Hail from Outer Space, plus everything new under the Sun (who?) Ra

[Serial_Apologist]

Sat 3 Feb
4.00 Jazz Record Requests
Among the listener requests this week is a track by trumpeter Lee Morgan and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. With Alyn Shipton.

Right up our Stanford's street, I'd imagine.

http://www.alynshipton.co.uk/blog

5.00 Jazz Line-Up
Kevin Le Gendre presents a performance by saxophonist Tommy Smith and pianist Brian Kellock, recorded during last summer's Glasgow Jazz Festival.

A repeat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qdb58

12 midnight Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
Geoffrey Smith celebrates the music of the eccentric American pianist, composer and band leader Sun Ra (1914-93), who mixed jazz with swing, outrageous costumes and choreography, to develop a distinctive personal style.

For me one of the greatest, but others here assess Ra differently, I think.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qcqdl

Mon 5 Feb

Don't forget Paul Jones' Blues Show on R2 at 7 pm, while it lasts under his sympathetic expert guidance.

11 pm Jazz Now
Soweto Kinch presents a set of improvised music from the Midland Arts Centre in Birmingham by Black Top (keyboard player Pat Thomas and vibraphonist Orphy Robinson) plus special guest Jean-Paul Bourelly, the American guitarist and veteran of the Miles Davis Amandla session. And Emma Smith is joined by singer Lauren Kinsella to discuss the new album by Snow Poet.

From personal experience of them at Cafe Oto, Black Top promise a heavy session, especially with this gentleman for company - hopefully devotees of the experimental, ear muffed or otherwise, who post of their tastes elsewhere on this forum will read this. Ms Kinsella has endeared herself among the improvising community here, so it will be interesting to hear her views on anything.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qdm5d

PLUS:

BBC 4 TV Thurs 8 Feb
8 pm Hugh Masekela: Welcome to South Africa
Another chance to see this documentary, showing as a tribute to the musician and singer who died last month at the age of 78. Masekela recalls his early life, the apartheid years, his stardom in the USA and return to South Africa on the release of Nelson Mandela. The programme also features performances from his 70th birthday celebrations at the Barbican Centre in London.

[johncorrigan]

Thanks S_A. I'll definitely be interested to hear Geoffrey's take on Mister Mistery, as he announced himself one of the times I had the great opportunity to see him. Don't recall seeing the Masekela doc...will be tuning in there too.

[Ian Thumwood]

I spent a lot of last year checking out Sun Ra having picked up a number of budget copies of his records. I would struggle to consider him as "one of the greatest" but certainly one of the most intriguing. "Jazz in silhouette" is pretty incredible and surprisingly mainstream and without doubt one of the great jazz albums of the 1950s. It would be hard pushed to think of a stronger album by Ra with the music coming across like an eccentric Tadd Dameron. I love this record with tight little orchestrations and some wonderful tunes. The contemporary efforts "Futuristic sounds" and "Supersonic jazz" also have their moments with the writing for the percussionist being a real stand out element of the arrangements for me. Not many people were looking at this kind of role for percussion in the 1950s. Again, the music is pretty mainstream despite it's eccentricities and homespun nature but it is enjoyable and certainly makes you reluctant to write his music off as rubbish which it clearly isn't. There is an intelligent musical mind at work but the 1970's "Space is the place" offers a stark comparison with the band really lacking decent soloists and the ensemble playing often ragged and with poor intonation. This, for me, is the problem with Ra. You never know what you are going to get and I suppose that is part of the appeal. It is fun and frequently rewarding yet , at it's worst, it can sometimes seem pretty amateurish and shambolic even speaking as a convert to his music. I think it is necessary to put his music in perspective and maybe give musicians of a similar ilk such as Henry Threadgill as much credit.

For me, last year was a bit of a disappointment regarding contemporary jazz and a good proportion of my listening was spent delving back in to these Sun Ra records as well as Duke Ellington's Columbia recordings. It is pretty obvious that there would have been no Sun Ra without Ellington and , as fun as Ra's music could be or indeed, as on the money, I don't think that he could hold a candle to Ellington. If anything, unless you keep listening to his records, you tend to forget just how "modern" and innovative he was. There was a fascinating interview with Julian Priester on All About Jazz where he reflected upon his time with Ellington yet he felt that his music felt "old-fashioned." I believe that he also worked with Ra yet I personally feel Ra's records have not aged well. It is a bit odd that he has accumulated a "cult following" as I struggle to see Sun Ra as working at the same creative level as say Ellington, Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Andrew Hill, etc. For me, Sun Ra is significant for the innovative employment of percussion and the interesting perspective on harmony plus the excellent tenor of John Gilmore . I also quite admire his piano playing. Prior to more explorations last year I would have been less receptive to his music that I am now but I think that I would be tempted to make comparisons with his former boss Clarence Williams who was similarly quite "hip" in who he employed to interpret his music yet could also make records which have probably outlived their sell by date. I can appreciate Ra's music a little more these days although I still feel he is an interesting digression in jazz. I don't think you can jump into Ra's discography and consistently come up with gems in the fashion that you could with Duke Ellington even on records like "Blues in orbit" which were produced without much thought and little more than blowing sessions. I would have to say that returning to Ellington's music, he sounds amazingly modern.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Sat 3 Feb
4.00 Jazz Record Requests
Among the listener requests this week is a track by trumpeter Lee Morgan and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. With Alyn Shipton.

Right up our Stanford's street, I'd imagine.

http://www.alynshipton.co.uk/blog

5.00 Jazz Line-Up
Kevin Le Gendre presents a performance by saxophonist Tommy Smith and pianist Brian Kellock, recorded during last summer's Glasgow Jazz Festival.

A repeat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qdb58

12 midnight Geoffrey Smith's Jazz
Geoffrey Smith celebrates the music of the eccentric American pianist, composer and band leader Sun Ra (1914-93), who mixed jazz with swing, outrageous costumes and choreography, to develop a distinctive personal style.

For me one of the greatest, but others here assess Ra differently, I think.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qcqdl

Mon 5 Feb

Don't forget Paul Jones' Blues Show on R2 at 7 pm, while it lasts under his sympathetic expert guidance.

11 pm Jazz Now
Soweto Kinch presents a set of improvised music from the Midland Arts Centre in Birmingham by Black Top (keyboard player Pat Thomas and vibraphonist Orphy Robinson) plus special guest Jean-Paul Bourelly, the American guitarist and veteran of the Miles Davis Amandla session. And Emma Smith is joined by singer Lauren Kinsella to discuss the new album by Snow Poet.

From personal experience of them at Cafe Oto, Black Top promise a heavy session, especially with this gentleman for company - hopefully devotees of the experimental, ear muffed or otherwise, who post of their tastes elsewhere on this forum will read this. Ms Kinsella has endeared herself among the improvising community here, so it will be interesting to hear her views on anything.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qdm5d

PLUS:

BBC 4 TV Thurs 8 Feb
8 pm Hugh Masekela: Welcome to South Africa
Another chance to see this documentary, showing as a tribute to the musician and singer who died last month at the age of 78. Masekela recalls his early life, the apartheid years, his stardom in the USA and return to South Africa on the release of Nelson Mandela. The programme also features performances from his 70th birthday celebrations at the Barbican Centre in London.

The JRR Lee Morgan/Shorter request is for Lee's now signature arrangement of "You go to my head" (The Procrastinator) and as I recently requested it as a Valentine for a tres hip friend in France, it think it must be mine. She'll be dancing around the chateau, it (and Billy Higgins) are totally infectious, so put away January's blues and join in. Attention, Wayne Shorter's "languidy" entry.

BN. NB: Lee is the place.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Actually from Lee's "The Gigolo". Confused me later Lees.

[Quarky]

I spent a lot of last year checking out Sun Ra having picked up a number of budget copies of his records. I would struggle to consider him as "one of the greatest" but certainly one of the most intriguing. "Jazz in silhouette" is pretty incredible and surprisingly mainstream and without doubt one of the great jazz albums of the 1950s. It would be hard pushed to think of a stronger album by Ra with the music coming across like an eccentric Tadd Dameron. I love this record with tight little orchestrations and some wonderful tunes. The contemporary efforts "Futuristic sounds" and "Supersonic jazz" also have their moments with the writing for the percussionist being a real stand out element of the arrangements for me. .......

Listened to some Sun Ra over the past few days. I'll wait and see what GS has to say before attempting a judgement. Probably it's a mistake to expect too much from him, in terms of contemporary Jazz. I guess he missed the present era of music Videos. Otherwise he might have made it like Bjork.

[Serial_Apologist]

The death of John Critchinson, Ronnie Scott's pianist from 1978 to the last, which totally passed me by, was just now mentioned by Alyn on JRR while introducing the Simon Spillett track. Here's a link to the London Jazz News site, which contains links to a tribute by Jacqui Hicks, a live youtube track, and mention of a biography.

http://www.londonjazznews.com/2017/12/rip-john-critchinson-1934-2017.html

One used to see Critch, as he was known, in recent times at the Bull's Head, dependably backing some of our favourite horn men. While I found his playing style a tad old fashioned, I always admired his ability to build a solo by degrees, holding ones attention by really thinking his way through, rather than reproducing stock clichés.

R.I.P. Critch.

[Serial_Apologist]

Listened to some Sun Ra over the past few days. I'll wait and see what GS has to say before attempting a judgement. Probably it's a mistake to expect too much from him, in terms of contemporary Jazz. I guess he missed the present era of music Videos. Otherwise he might have made it like Bjork.

In some ways he presaged music videos, though, as the Monty Pythonesque clips from this Ch4 documentary showed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGTd3HR62fo

[Alyn_Shipton]

Waiting with interest to hear GS on Sun Ra... here's my two pennyworth: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00g3s68

[Serial_Apologist]

Waiting with interest to hear GS on Sun Ra... here's my two pennyworth: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00g3s68

Oh at least worth threepence, Alyn. Thanks very much for re-posting that programme - happy days!

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Oh at least worth threepence, Alyn. Thanks very much for re-posting that programme - happy days!

My very favourite Sun Ra story....from Chris Albertson (Bessie Smith, Riverside A&R etc etc...)....

"Apropos that, Alan (Bates of Black Lion, etc) was attending a Sun Ra gig at Slugs, many years ago. At one point Sun Ra moved between the tables, swinging into the air a golden vessel from which there emanated a church-like incense. It was all very Pop-ish, Alan told me. When Sun Ra reached Alan's table, his head swooped down to the level of Alan's ear and, without missing a move of the incense, he whispered, "Where the fuck are my royalties?"

Talk to the spirits!

BN.

[Serial_Apologist]

My very favourite Sun Ra story....from Chris Albertson (Bessie Smith, Riverside A&R etc etc...)....

"Apropos that, Alan (Bates of Black Lion, etc) was attending a Sun Ra gig at Slugs, many years ago. At one point Sun Ra moved between the tables, swinging into the air a golden vessel from which there emanated a church-like incense. It was all very Pop-ish, Alan told me. When Sun Ra reached Alan's table, his head swooped down to the level of Alan's ear and, without missing a move of the incense, he whispered, "Where the fuck are my royalties?"

Talk to the spirits!

BN.

[Alyn_Shipton]

When I went to hear him at Sweet Basil in Greenwich Village the band was so big we (the audience) had to sit on the sidewalk - which meant the club couldn't take a cover charge and we weren't allowed to drink. He wasn't asked back...at least while I was working in NYC.

[Old Grumpy]

Enjoyed all JLU, but especially the last item, Chris Potter's The Dreamer Is The Dream - shame it was faded out though...

[burning dog]

QUOTE BLUESNIK'S REVOX. At one point Sun Ra moved between the tables, swinging into the air a golden vessel from which there emanated a church-like incense. It was all very Pop-ish, Alan told me.

Sounds more Pope-ish