Some New Sun Ra Compilations

June Tyson: Saturnian Queen of the Sun Ra Arkestra
Like all good universes, that of Sun Ra is ever-expanding. The new release featuring June Tyson is a treasure trove of classics and unreleased goodies. Her splendid voice was the guiding light of the Arkestra throughout the last 30 years of Ra's music. Her throaty, almost slinky vocal maneuvers gave life to Ra's cryptic lyrics like no other. Many of the high points of Ra's extended cosmo-dramas come from Tyson and Ra's call-and-response (or is it call-and-repeat?) declamations. This compilation focuses more on the songs, and ends up being a kind of "greatest hits" for this side of Ra's music. Key versions of several of these songs come from the soundtrack to the film Space Is the Place, but the real juice comes from hitherto-unreleased concerts, especially three tracks from Delft,  1971, as well as "Never Never Land" and "Lost Horizon," both from Columbus, Ohio, in 1985. The sound quality is excellent--here's hoping more from these shows can be released!





Kosmos In Blue: A John Gilmore Anthology, Vol. 1
Blues at Midnight: A John Gilmore Anthology, Vol. 2
I stayed away from these two Bandcamp compilations featuring John Gilmore when they first came out since I was deeply enmeshed in sorting out my list of Gilmore top solos. Both of these releases are excellent outings featuring Gilmore's work in the '50s and early '60s. As to be expected, there is some overlap with my list, but not as much as you'd expect. That just goes to show how wide-ranging and deep the extent of Gilmore's soloing is.

If you're already a hardcore Gilmore fan (and if you aren't....why not?), you already have classic tracks like "Kosmos in Blue" and "Search Light Blues" in your collection. The draw here is the spruced-up sound and the context. Besides the selections being spot on, the pacing and sequencing of the lineup works really well; both of these albums are solid romps through Ra's '50s-'60s catalog, with healthy doses of Gilmore solos along the way.

The real highlights for me, though, are the previously unreleased alternate takes and pieces that showed up as bonus tracks on recent reissues, of which there are several. Chief among these are "Motherhood" and "Chicago, Southside," both from the second volume. "Motherhood" is a lovely ballad with a typically penchant Gilmore solo, while "Chicago, Southside" is a blues romper with Gilmore wailing and conversing with the stars: a brilliant solo not to be missed! "Blues from Saturn" also features a great solo, a perfect encapsulation of Gilmore's lyricism and phrasing. "Motherhood" and "Blues from Saturn" first appeared on the Bandcamp release Transitions 3: Chicago to New York, while "Chicago, Southside" first showed up as a bonus track on Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, which places it as a Choreographer's Workshop recording. To repeat: absolutely essential.

Sun Ra's legacy continues to be in good hands with the worthy efforts of Irwin Chusid and Michael D. Anderson...