a puzzle. Clearly this was a great musical mind at work, and his piano playing is the epitome of the kind of jazz I prefer: built on harmonic exploration and somewhat vague thematic disbursement, but tied together by a deep, really old-time sensibility that looks very perceptively at the jazz/American song confluence. (Allen Lowe, quoted in "Allen Lowe: No Holds Barred," by Troy Collins, Point of Departure, issue 84, Sept. 2023)

Playlist, Week of 2025-12-28

Lotta rocking out for the season... here's hoping you've had a nice holiday, if that applies... Breakup Song is still my favorite Deerhoof record... Rodger Coleman's new cassette release Journey to Brno is wonderful... more on that in the future... 

Playlist 2025-12-29:

*Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
*Arctic Monkeys: Favourite Worst Nightmare
*B-52s: Wild Planet
*Beach Boys: The Beach Boys' Christmas Album
*Beatles: 1962-1966 (2023 Edition) (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 12 Comp (ZIM) 2017 (Comp. 402)
*Rodger Coleman: Journey to Brno
*Deerhoof: Breakup Song
*Deerhoof: Love-Lore "Love-Lore 4"
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin
*Deerhoof: Devil Kids
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: A Drum Is a Woman (side 1)
*Duke Ellington: Midnight in Paris
*Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
*Duke Ellington: The Great Paris Concert (disc 1) "A Tone Parallel to Harlem"
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 1)
*Duke Ellington: The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 48 (1971-11-20 UCLA) (disc 2) "The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-07-18 Jersey City, NJ (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-08-24 Berkeley CA (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star > Morning Dew"
*Grant Green: Grant's First Stand
*Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas
*Guided By Voices: Strut of Kings
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced (selections)
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Axis: Bold as Love
*Jimi Hendrix: Pandora's Box (disc 3)
*François Houle/Kate Gentile/Alexander Hawkins: Fatrasies
*Lee Morgan: The Gigolo
*Amina Claudine Myers: Solace of the Mind
*Tony Oxley/Derek Bailey Quartet: 1993-09 Crawley, England (CDR)
*Andy Partridge: My Failed Christmas Career, Vol. 1
*Tom Rainey Trio: 2016-07-01 NYC (CDR) (disc 1) track 3
*Sparks: Kimono My House (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Haverford College 1980 Solo Piano (side 1)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Live in Nickelsdorf 1984 (disc 1)
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Reflections in Blue
*Sun Ra: Hidden Fire (sides 1, 2)
*Various artists: Beg Scream & Shout! The Big Ol' Box of '60s Soul (discs 2, 3)
*XTC: Drums and Wires

Reading List, Week of 2025-12-28

Reading List 2025-12-29:

*Beats and Threads: Drumming Legend and Fashion Icon, Ringo Starr (ed. Gary Astridge) (started)
*Ram V., Evan Cagle, et al. The New Gods: The Falling Sky (started/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus (Arden 2nd series, ed. J.C. Maxwell) (reread/finished)
*Bernard, Bruce. Century (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Pilgrims on the Road to Nowhere: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 5: 1920 (in progress)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Vineland (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2025-12-21

 

I think I mentioned this before, but I love the way Duke Ellington's 20-minute "The Mexican Suite" is a condensed dry run for the album-length Latin American Suite... beautiful, compelling melodies and great Paul Gonsalves solos... that's all for now, from an Ellington-heavy week of heavenly listening...

Playlist 2025-12-22:

*B-52s: The B-52s
*Beethoven: The Early String Quartets (Juilliard String Quartet) (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton: Creative Music Orchestra "Comp. 25" (selections)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 7)
*Patricia Brennan: 2025-08-22 Saalfelden (CDR)
*Peter Brötzmann Octet: The Complete Machine Gun Sessions "Machine Gun"
*Rodger Coleman: Journey to Brno (cassette) (sides A, B)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Such Sweet Thunder
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites
*Duke Ellington: Live in Mexico "The Mexican Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Latin American Suite
*Duke Ellington: The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
*Duke Ellington: Togo Brava Suite (Blue Note) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Esquivel: Merry Xmas from the Space-Age Bachelor Pad
*Marcus Gilmore: Journey to the New
*Grateful Dead: Hundred Year Hall (1972-04-26 Frankfurt) (disc 2) "The Other One"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-08-21 Berkeley CA (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Joe Henderson with the Wynton Kelly Trio: Four!
*Jimi Hendrix: Pandora's Box (disc 2)
*Mars Volta: Frances the Mute
*Amina Claudine Myers: Solace of the Mind
*Ozric Tentacles: Strangeitude (disc 1)
*Pink Floyd: A Saucerful of Secrets
*Royal Blood: Royal Blood
*Sun Ra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 1
*Sun Ra: The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 2
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: Atlantis
*Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra: My Brother the Wind, Vol. 2
*Henry Threadgill: Listen Ship
*UYA: 1994-05-22 Huge Debt Monkey (wav)
*Brian Wilson: At My Piano
*John Zorn/The Dreamers: A Dreamer's Christmas

Reading List, Week of 2025-12-21

Reading List 2025-12-22:

*Pynchon, Thomas. Vineland (reread/started)
*Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus (Arden 2nd series, ed. J.C. Maxwell) (reread/started)
*Hardwick, Elizabeth. Sleepless Nights (finished)
*Jost, Ekkehard. "Sun Ra," in Free Jazz (The Roots of Jazz) (reread/started/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. As You Like It (Arden 3rd series, ed. Juliet Dusinberre) (reread/finished)
*Bernard, Bruce. Century (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Pilgrims on the Road to Nowhere: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 5: 1920 (in progress)

 

Playlist, Week of 2025-12-14

 

In addition to my ongoing Duke Ellington/Sun Ra/Grateful Dead explorations, this week I found myself getting re-invigorated with Joe Henderson... Point of Departure is a classic I don't return to nearly enough... Henderson's work with the Wynton Kelly Trio is a great demonstration of how lessons from the "avant-grade" and the structured intensity of late Coltrane can fit seamlessly into the "mainstream"... also see Wayne Shorter and David Murray... 

Playlist 2025-12-15:

*Muhal Richard Abrams: Blues Forever (side 2)
*Beatles: Help! (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Rubber Soul (2009 stereo remaster) (sides 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton Trio: 1974-12-08 Toronto (CDR) (disc 2) "Impressions"
*Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far
*Miles Davis: Collector's Items (side 2)
*Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions (disc 2)
*Miles Davis: Dark Magus (disc 2)
*Jack DeJohnette/Made in Chicago: 2015-07-11 Rotterdam (CDR) track 5
*Duke Ellington: Primping for the Prom (side 1)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Festival Session (side 2)
*Duke Ellington: The Reprise Studio Recordings (disc 5)
*Duke Ellington: The Far East Suite (side 2)
*Grateful Dead: The Grateful Dead "Viola Lee Blues (Live)"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-07-18 Jersey City, NJ (CDR) (disc 2) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-07-26 Portland OR (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Guided By Voices: Welshpool Frillies
*Guided By Voices: Nowhere to Go but Up
*Hasidic New Wave: Psycho-Semitic
*Joe Henderson with the Wynton Kelly Trio: Four!
*Joe Henderson with the Wynton Kelly Trio: Straight, No Chaser
*Jimi Hendrix: Pandora's Box (disc 1)
*Andrew Hill: Point of Departure
*Rob Mazurek Sound Is Quintet: 2010-03-03 Italy? (CDR) (disc 2)
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 5)
*New Ting: 2025-11-17 "Preservedly Gargle" (wav)
*New Ting: 2025-12-01 "Gettin' with the Modern Boys" (wav)
*Tony Oxley/Derek Bailey: The Advocate
*Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop!
*Keith Rowe/John Tilbury: Duos for Doris (disc 1)
*Sparks: Introducing Sparks (side 1)
*Sparks: Angst in My Pants (sides 1, 2)
*Sparks: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (side 2)
*Sparks: Lil' Beethoven
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Live from Soundscape (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: Aurora Borealis
*Henry Threadgill Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound (disc 2) "Unoepic (For Guitar)"
*June Tyson/Sun Ra: Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra (side 1)
*UYA: 1994-05-05 Your Makeup (wav)
*UYA: 1994-05-11 Yes, a Big, Big Man (wav)
*Maria Valencia/Brandon López/Matt Moran: Tarabita Espiral
*Brian Wilson: Live At The Roxy! Theatre (disc 2) 

Reading List, Week of 2025-12-14

Finished reading the massive Ducks, Newburyport, and what a read... formally experimental and inventive, the prose flows like the narrator's thoughts, making it really hard to put down... for a thousand pages... if you're daunted, check out Lori Feathers' interview with Lucy Ellmann... this is easily one of the top books of the century.

Reading List 2025-12-15:

*Hardwick, Elizabeth. Sleepless Nights (started)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Pilgrims on the Road to Nowhere: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 5: 1920 (started)
*Ellmann, Lucy. Ducks, Newburyport (reread/finished)
*Bernard, Bruce. Century (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. As You Like It (Arden 3rd series, ed. Juliet Dusinberre) (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2025-12-07

Like most recent weeks, this one turned out to be a Duke Ellington one... Of the two versions of the Togo Brava Suite, the Storyville release is the most comprehensive, but both are worth checking out... on the plus side, Joe Benjamin is one of Duke's greatest bass players, and he adds so much... on the downside, the absence of Johnny Hodges and Jimmy Hamilton in the sax section is deeply felt... Nice to be reminded how exciting and vital Anthony Braxton's trio work with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul was back in the '70s... 

Playlist 2025-12-08:

*100 Gecs: 10,000 Gecs
*B-52s: Whammy!
*B-52s: Party Mix
*B-52s: Mesopotamia
*Beatles: Introducing the Beatles (side 2)
*Beatles Remixers Group: Tuned to a Natural E Vol. 6 (disc 1)
*Anthony Braxton Trio: 1974-12-08 Toronto (CDR) (disc 2) track 2
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium R: Composition 162 - An Opera in Four Acts/Shala Fears for the Poor (disc 3)
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (DVD)
*Deerhoof: The Magic
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Deerhoof: Devil Kids (sides 1, 2)
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Three Suites    
*Duke Ellington: Cool Rock
*Duke Ellington: Live in Mexico "The Mexican Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Conny Plank Session
*Duke Ellington: Togo Brava Suite (Blue Note) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: Togo Brava Suite (Storyville) "Togo Brava Suite"
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites "The Uwis Suite"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-25 London (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-09-15 Boston (Enjoying the Ride, disc 11)
*Herbie Hancock: Sextant
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2025-11-29 RVA (m4a)
*Heldon: Agneta Nilsson
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Bold as Love: The Axis: Bold as Love Sessions (discs 3, 4)
*Freddie Hubbard: Breaking Point
*Bobby Hutcherson: Medina
*Insect Life: Insect Life
*John Lennon/Yoko Ono: Milk and Honey
*Rob Mazurek Sound Is Quintet: 2010-03-03 Italy? (CDR) (disc 1)
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 4)
*Camila Nebbia/Kit Downes/Andrew Lisle: Exhaust
*Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop!
*Sparks: MADDER!
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (disc 1)
*Sun Ra: The Creator of the Universe (The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 1) (disc 1)
*Stevie Wonder: Talking Book
*Wrens: Half of What You See
*John Zorn/The Dreamers: A Dreamers Christmas

Reading List, Week of 2025-12-07

Reading List 2025-12-08:

*Shakespeare, William. As You Like It (Arden 3rd series, ed. Juliet Dusinberre) (reread/started)
*Becker, Adam. More Everything Forever (finished)
*Shakespeare, William. As You Like It (Arden 2nd series, ed. Agnes Latham) (reread/finished)
*Sheffield, Rob. Dreaming the Beatles (finished)
*Simonson, Walter, et al. The Mighty Thor: Omnibus (finished)
*Bernard, Bruce. Century (in progress)
*Ellmann, Lucy. Ducks, Newburyport (reread/in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2025-11-30

 

I like Future Teenage Cave Artists much better now than when it first came out... Deerhoof makes great driving music (as I was reminded of in August), and I need to go back and revisit all the albums after Breakup Song (which for me they still have yet to top, although Noble and Godlike in Ruin comes close)... The quality of Duke Ellington's later suites drops off considerably after The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse, not least because of the death of Johnny Hodges shortly before, but there's still some great moments to come...

Playlist 2025-12-01:

*Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizons: Live in Philadelphia
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1980-02-23 New Haven (CDR) (disc 1)
*Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band (Super Deluxe Ed.) (disc 4)
*Beatles: Anthology 4 (discs 1, 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Quartet (England) 1985 (disc 2)
*Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 (selections)
*Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far
*Kris Davis Trio: 2025-11-05 Vienna (CDR) (disc 2)
*Miles Davis Quintet: Miles in France 1963 & 1964: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 (disc 4)
*Miles Davis: Dark Magus (disc 1)
*Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists
*Deerhoof: Noble and Godlike in Ruin
*Duke Ellington: Latin American Suite
*Duke Ellington: New Orleans Suite
*Duke Ellington: The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
*Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Ellington Suites "The Goutelas Suite"
*Fred Frith/Mariá Portugal: Matter
*Grateful Dead: 1970-09-19 Fillmore East NYC (CDR) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-11 Rotterdam (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-18 Munich (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-05-23 London (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1972-09-15 Boston (Enjoying the Ride, disc 10)
*Guided By Voices: It's Not Them. It Can't Be Them. It Is Them!
*Guided By Voices: La La Land
*Tim Harding/OJ Hunter/Fred McGann/Sam Byrd: 2025-11-21 RVA (m4a)
*Bobby Hutcherson: Spiral
*King Crimson: Lizard (Elemental Mixes)
*Fela Ransome-Kuti and the Africa '70 with Ginger Baker: Live! (sides 1, 2)
*Joëlle Léandre/Jérôme Bourdellon: Evidence
*Paul McCartney: Band on the Run (side 2)
*Camila Nebbia featuring Marilyn Crispell & Lesley Mok: A Reflection Distorts over Water
*News From Babel: Sirens & Silences/Work Resumed on the Tower
*News from Babel: Letters Home
*Nicole Mitchell & an_ARCHE NewMusic Ensemble: Arc Of O: For Improvisers, Chamber Orchestra & Electronics
*Joe Morris: Abstract Forest
*Muffins: Baker's Dozen (disc 3)
*New Ting: 2025-11-24 "I Got a Backyard in My Truck" (wav)
*Sifters: Sifters
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Supersonic Jazz (21st Century Expanded Ed.) (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: The Magic City (remastered and expanded stereo version) (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 3: The Lost Tapes
*Sun Ra and His Astro-Infinity Arkestra: Continuation (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Intergalactic Research (The Lost Reels Collection Vol. 2) "Intergalactic Universe"
*UYA: 1994-04-21 Quaver Behavior (wav)
*UYA: 1994-04-27 Surfin' with Dick Dole! (wav)
*Various artists: That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History (1927-1934) (Vol. II, discs 1, 3)

Reading List, Week of 2025-11-30

Reading List 2025-12-01:

*Becker, Adam. More Everything Forever (in progress)
*Bernard, Bruce. Century (in progress)
*Ellmann, Lucy. Ducks, Newburyport (reread/in progress)
*Sheffield, Rob. Dreaming the Beatles (in progress)
*Simonson, Walter, et al. The Mighty Thor: Omnibus (in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. As You Like It (Arden 2nd series, ed. Agnes Latham) (reread/in progress)