Sun Ra archives / estate / reissues

[MomsMobley]

saw new edition "The Magic City" CD-- not the Evidence issue-- this weekend and wondered what was up... wow! 

https://logger.believermag.com/post/angels-and-demons-at-play

***

Which brings us to Irwin Chusid, preservationist. Veteran champion of outsider artists, and host of his own long-running show on Jersey City-based freeform radio station WFMU. In the past he had single-handedly introduced the work of Raymond Scott and Esquivel to a new generation, and now as administrator of Sun Ra LLC, he’s poised to do the same for Sun Ra.

Chusid admits that despite all his years in the business, he never fully appreciated the vast scope of Sun Ra’s output until recently. When he first met Michael Anderson some twenty years ago, he had no idea Anderson had been a percussionist with the Arkestra, nor that he was in possession of the tape archives...

[paul secor]

I assume that's the same Michael Anderson who used to do an early morning show on WBGO - the only thing that was worth listening to on that station.

[mjzee]

Thanks for posting that, Moms.

[clifford_thornton]

Yes.

LPs coming out shortly.

[rostasi]

Michael Anderson is all over this fine box set:

[kh1958]

I was hoping for the promised volume 2.

[Hot Ptah]

17 hours ago, kh1958 said:

I was hoping for the promised volume 2.

Me too!

[JSngry]

WHOA!

[Ken Dryden]

Thanks for sharing the link to the article. I emceed a Sun Ra concert when he and his Arkestra came to Chattanooga. It was after his stroke and he was in a wheelchair. I only saw about half of the concert, because Michael Ray tore a tendon in his knee doing cartwheels on the wet outdoor stage during "Stargazer" and I road in the ambulance with him to the hospital. Another memory is that there was no microphone for me to use, so I was directed to use June Tyson's, which was in a stand. As soon as I finished, the band got underway and I was fumbling trying to get her mike back in place. I'm glad I got to experience the band while it was still touring with its founder.

[rostasi]

The one thing to know about that box set is that it needs to be experienced
like a 17 hour hörspiel - something that mixes interviews, commentaries and
influences along with the actual Ra tracks, so it doesn't really represent only
rare and nearly lost recordings of Ra in all cases. For example, I don't remember
if Anderson makes the case that Ra is actually playing on the Tom Archia All-Stars
sessions or if it's even his arrangements (I'll have to check the box and listen to the
excerpts), but it might be easily assumed even tho it's pretty evident that it's the
Chicago pianist Willie Jones playing - who influenced Ra (and Andrew Hill too).

Edited 1 Aug 2017 by rostasi

[randyhersom]

Fond memories of Michael Anderson from my days at WRTI at Temple University.  He was a young and truly enthusiastic jazz fan.  I was so amazed he actually got to play on a Sun Ra record date.

[jazzbo]

The new remastered The Magic City sounds excellent.

[kh1958]

Is it an expanded version with additional  tracks?

[jazzbo]

It has two extra tracks. One is the additional bit of ending (a climax of a sort) that was on the mono version but not the stereo version. That is placed on it's own track (less than 2 minutes long) at the end of the disc.The other is "The Other World," which is an alternate version of "The Shadow World" . . . and was previously released only on the third disc of the three disc version of "Heliocentric Worlds."

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

very good piece, one of the more detailed accounts 

[Quasimado]

On 2017/7/31 at 1:23 AM, paul secor said:

I assume that's the same Michael Anderson who used to do an early morning show on WBGO - the only thing that was worth listening to on that station.

AND who also put together the excellent "Bird in Time" 4CD set on ESP (?) ......

[Teasing the Korean]

Irwin Chusid is a really amazing guy.  He did so much for the catalogs of Esquivel, Raymond Scott, and now Sun Ra.  Having all those Evidence CDs from the 1990s, I knew many were lifted from vinyl.  It was of course better than nothing; good luck finding an original.  Still, I am so happy that many of the tapes have survived and we are finally hearing cleaner versions of these albums.  

[B. Clugston]

I picked up The Magic City LP reissue by Cosmic Myth Records and it sounds great! Nice package with a foldout insert with detailed notes and session info. Nice to see the Sun Ra catalogue get this treatment. My Brother The Wind, Vol. 1 is out next month.

[sidewinder]

These Cosmic Myth reissues sound pretty cool. No doubt tons of Evidence CDs will flood the market as their catalogue expands.

Edited 21 Aug 2017 by sidewinder

[jazzbo]

6 hours ago, B. Clugston said:

I picked up The Magic City LP reissue by Cosmic Myth Records and it sounds great! Nice package with a foldout insert with detailed notes and session info. Nice to see the Sun Ra catalogue get this treatment. My Brother The Wind, Vol. 1 is out next month.

I agree about The Magic City, and I also already have My Brother The Wind, Vol. 1 in hand for a week. Another excellent reissue1 (And I don't believe Evidence did this one). 

There are also two excellent new cds from Modern Harmonic from the new estate.

[kh1958]

Evidence reissued My Brother the Wind Volume 2, not volume 1. The Perfect Man (an awesome track) was on the singles collection issued by Evidence.

[Gheorghe]

Thanks for the anecdote about the Chattanooga Concert.

I think, Michael Ray and June Tyson where some of the most brilliant members of the Arkestra. I loved them both. Michael Ray was really a virtuose trumpetplayer and had it all, from swing to bop to free, he had it all.

And June Tyson had such a beautiful voice. There are some of Sun Ra´s songs that have that strange otherworldly quality, they are simple, they are somehow happy and sad at the same time, you can snap your fingers to em,  and those was the songs where I started to pay very much attention to June Tyson.
One of my favourite Sun Ra records is "Unity" , but sad to say June Tyson is quite off the mike. And sometimes on records you hear her only in ensemble singing which is also good, but not enough. I really loved her voice and her approach to the Arkestra.

[Rooster_Ties]

I met both Michael Ray and June Tyson at the only Arkestra show with Sun Ra that I ever saw (in around 1990/91, in Chicago). Both were very friendly, and VERY gracious. Got both their autographs.

I'm sure Ray was on one or two of the Arkestra shows I heard after Mr. Blount's passing, but I thInk Ms. Tyson had left us by that point, unfortunately.

I count them as two of the most amazing voices in the entire Arkestra, right up there with John Gilmour and Marshall Allen, far as I'm concerned. Not quite their longevity with the band, of course, but every bit as impactful during their years in Sun Ra's orbit.

Edited 22 Aug 2017 by Rooster_Ties

[Gheorghe]

Thank you Rooster_Ties for sharing this wonderful memories. Yes of course John Gilmour and Marshall Allen. I just didn´t mention them in my previous posting cause I think they were the best known Arkestra members. Sure I saw and admired them, but then when I first heard the Arkestra, the biggest surprise for me was Ray and Tyson.