Sun Ra: Lights On A Satellite (1978 AND 2024!)

  When it comes to the universe of Sun Ra, there are no such things as coincidences. So it makes perfect sense that two albums of the Arkestra’s music, each titled Lights On A Satellite and recorded many decades apart, should be issued in the same month. In 1978, the Arkestra appeared at the hippest spot in Baltimore, Maryland: the Left Bank Jazz Society’s presentations at the Famous Ballroom. Lights On A Satellite: Live At The Left Bank captures the Arkestra in performance. I had the immense pleasure of seeing the Arkestra several times in the late Seventies, and they never failed to give a spectacular show, complete with fabulous home-made costumes, space chants, dancers, Sun Ra’s insanely wonderful synthesizer forays, and the great sax section with John Gilmore on tenor, Danny Davis and Marshall Allen on altos, and Danny Ray Thompson on baritone. The set list for this blistering performance includes such goodies as the title track, Fletcher Henderson’s Yeah Man (1933), Horace Henderson’s Big John’s Special, an Arkestra favorite first recorded in 1934, We Travel the Spaceways and what might be my favorite Sun Ra composition, the infectious Watusi. The band is in great form, and Ra himself plays with his usual wit and great spirit, especially on the three consecutive piano features, beginning with his excursion Over the Rainbow. The packed booklet features photos, including some from the show, notes by J.D. Considine who was at this performance, and a reminiscence by filmmaker Robert Mugge, whose film Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise was shot at this Baltimore appearance. (Mugge also contributed a couple of pieces to this release as bonus tracks, the swinging piano improvisation called Left Bank Blues and an Arkestral look at ‘Round Midnight, with Ra at the organ.) The booklet also includes snippets of interviews with the late Dan Morgenstern, Marshall Allen, saxophonist Gary Bartz, pianist Craig Taborn, and the unique perspective of Michael D. Anderson, who was one of the drummers at the Famous Ballroom. Anderson later became the archivist for the Arkestra, and he co-produced this release with Zev Feldman. This Lights On A Satellite is a total delight, with Sun Ra’s music given the impeccable treatment that it deserves.

Resonance HCD-2074 (2 CDs or 3 Lps): Walter Miller (tpt) Michael Ray (tpt, vcl) Craig Harris (tbn) Marshall Allen (as, fl, picc) Danny Davis (as, fl) Eloe Omoe (as, bcl) John Gilmore (ts, cl) Danny Ray Thompson (bari s, fl) Sun Ra (kybds) Damon Choice (vib) Dale Williams (g) Richard Williams (Radu) (ac & el b) Michael D. Anderson, Eddie Thomas (d) Atakatune (cga) James Jacson (ancient infinity drum, bassoon) The Jingle Brothers (bells, perc) June Tyson (vcl); Baltimore, MD, July 23, 1978; Disc 1 (47:03): Band Intro; Thunder of Drums/ Tapestry From an Asteroid/ Somewhere Over the Rainbow/ A Pleasant Place in Space/ Space Travelin’ Blues/ Yeah Man/ Big John’s Special/ Lights on a Satellite/ Lady Bird; Half Nelson. Disc 2 (48:36): Cocktails for Two/ Watusi/ They Plan to Leave/ Images in a Mirror/ We Travel the Spaceways/ Left Bank Blues*/ ‘Round Midnight*. *Bonus tracks from Robert Mugge’s film, Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise. resonancerecords.org 

     Marshall Allen, who celebrated his 100th birthday in May 2024, has been leading the band since Ra departed this earthly plane in 1993, and by now, he’s been in the Arkestra longer than Sun Ra! To celebrate this milestone, Frank Kleinschmidt of IN+OUT Records brought the Arkestra into a New York studio to record Lights On A Satellite, with ten tunes representative of the current version of the ensemble. The set list, in addition to favorites like the title track, Friendly Galaxy and Tapestry From an Asteroid, includes a previously unheard Sun Ra composition, the uncharacteristic love song Baby Won’t You Please Be Mine, one-time Arkestra member Phil Cohran’s Dorothy’s Dance, Big John’s Special, an Arkestra favorite first recorded in 1934, and, of all things, Way Down Yonder in New Orleans, a Turner Layton composition that made its debut on record by the Dixie Daisies in 1922. The Art Ensemble of Chicago’s famous motto, Ancient To The Future, finds one of its deepest manifestations in the Sun Ra Arkestra’s immense repertoire. With the presence of some long-time Arkestra musicians, including trumpeter Michael Ray, saxophonist Knoel Scott, French hornist Vincent Chancey, guitarist Carl LeBlanc, and percussionist Elson Nascimento, there’s plenty of institutional memory and experience for Marshall Allen to draw upon for support in this ongoing project. Allen solos with his distinctive alto saxophone sound at various points throughout a generous program of nearly 80 minutes, and to these ears, his interjections provide the most exciting moments of the whole album. The sprawling and bracingly wild Reflects Motion is probably my favorite track here, evoking, as it does, more of the uncompromised sound of the Sun Ra Arkestra in its prime. All in all, a beautiful present to the great Marshall Allen on his century on the planet. Recommended.

IN+ OUT IOR 77158 (CD or 2 Lps); Michael Ray (tpt, vcl) Cecil Brooks (tpt) Vincent Chancey (Fr hn) Brent White (tbn, b tbn) Dave Davis, Robert Stringer (tbn) Marshall Allen (as, EVI, gong, vcl) Knoel Scott (as, bari s, cga, vcl) Chris Hemingway (as) Anthony Nelson (cl, bari s) Nasir Dickerson (ts) James Stewart (fl, ts) Tara Middleton (vcl, vln) Owen Brown, Jr., Gwen Laster (vln) Melanie Dyer (vla) Nina Bogomas (harp) Farid Barron (p, kybds, Moog theremin) Carl LeBlanc (gtr, vcl) Dave Hotep (g) Tyler Mitchell (b) George Gray (d) Elson Nascimento (surdo, perc) Jose Jorge Da Silva (perc); NYC, June 16, 2024; Lights on a Satellite/ Dorothy’s Dance/ Big John’s Special/ Images/ Friendly Galaxy/ Baby Won’t You Please Be Mine/ Holiday for Strings/ Tapestry From an Asteroid/ Reflects Motion/ Way Down Yonder in New Orleans; 80:17. inandout-records.com

Morpheus Trance: In Trance We Trust

  Guitarist Christy Doran is hard to pin down, working in a broad assortment of styles across his career, from the pioneering band Om, which he co-founded in the Seventies, collaborations with electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Yang Jing, who plays pipa and guqin, pianist John Wolf Brennan, drummer Han Bennink, and so many others. His latest project is the aptly named Morpheus Trance. This trio of Doran, electric bassist Wolfgang Zwiauer, and drummer Lukas Mantel has concocted In Trance We Trust, an extremely pleasing blend of groove, improvisation, and concentrated interaction. Sometimes the music is raucous (the title track), sometimes it’s sedate and dreamy (the lovely Starry Sky), but the trio never loses sight of the profound abstraction of trance. Morpheus is usually thought of as the god of sleep, but this mythical figure is also known as the god of dreams. It’s easy to just drift along with the music for 47 minutes, and end up feeling relaxed and refreshed. Then it will be time for another, closer listen to the set. The egalitarian mix allows the listener to focus with ease on different instruments: Doran’s spiky and adaptable guitar, Zwiauer’s melodically flowing bass guitar and Mantel’s minimalist yet propulsive drums. In Trance We Trust is a most enjoyable release, with music that’s worthy of repeated listening. 

Double Moon DMCHR 71452; Christy Doran (el g, devices) Wolfgan Zwiauer (el b, devices) Lukas Mantel (d, perc); Bern, Switzerland, 2023; Desert Flow/ BA-rock (duo version)/ In Trance We Trust/ Starry Sky/ Bali Sketches/ Continuum/ Small Round/ La Corrección/ BA-Rock (trio version); 47:09. morpheus-trance.ch

B.B. King: In France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival

  The mighty guitarist and great blues singer B.B. King enjoyed one of the more fascinating careers in the music business. Starting out on the radio in Memphis at the end of the Forties, B.B. King had his first hit in 1951 with 3 O’Clock Blues. Touring the USA in a bus with his band, and playing almost exclusively to African-American audiences, he continued to have success through the Sixties. But the scene had started to change, and under the direction of Sid Seidenberg, his new manager towards the end of the Sixties, King benefitted from a new wave of interest in the blues on the part of the largely white rock and roll audience. His music didn’t change much, and on the newly released In France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival, there are still a couple of songs in the set that go back to the Fifties, like Sweet Little Angel and Sweet Sixteen. The wonderfully paced program also features his biggest hit, The Thrill Is Gone, an extended version of Brook Benton’s 1959 hit It’s Just a Matter of Time, the perennial live favorite Why I Sing the Blues, and To Know You is to Love You, a song by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright that was the title track on a 1973 King album. The most remarkable thing about King’s live performances is that whether he’s playing for theater audiences in Chicago or a jazz festival in Europe, he and his band stay true to themselves and make the crowds meet them on their own terms. It’s a measure of King’s character that he doesn’t hog the spotlight and takes every opportunity to introduce the members of his group, many of whom stayed with him for years. He even gives second guitarist Milton Hopkins a few chances to strut his stuff. Liner notes by French journalist Jean Buzelin provide context for King’s European appearances, and the photos of King on stage in Nancy are an added attraction. It would be nice if King’s vocals and guitar were more upfront in the mix, but the band and B.B. King are rocking the house, so there really isn’t much to complain about. As King sings in Why I Sing the Blues, “I’ve been around a long time, and I’ve really paid my dues,” and that’s the truth. Happily recommended.

Deep Digs DD003 (CD or 2 Lps); Eddie Rowe (tpt) Cato Walker III (as) Walter King (ts) James Toney (org) B.B. King (g, vcl) Milton Hopkins (g) Joe Turner (b) Calep Emphrey, Jr. (d); Nancy, France, October 7, 1977; Medley: Blue Monk, Caldonia/ Sweet Little Angel/ I Like to Live the Love/ It’s Just a Matter of Time/ Why I Sing the Blues/ I Got Some Outside Help (I Don’t Really Need)/ The Thrill is Gone/ I Need My Baby/ Sweet Sixteen/ Blues Instrumental/ To Know You is to Love You/ When I’m Wrong/ Have Faith/ Outro Blues Instrumental; 79:12. www.elemental-music.com

Emily Remler: Cookin’ At The Queens

  From a commercial standpoint, it makes sense that the vast majority of historical jazz releases contain music by the biggest stars, collections that fill in details of generally lengthy careers. Just in the last few years, we’ve seen the release of previously unheard music by such famed players as Art Tatum, Sonny Rollins, Wes Montgomery, and Bill Evans, to name a few. It’s the rare release that offers a genuine revelation to the listener. But the first issue of newly heard music in 33 years by the guitarist Emily Remler, who died on a 1990 tour in Australia at the age of 32, offers the kind of surprise that can be truly rewarding. Coming up at a time when female instrumentalists were a rarity, Remler was an exciting and dynamic performer. Herb Ellis referred to her as "the new superstar of guitar" and as she herself told People magazine in 1982, "I may look like a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey, but inside I'm a 50-year-old, heavy-set black man with a big thumb, like Wes Montgomery." Co-produced by Zev Feldman and Bill Milkowski, who contributes a lengthy essay to the 19-page booklet, Cookin’ At The Queens compiles 160 minutes of music (on 2 CDs or 3 Lps) from a pair of gigs in Las Vegas. In 1984, Remler performs in a quartet format. Four years later, it’s just a trio with bass and drums. Bassist Carson Smith, who was first heard in Gerry Mulligan’s quartet in the early Fifties, is on hand with both units. Drummer Tom Montgomery in the 1984 quartet, seems to have settled in Las Vegas around 1960, as all his subsequent recording credits attest. The live repertoire is a blend of standards, jazz compositions like Bobby Timmons’ Moanin’ and Wes Montgomery’s D-Natural Blues, and bossa novas like How Insensitive (Insensatez) and Samba de Orfeo. She also liked to plays medleys of songs and their contrafacts. On the 1984 show, she couples Tadd Dameron’s Hot House with Cole Porter’s What is This Thing Called Love? In 1988, Miles Davis’ So What is joined with John Coltrane’s Impressions. Just one listen to the opening track, a nearly 10-minute workout on Moanin’ is all you really need to know that she was the real deal. A boldly imaginative and harmonically fluent soloist, with a beautifully flowing rhythmic sense, Remler is simply a joy to listen to. Three cheers for Zev Feldman rescuing these fine performances and reviving interest in a guitar great who left the scene too soon. 

Resonance HCD-2076; Emily Remler (g) with Cocho Arbe (p) Carson Smith (b) Tom Montgomery (d); Las Vegas, NV, May 28, 1984 (Disc 1 plus Out of Nowhere); with Carson Smith (b) John Pisci (d); Las Vegas, NV, September 19, 1988 (balance of Disc 2); Disc 1 (80:53): Moanin’/ How Insensitive (Insensatez)/ Autumn Leaves/ Polka Dots and Moonbeams/ Samba de Orfeo/ Hot House; What is This Thing Called Love?/ You Don’t Know What Love Is/ West Coast Blues/ Tenor Madness. Disc 2 (78:10): Out of Nowhere/ Manha de Carnaval/ Cisco/ Yesterdays/ All Blues/ Someday My Prince Will Come/ So What; Impressions/ D-Natural Blues. resonancerecords.org

Thumbscrew: Wingbeats

 

City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, PA, described as the world's largest sanctuary for writers in exile, hosts musicians as well. The cooperative trio Thumbscrew (Mary Halvorson on guitar, Michael Formanek on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums and vibraphone) has enjoyed a series of weeks-long residencies there over the years, with an eye to developing new material. Their latest endeavor is Wingbeats, their eighth album, with just over an hour of stirring originals by each member of the group, plus their take on Charles Mingus’ Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk. The combination of intense workshopping at their residencies and the musicians’ dedication to composing specifically for this grouping results in music of impressive resilience and power. Their nuanced interactions and the freshness of their improvisations make for a genuinely stimulating musical experience. Fujiwara’s xylophone-like sound on the vibes provides a fresh angle to the ensemble. His work on Formanek’s mildly chaotic Somewhat Agree is especially impressive. I’m also drawn to the groove of Formanek’s How May I Inconvenience You Today?, the peaceful aura of Fujiwara’s Irreverent Grace with a soulful Formanek solo, and Halvorson’s sinuous solo on Fujiwara’s Knots. Their arrangement of the Mingus tune, with its myriad parts that somehow all fit together, is perfectly suited to the band’s talents and sensibilities. Wingbeats is a winner from start to finish. Highly recommended! 

Cuneiform Rune 520; Mary Halvorson (g) Michael Formanek (b) Tomas Fujiwara (d, vib); Brooklyn, NY, September 21-22, 2023; Wingbeats/ Greenish Tents/ How May I Inconvenience You Today?/ Irreverent Grace/ Pyrrhic/ Wayward/ Knots/ Singlet/ Somewhat Agree/ Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Blue Silk; 61:15. www.cuneiformrecords.com

Rich Halley 4: Dusk And Dawn

  Portland, Oregon saxophonist Rich Halley has the best of two worlds in the Rich Halley 4. On Dusk And Dawn, he gets to collaborate with his son Carson Halley on drums, and with a pair of very long-term (26 years and counting) musical companions in the persons of trombonist Michael Vlatkovich and bassist Clyde Reed. That’s a lot of experience to pack into this energetic collection of four Halley originals alternating with a trio of group improvisations. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear all of these musicians live many times over the years, and it’s always a joyous occasion to spend time with them. The combination of Halley’s tenor roar, Vlatkovich’s sly trombone, Reed’s grounded bass, and Carson Halley’s uncluttered but forceful drumming gives the music an undeniably positive and searching spirit. The original compositions leave plenty of room for improvising within the form. The group improvisations, on the other hand, allow for spontaneously generated melodies. At times, it is easy to be unsure of whether or not the underlying structure was written or improvised. But it doesn’t really matter, since the music maintains its grasp on the listener at all times. Especially remarkable passages include the unaccompanied trombone and bass dialogue in Retrograde, the soothing opening section of After Dawn, the swaggering Spatter with a typically rapturous tenor solo and a talkative trombone solo, and Carson Halley’s superbly constructed drum solo on Stretching the Sinews. Dusk And Dawn is. for this listener, a gas from start to finish. Check it out and you’ll probably agree. 

Pine Eagle 016; Michael Vlatkovich (tbn) Rich Halley (ts) Clyde Reed (b) Carson Halley (d); Portland, OR, November 18-19, 2023; Spherical Aberaton [sic]/ The Return/ Retrograde/ After Dawn/ Spatter/ Stretching the Sinews/ The Hard Truth; 52:46. richhalley.bandcamp.com