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*** SUN RA Corner***


Rooster_Ties

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I have a taped copy of that lp that I have on cdr. . . .I'll definitely buy this cd.

But. . . .

The other two releases also look intriguing and I can't find info on them.

Great record. Also had it on cassette at one point (dubbed). Would love an orig LP of that one, and I'm not much of a Saturn collector. It's just so cool!

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That 'Strange Strings' album is one of the most out disc by Sun Ra.

It was one of the couple dozen Saturns I bought directly from Sun Ra back in the late '60s!

The LP I have is a preview copy with handwritten title and tracks listings on the front cover.

The front cover title is 'Strange Strings'. The disc label identity the disc as 'Strange Strange'!

Reissued vinyl has also been readily available for at least a few years. That 'Strange Strings' album is one of the greatest, I think. 'Strange Strange' indeed.

Edited by sidewinder
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also on strfange strings sun plays some good wurlitizer on one side--

regarding that new cd, the vol. 1 listing-- i hearda new cds commiong up live @ slugs w/ poetry, is that what that is, or is ithis somethjng else?

I believe the 'Live at Slugs' CD will be released by ESP-Disk later this year, have only seen it listed here:

http://search2.downtownmusicgallery.com/Se...rch.cgi#results

"SUN RA & His ARKESTRA Live At Slug's Saloon [aka Universe In Blue...plus] ESP Disk USA CD Forthcoming 14.00"

Seems to be the same session as "Universe in Blue" which was released as a Saturn LP in 1970:

http://www.the-temple.net/sunradisco/univblue.html

'Another Shade of Blue' on this record is one of my favourite Sun Ra recordings!

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my sole Sun Ra records, the damusic/Freedom 3 CD set Calling Planet earth (containing three albums originally called Pictures of Infinity, Outer Spaceways and Calling Planet Earth) have after many years and several tries finally started to speak to me... (got them back then because they were so cheap, maybe not the best but also not the worst place to start, i suppose, will get some of the 50s material next, i think)

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  • 4 weeks later...

The Inky ran their obit today....

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/obituaries/...ith_Sun_Ra.html

Tyrone Hill, 58, of North Philadelphia, a powerful trombonist whose expressive big sound broke out of the Sun Ra Arkestra pack for three decades, died of heart failure March 11 at his aunt's home in East Mount Airy following the burial of his mother.

Born in North Philadelphia and raised around 17th and York Streets, Mr. Hill started playing the trombone in music class at Gillespie Middle School. He listened to saxophonist John Coltrane jamming with musicians such as Sherman Ferguson and Middie Middleton on the street in his neighborhood.

After graduating in 1966 from Benjamin Franklin High School, Mr. Hill studied the trombone for four years at the former Combs School of Music in Chestnut Hill.

"He had one semester before he graduated, and he quit to play in bands," said sister Liz Hicks. "Our mother was so mad at him."

Mr. Hill played with the Uptown Theater Orchestra and several rhythm and blues, jazz and pop bands in Philadelphia and New York until 1970.

He hooked up with singer Billy Paul, who won a Grammy for "Me and Mrs. Jones" in 1972.

"Tyrone was Billy Paul's music director for eight years," his sister said. "He was the only member of Billy's band to tour Europe with him."

In the late 1970s, Mr. Hill joined the Sun Ra Arkestra - often consisting of up to 20 players and dancers, led by colorful organist Sun Ra.

The Sun Ra Arkestra, which was formed in the late 1950s, combined big-band sounds with flavors from Africa, Latin America, avant-garde indie-rock, space jam and free jazz. For nearly a half-century the Arkestra performed all over the world and in dozens of local venues, including the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Franklin Institute, and as part of the Mellon Jazz Festival.

"I never heard music like that before. They played for six hours straight through. No breaks. It was unreal," Mr. Hill said in a 2000 interview about his first performance with Sun Ra, who had moved to Germantown from New York in 1969.

Mr. Hill often led the band in songs such as "Discipline 27-II." He played the trombone on more than 40 albums with the Sun Ra Arkestra and recorded two albums of his own - Out of the Box (1997) and Soul-Etude (1999) - released on the Creative Improvised Music Projects label.

"Tyrone's sound boosted mine, and the sum of my trumpet and his trombone ended up greater than the total of those two instruments," said Arkestra trumpeter Fred Adams.

After Sun Ra died in 1993, he bequeathed his Germantown home on Morton Street to the band.

Although things slowed down after the death of Sun Ra, the Arkestra still plays several times a month. The group practices in the house on Morton Street, where four members live.

"We called Tyrone 'Pound of Plenty' because of his huge sound," said saxophonist Marshall Allen, director of the Sun Ra Arkestra. "He played his last gig about a month before he left this planet. He was supposed to play in New York with us this week. Sun Ra Arkestra will have 15 players at his memorial service."

Outside the jazz world, Mr. Hill was "a diehard Eagles fan," he said in a 2004 Philadelphia Daily News article. "I just got back from touring Europe with the Sun Ra Arkestra and ran into some Eagles fans in Barcelona. They saw my Phillies cap."

Mr. Hill played "Fly Eagles Fly" for them.

During the 2003 Eagles playoffs, "some tailgaters heard me playing the fight song and hired me to play for their party. They fed me ribs and gave me some beer. That felt good," he told the Daily News.

Mr. Hill also played several times in the Mummers Parade.

In addition to his sister, Mr. Hill is survived by two brothers.

A musical memorial service with the Sun Ra Arkestra will be held at 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Church of the Advocate, 1801 W. Diamond St. Burial was private.

Donations may be sent to Church of the Advocate, c/o Tyrone Hill Memorial, 1801 W. Diamond St., Philadelphia 19121-1509.

I found out some more details about Tyrone's passing. Very sad. Apparently, he had a stroke a few weeks before he died that left him unable to play. While he was recovering he was living in house(not the Sun Ra house) and the house next door caught fire and the resulting damage destroyed his house too. He lost everything. Then his mother passed and he had another stroke which killed him. This all happened in a two or three week period. WTF???

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This has some serious potential......

PHILADELPHIA - On Monday, June 18, 2007 at 7pm, The Rotunda will present a performance like none that we --- or most venues in the United States --- have held in the past. The throat singing ensemble Alash [http://www.alashensemble.com] will bring the unique music of the Central Asian Republic of Tuva to Philadelphia for a 7:00 pm concert at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. The event is open to the public for free, though donations are encouraged. All ages are welcome.

For this special event, Philadelphia Jazz/improvisation mainstays Marshall Allen, Elliot Levin, and other members of Sun Ra Arkestra, going by the name EXTRA SPECIAL TERRESTRIAL GUESTS, will share the stage with our Tuvan guests!

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email from transparency/this should be avail. in three weeks

> > > This CD is two different concert segments -- One> is

> > from the Native Son venue in Berkeley, CA from> 1971,

> > and is not either of the Native Son shows listed> on

> > the Saturn website. The second segment is thought> to

> > be from 1972, location unknown. This concludes> with

> > the piece Intergalactic Research, one of only> three

> > known versions of this piece (all unreleased). Ra> > does

> > some mind-blowing synth playing prior to that.> > > > > > > >

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Here's what I have:

Music from Tomorrow's World

Spaceship Lullaby

Piano Recital

Strange Celestial Road

Sun Song

Destination Unknown

Sunrise in Different Dimensions

Heliocentric Worlds, vols I and II

Fate in a Pleasent Mood/When the Sun Comes Out

When Angels Speak of Love

Atlantis

Greatest Hits

Planet Earth/Low Ways

Sound Sun Pleasure

Jazz in Silhouette

Spaceways/Bad and the Beautiful

Supersonic Jazz

Nuits de la Foundation Maeght vol II

Hard to pick favorites, but I gravitate to the Chicago era most, then probably the NYC period next. Lokking forward to Strange Strings.

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I might have told this before but in 1968 when I was pressing Roscoe's "Congliptious" at the Chess plant (Midwest Record Pressing) I took a tour of the plant and the manager told me "We're used to this stuff, look at this. He handed me a fresh pressing of "Strange Strings", hot off the Chess presses. :cool:

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I might have told this before but in 1968 when I was pressing Roscoe's "Congliptious" at the Chess plant (Midwest Record Pressing) I took a tour of the plant and the manager told me "We're used to this stuff, look at this. He handed me a fresh pressing of "Strange Strings", hot off the Chess presses. :cool:

So Chuck may be the only one of us who appreciates not only the music but also the aroma of a Sun Ra release!

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chuck chuck chuck chuck chuck chuck chuck::::::: you mean to tell me El Satrurns were PRESSED BY CHESS manuf.?!??!?!?!?!?!???!??!?!?!??!!?!??!??

i always thought sunny had his own pressing machine in his compund and they would just press records all night and stuff.

you mean to tell me all those el saturns were printed out of CHESS??!?!?!?

is that really so??!??!?!?!??

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here are the LPs/CDs that I have. I'd like to know if there's a general consensus among Sun Ra experts as to the really essential titles, and based on what I have, which ones I absolutely need:

My Brother the Wind, Vol. II

Jazz in Silhouette

The Futuristic Sounds of (Savoy)

Monorails and Satellites

Fate in a Pleasant Mood/When Sun Comes Out

Spaceship Lullaby (The Vocal Groups)

Outer Space Unemployment Agency (Live 1973)

Sun Song

Sound of Joy

"Strange Strings" is on my want list.

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:(

No one's willing to review my humble collection (previous post) and recommend some essential titles?

That's a nice core collection you have. As far as recommendations, I'd say filling out the rest of the Saturn/Evidence titles is a "must." Eventually, you'll want them all. The one that I'd say is "desert island" is Angels and Demons at Play / The Nubians of Plutonia. Additionally, the 2-CD package of The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums on Evidence is very fine — some of the most distorted and intense Gilmore on record.

All of the Heliocentric records are worth owning too.

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