Saturn / Mystery, Mr. Ra

by Sun Ra

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Includes unlimited streaming of Saturn / Mystery, Mr. Ra via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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	1.	Saturn 03:50
	2.	Mystery, Mr. Ra 03:06

about

Sun Ra's angular yet strident and soulful "Saturn,” recorded in 1958, displays bluesy cubist bop in perfect alter-dimensional extension of Fletcher Henderson. It's also a showcase for John Gilmore's sax acrobatics and supersonic swing. Gilmore dove deep into the Ra Omniverse; "got the concept" - as Coltrane described the tenor giant - hooked by this composition, and never left. Dual baritones of Pat Patrick and Charles Davis boil underneath Sunny, skipping lightyear intervals on the ivories. "Mystery, Mr. Ra," recorded live in 1984 and originally unissued, is just on the friendly side of ominous. Its deep funk, delivered by James Jacson on the Ancient Egyptian Astro Infinity Drum, lifts up Ra's dark bravado with no uncertainty:

"I'm Mister Re, King of the Kingdom of Mystery
I represent the splendor of the Magic Myth
I'm not a part of history
I belong to the Myth you see"

Part 2 of "Mystery" involves Sun Ra's conduction and Arkestral "space chords," collective emissions of precision and discipline from the "Ra jail.” Marshall Allen is heard on alto at the conclusion.

credits

released August 22, 2018

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Sun Ra Birmingham, Alabama

Across the history of jazz, there is no wilder, more future-forward composer and performer than Sun Ra. Known as much for his wild on-stage persona as his innovative compositions, Sun Ra was the avant-garde bleeding edge of the jazz genre, introducing modal composition and electronic instrumentation before almost anyone else. ... more