Essential listening for Sun Ra devotees and cosmic explorers! Roaratorio's incredible survey of the unheard Sun Ra continues with Sun Embassy, featuring recordings from Sun Studios - aka Ra's house in Philadelphia - captured between 1968 and 1969. This is prime period Arkestra music, deep in the cosmic zone, with nine tracks that include six compositions never heard before in any form! Add to that fresh arrangements of 1950s classics like "Sunology" and "Ancient Aiethiopia", plus an early rendition of "Why Go To The Moon", and you have an absolutely essential document of one of the most radical and visionary ensembles in the history of creative music!
The lineup features Arkestra legends at their peak: John Gilmore on tenor saxophone bringing that unmistakable sound that inspired Coltrane, Marshall Allen on alto sax and oboe, Danny Davis on alto sax, Pat Patrick on baritone sax, Walter Miller on trumpet, Ronnie Boykins on bass, and Danny Ray Thompson on baritone sax and bassoon, with Sun Ra himself commanding keyboards and leading the ensemble into outer space and inner consciousness simultaneously!
Tracks like "The Stranger" (5:26) and "Dance Of Fire" (6:49) showcase the Arkestra in full flight - modal explorations that shift between ancient earthbound rhythms and interplanetary transmissions, always with that telepathic ensemble communication that only comes from years of playing together under Ra's visionary direction. "Cosmic Strut" (6:19) is absolutely killing - a grooved-out journey that connects the dots between hard bop, free jazz, and something entirely otherworldly. The title track "Sun Embassy" (3:28) acts as a brief but potent statement of cosmic diplomacy, while "Walk Around Saturn" takes you exactly where the title suggests! This music was recorded at home, in Ra's own space, giving it an intimate, spontaneous quality while maintaining the cosmic scope and ambition that defined all of the Arkestra's work. These are not polished studio recordings but living, breathing documents of music in the process of creation - Ra and his disciples exploring sound, space, and spirit without compromise or commercial consideration. Pure creative music! Music that still sounds absolutely radical and necessary today!
For anyone interested in the outer reaches of jazz, the intersection of African American musical tradition and futurism, or simply music that refuses all categories and boundaries, Sun Embassy is absolutely essential! One of the most important reissues in recent years! Includes download coupon. Hold on to your hats and prepare for interplanetary travel!
