Rather than launch into the unknown, Holiday For Soul Dance by Sun Ra Arkestra lands on terra firma with playful confidence, swinging through the galaxy of American jazz standards as if charting a celebratory parade across interstellar boulevards. Anchored by Sun Ra’s percussive piano, the 1960 Chicago session features the mighty Astro-Infinity Arkestra bending the familiar into strange new shapes: Gershwin’s “But Not For Me” and “I Loves You Porgy” transform from balladry to sly cosmic commentary, while the group’s rhythmic panache on “Holiday For Strings” and “Body and Soul” zigs elegantly between tradition and invention.
The absence of original Sun Ra compositions is no mere curiosity - it frames the ensemble’s powers of reinvention, offering standards as social dance, communal dialogue, and sly gesture. Trombonist Nate Pryor, cornetist Phil Cohran, and saxophonists John Gilmore and Marshall Allen spar with acerbic wit, injecting wobbly counter-melodies and percussive bursts. Tracks like “Dorothy’s Dance,” a Phil Cohran original, let the Arkestra’s offbeat sensibilities reign, swinging with a kind of joyous irony and textured ensemble improvisation that evokes street corner bands as much as Saturnian pageants.
What makes Holiday For Soul Dance compelling is its double vision. For listeners new to Sun Ra, it is as close to mainstream jazz as Ra ever allows, a gentle, winking invitation to his universe; for seasoned explorers, every curve of phrasing, playful harmonic slippage, and rhythmic surprise signals the Arkestra’s restless hearts beating beneath formal nostalgia. Even the album’s sequencing - standards, then social dance, then bluesy reflection - plays with time and tradition, propelling listeners in and out of reverie and recognition. Ultimately, Holiday For Soul Dance is not a detour but a vivid expression of the Arkestra’s constantly shifting artistry. By painting standards in cosmic colors, Ra demonstrates that “the possible” in jazz is always being reorganized - sometimes with thunder, sometimes with laughter. The session remains a rare delight: accessible, subversive, and endlessly spirited, it’s a dancefloor orbit fit for every soul willing to take the leap.
