★Waxtime Records
Ragas And Talas (1959)
One of his earliest LPs in its entirety, Ragas & Talas (origibally on His Master’s Voice ALP1665), issued in 1959 is finally available again. All played with a hypnotic quality that's really wonderful! Indian musician Ravi Shankar (1920–2012) was one of the best-known exponents of the sitar in the second half of the 20th century. In 1956, he began to tour Europe and the Americas playing Indian classical music and increased its popularity there in the 1960s through teaching, performance, and his …
The Nubians of Plutonia
In the late '50s, Sun Ra emerged from big band to modern/progressive big band status, began to employ electronics, and used a more Afro-Centric percussive focus. This recording perfecly demonstrates those qualities, and more. There are several definitive themes from The Arkestra included, such as "Plutonian Nights," "Nubia," "Africa," "Watusa" and "Aethiopia." Dig for this one on vinyl if you can (the cover art is stunning,) but it is nigh impossible to find on Saturn Research. (AMG)
Angels And Demons At Play
Sun Ra's Angels & Demons at Play is a diptych created by merging two recording sessions. The first is a laid-back introspective affair ("angels?") recorded in 1960. Even frolicsome, these bouncy melodies follow the percolating rhythms with a gently leading reed, as Marshall Allen exemplifies on flute in "Tiny Pyramids." Also dating from before the truly experimental Sun Ra period, the last three tracks were recorded at RCA Studios in Chicago in 1956. Still very accessible, here several horns, am…