Sun Ra
Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. But despite all of the trappings, Sun Ra was a major innovator, starting off playing advanced bop, but early on was open to the influences of other cultures, experimenting with primitive electric keyboards, and playing free long before the avant-garde got established.
Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. But despite all of the trappings, Sun Ra was a major innovator, starting off playing advanced bop, but early on was open to the influences of other cultures, experimenting with primitive electric keyboards, and playing free long before the avant-garde got established.
Jazz By Sun Ra Vol.2
** Deluxe edition, Tip-on jacket, 24 pp booklet ** Sam Records continues its essential reissue series of Transition Records' visionary catalog with Jazz By Sun Ra Vol. 2, the companion piece to Sun Ra's landmark 1957 Jazz by Sun Ra Vol. 1. Originally intended as Transition TRLP-28 but left unreleased when the label folded, these recordings remained in limbo until Bob Koester rescued them for Delmark in 1968 as Sound of Joy [DS-414]. Now, over half a century later, this crucial document of the Ar…
Jazz By Sun Ra Vol.1
** Deluxe edition, Tip-on jacket, 24 pp booklet ** Did you know that the short-lived Transition label released the first LPs, or first sessions as leaders of three of the greatest performers in modern jazz? Donald Byrd – Byrd Jazz – Transition TRLP 5; Sun Ra – Jazz by Sun Ra Vol. 1 – Transition TRLP 10; Cecil Taylor – Jazz Advance – Transition TRLP 19. Tom Wilson, its founder and manager, was undoubtedly a man of taste more than a businessman as the label had to close its doors after only two ye…
Super-Sonic Jazz
When Sun Ra released his debut Saturn release in 1957, he signaled the Arkestra’s mission for the future. The cover declared the album a "21st Century Limited Edition." The compositions on Supersonic Jazz conveyed optimism and hope, bringing a message auguring the World of Tomorrow. Ra declared this the first dimension of a fresh art form, as he set about evolving a new American music — a composite of the past and future, the known coalescing with the unknown. The album, not very well received u…
Jazz In Silhouette
One of the great enigmatic figures of jazz, Sun Ra's persona as philosopher, showman and space enthusiast often overshadowed his purely musical accomplishments as one of the most prolific and creative composers and big band leaders in the business. The current release contains one of Sun Ra's most exceptional and highly regarded albums of the 1950s: Jazz in Silhouette. Although the exact recording dates are unknown (no details were given on the original LP back cover, which included no liner not…
Best Of....
"Best of..." (catalog number ART54) is a limited edition compilation LP by the legendary jazz innovator Sun Ra, released on white vinyl in 2024. This collection brings together 14 early tracks that showcase Sun Ra’s multifaceted genius as a bandleader, composer, arranger, and producer. The album is issued by Reel-To-Reel Music Company and stands out for its collectible format and carefully curated selection of tracks.
Lights On A Satellite: Live At The Left Bank
Available for the very first time, the intergalactic icon Sun Ra and his Arkestra’s Lights On A Satellite: Live at the Left Bank was recorded on July 23, 1978 at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, Maryland by the Left Bank Jazz Society. The limited-edition 2-CD set contains audio from the Sun Ra Archives and was researched and compiled by Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson. The critically acclaimed independent filmmaker Robert Mugge has also provided audio from the recordings he made at the Lef…
Sleeping Beauty
Strut proudly presents a new edition of one of Sun Ra's most celebrated albums, Sleeping Beauty, reissued in its original artwork for the first time. Originally released in 1979 on his independent Saturn label, Sleeping Beauty captures Sun Ra and his Arkestra at their most soulful and serene. A masterclass in cosmic jazz, the album blends lush grooves, celestial soul, and meditative funk with Ra’s singular spiritual vision — a sound both grounded and otherworldly. The album emerged during an ext…
On Jupiter
On Jupiter by Sun Ra blends deep funk, avant-garde jazz, and cosmic soundscapes, capturing the Arkestra’s 1979 creative peak. Remastered by Technology Works, this reissue features original sleeve art and new liner notes.
Holiday For Soul Dance
"Holiday For Soul Dance" by Sun Ra & His Arkestra, recorded in 1960, showcases soulful jazz standards reimagined with cosmic flair, revealing a rare, earthbound side of Sun Ra’s visionary artistry.
Nuits De La Fondation Maeght
4CD Set "Originally released across two edited volumes by Shandar in 1971, the concerts are now being reissued by Strut in a stunning 4CD set, Limited Edition 4CD Set. Features a 36-page booklet featuring liner notes by by Daniel Caux, Jacqueline Caux and Paul Griffiths and stunning restored photos of the festival by Philippe Gras.
Sun Ra’s Nuits de la Fondation Maeght recordings are legendary within his extensive canon. Across two nights in August 1970, these were the first concerts Ra and the …
Stray Voltage
These tracks capture Ra's electronic peregrinations during the 1970s and '80s. The Arkestra occasionally makes a cameo appearance but Ra commands the spotlight, not so much composing music as painting soundscapes with electronic keyboards. In the collection we've titled Stray Voltage, Ra is not so much composing music as painting soundscapes with electronic keyboards. Ra doesn't simply play these consoles — he attacks, cajoles, and pounds them. He upends and transports them where they weren't bu…
The Magic City
According to many enthusiasts and scholars, this album is among Sun Ra's most definitive studio recordings. The Magic City contains just four tracks, with the title- theme taking up the whole of the A side at a little over 27 minutes. Then on the B side comes The Shadow World, followed by Abstract Eye and Abstract I, which are two variants of the same composition. These pieces are essentially ensemble improvisations recorded live.
Music is a Message From Space
Yet another triumph from the legendary multi-instrumentalist, Joe McPhee, Corbett Vs. Dempsey drops "The Mystery J", their first ever full-length vinyl release, issued in a limited edition of 500 copies. Recorded in 2014 with violist Jen Clare Paulson and Brian Labycz on electronics, it writhes with bristling tension, while retaining a remarkably minimal form. Visionary experimentalism and freejazz reimagined on entirely singular terms, 'The Mystery J' encounters McPhee producing some of his bes…
My Words Are Music: A Celebration Of Sun Ra's Poetry
Sun Ra is better known to most as a musician than a poet, but he identified equally as both. My Words Are Music provides direct access to the sentiments of a poet who never called Earth home. The spoken word album hosts an inspired array of artists who personally chose their favorite Sun Ra poems to recite. Freed from the page, his poetry acquires an unexpected simplicity and poignance it possessed all along. This all-star and intergenerational lineup of artists conjure wisdom from his words: sp…
Outer Spaceways Incorporated
Sun Ra’s Arkestra was at its most radical during this period, alternating simple chants with very outside playing and dense ensembles. Although no precise date is given, these five cuts are thought to have been documented circa 1967-1968 by Sun Ra (piano) and his Arkestra in New York City, where the band was in residence at the time.First released in a limited edition color vinyl for Record Store Day 2014, this title is now widely available on audiophile-grade black vinyl, pressed at Pallas Grou…
Sound of Joy
This is the first Sun Ra 1957 work that Delmark released to the world after it was unreleased on Trungeon. A treasured early recording with a rough but beautiful big band sound!
Sun Song
Sun Ra's debut album, released in 1956, catapulted Sun Ra from the Chicago jazz scene to become a darling of the underground scene. This important album featured star players such as John Gilmour!
When Angels Speak of Love
When Angels Speak of Love, released in 1966 on Sun Ra's Saturn label, is a rarity, with limited pressings (150 copies, by one estimate), which were sold thru the mail and at concerts and club dates. The tracks were taped in New York during two 1963 sessions at the Choreographer's Workshop, a rehearsal space/recording den with warehouse acoustics. Ra spent countless hours at the CW from 1961 to 1964 sharpening the Arkestra during exhaustive musical huddles. John Corbett calls this "one of the mos…
Pink Elephants On Parade
When you wish upon a star… that turns out to be Saturn!