Brody on Sun Ra: Catching Up

His philosophy was a vision of progress--of a future, inspired by black American culture, that would be as glorious in its own way as the one promised by the technological advances of a segregated American society. Ra affirmed that the musical past of jazz was part of the avant-garde, so far ahead of its time that he and his musicians were still struggling to catch up with it. (Richard Brody, "The Sun Ra Centanary," New Yorker, 2014-05-22)

 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-15

 

In addition to my weekly forays in the worlds of Sun Ra, Duke Ellington, and "Dark Star," this has been a week of exciting electric guitar... For reasons unknown, Nels Cline and Gregg Bendian's revisioning of John Coltrane and Rashied Ali's Interstellar Space had eluded me... whoa, it's incredible... I am slowly exposing myself to more of Otomo Yoshihide's exploratory guitar work... it's particularly strong on his big band album Stone Stone Stone... In my journeys through the UYA archives, the standout aspect for me has been the outstanding sonic explosions of Rodger Coleman's guitar solos... like throwing James Blood Ulmer, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Thurston Moore in a blender... great stuff...

Playlist 2026-03-16:

*And Big Band: 2026-03-01 Chapel Hill NC (wav)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1988-08-31 Chicago (CDR)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1995-01-08 Oakland CA (CDR)
*Anthony Braxton: Octet (New York) 1995
*Anthony Braxton: Trillium X (disc 4)
*Nels Cline: Destroy All Nels Cline
*Nels Cline/Gregg Bendian: Interstellar Space Revisited
*Rodger Coleman/Sam Byrd: Imaginary Vinyl "Face A"
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Miles Davis: In Person Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete (disc 3)
*Deepstaria Enigmatica: The Eternal Now is the Heart of a New Tomorrow
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 5)
*Duke Ellington Octet: Live at the Rainbow Grill
*Duke Ellington Small Bands: The Intimacy of the Blues
*Globe Unity Orchestra and Guests: Baden-Baden '75
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 2)
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-10 Washington DC (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-06-24 Portland OR (CDR) (disc 3) "Dark Star > Eyes of the World"
*Heldon: Third ("It's Always Rock'n'Roll") (disc 1)
*Joe Henderson: 1975-12-19 San Francisco (CDR) (disc 1)
*Impressions: People Get Ready
*Fela Kuti: Roforofo Fight
*Charles Mingus: Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts (disc 1)
*New Ting: 2026-03-09 Partially parking (wav)
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Hat and Beard
*Otomo Yoshihide Special Big Band: Stone Stone Stone
*Eddie Prévost et al.: The Secret Handshake With Danger, Vol. 1
*Sergei Rachmaninov: Rachmaninov Plays Chopin
*Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Visits Planet Earth
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Interstellar Low Ways
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: Fate in a Pleasant Mood
*Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra: When Sun Comes Out
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-26 Detroit (CDR) (disc 3)
*Henry Threadgill: Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus "Game Is Up"
*UYA: 1994-08-30 Steamin' Demons (wav)
*UYA: 1994-09-07 Laundry Bar Billy (wav)
*UYA: 1994-09-13 Jiggle Tooth (wav)
*Baby Face Willette: Stop and Listen

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-15

Reading List 2026-03-16:

*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: "There Is a Heppy Lend--Fur, Fur Awa-a-ay": 1925-1926 (started)
*Ovid. Metamorphoses (transl. A.D. Melville) (started)
*Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra (Arden 2nd series, ed. M.R. Ridley) (reread/started)
*Leonard, Elmore. Hombre (started/finished)
*Leonard, Elmore. Valdez Is Coming (started/finished)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (finished)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Shadow Ticket (reread/finished)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
 

Playlist, Week of 2026-03-08

 Piano Recital is one of my favorite Sun Ra solo piano albums... especially his swinging takes on "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Penthouse Serenade"... some critics have complained about the sound, but it sounds fine to me... I've always had a high tolerance for less-than-stellar sound quality... with Ra, of course, it's all stellar.... I love the different arrangement of "This Whole World" on Spring... that whole album is really special, notably for Marilyn Rovell's vocals... 

Playlist 2026-03-09:

*[Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (disc 3)
*Art Ensemble of Chicago: 1987-03-07 Montreal (CDR)
*Beatles: The Beatles' Second Album (mono 2024) (sides 1, 2)
*Beatles: Beatles for Sale (2009 stereo remaster) (side 2)
*Anthony Braxton: Four Compositions (Quartet) 1995
*Anthony Braxton and the Wesleyan Tri-Centric Orchestra: 2011-04-25 Middletown, CT (CDR) (disc 1)
*Gerald Cleaver & Violet Hour: Live At Firehouse 12
*Gerald Cleaver/Brandon Lopez/Hprizm: In the Wilderness
*John Coltrane: The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (disc 6)
*Kris Davis/Lutosławski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite
*Jackie DeShannon: The Complete Singles, Vol. 1 (1960-1963) (selections)
*Duke Ellington: The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra (disc 6)
*Duke Ellington: Anatomy of a Murder
*Duke Ellington: Paris, March 1964
*Duke Ellington: In the Uncommon Market
*Famous Actors from Out of Town: FA3574
*Globe Unity Orchestra and Guests: Baden-Baden '75
*Grateful Dead: Dick's Picks 4 (1970-02-13 Fillmore East) (disc 1) "Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: 1973-03-16 Long Island, NY (CDR) (disc 1)
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 32 (1973-03-24 Philadelphia) (disc 3) "Jam > Dark Star"
*Grateful Dead: Dave's Picks Vol. 16 (1973-03-28 Springfield, MA) (disc 3) "Dark Star"
*Grant Green: Grant's First Stand
*Gulph of Berlin: Gulph of Berlin
*Mary Halvorson: About Ghosts
*Impressions: Keep On Pushing
*Insect Life: Insect Life
*Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77
*George Lewis: Homage to Charles Parker
*Curtis Mayfield: Curtis/Live!
*Thelonious Monk: The Complete Blue Note Recordings (disc 2)
*Jason Moran: Facing Left
*New Ting: 2026-02-23 "My Dear What Is That Plant?" (wav)
*Larry Ochs/Nels Cline/Gerald Cleaver: What Is To Be Done "Outcries Rousing"
*Okuden: Every Dog Has Its Day but It Doesn't Matter because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter (disc 2)
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra: Out to Lunch
*Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet: Tails Out
*Spring: Spring
*Sun Ra: Pathways to Unknown Worlds (sides 1, 2)
*Sun Ra: Piano Recital, Teatro La Fenice, Venezia
*Sun Ra: Sleeping Beauty (side 2)
*Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road (side 2)
*Sun Ra and His Omniverse Jet-Set Arkestra: 1980-12-26 Detroit (CDR) (disc 2)
*Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Prophet
*Sun Ra Arkestra: Hours After
*UYA: 1994-08-23 A Distinct Mood for the Hearer (wav)
*Various artists: Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (A Musical Journey) (disc 4)
*XTC: Drums and Wires (Surround Sound Series) (disc 1)

Reading List, Week of 2026-03-08

Reading List 2026-03-09:

*Stein, Gertrude. The Making of Americans (finished)
*Garner, Bryan A. Modern American Usage, 2nd ed. (in progress)
*Herriman, George. Krazy and Ignatz: Shed a Soft Mongolian Tear: The Komplete Kat Komics, Vol. 9: 1924 (in progress)
*Pynchon, Thomas. Shadow Ticket (reread/in progress)
*Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure (Arden 3rd series, ed. A.R. Braunmuller and Robert N. Watson) (reread/in progress)
 

Jefferson Pilot: Spirit of '77

 

Jefferson Pilot's newest EP, Spirit of '77, is a melancholy, beautiful meditation on absence and return--or is it the hopeful rejuvenation of a lost love? Spirit of '77 is a three-part suite similar in tone and spirit to 2023's Sad Magazine as well as the imaginary sound explorations of "Slow Divide" and "Chimney Line (abridged)" on 2021's The Hopeless News. The mournful Klaxon horn in "Returned from Space" is echoed by the plaintive sax sounds in "Reentry/Girl on a Swing." The mood captures the feeling of awakening from a dream, as details slip away, leaving  only an aurally imprinted sense of loss. Despite the positive soulfulness of the harmony vocals singing "Baby I'm back," in the overall sonic landscape of the suite, things are ambiguous, and questions are unanswered: Has the return from space actually occurred? Has he really been gone, or (as he thought) was he only dreaming? Have you seen my blazer? 

Sun Ra's Big Band

Despite the expertise of other contemporary big bands, it is in hearing the most avant garde of them all, the Arkestra, play Prelude To A Kiss or Blue Lou, that the listener feels what it must have been like to hear, say, Duke Ellington circa 1940, and when that same quality--the freedom of texture and improvisation combined with the ability to swing--is heard here immediately afterwards on Lights On A Satellite, the largeness of the Arkestra's accomplishment is made clear. (David Lee, "Notes from the Basement," Coda May/June 1994, issue 255)