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Sun Ra: At The Showcase (Live In Chicago, 1976-1977)
by Mike Jurkovic
It is an unchallenged law of nature that wherever or whoever anyone happens to be when they encounter Sun Ra, they are certain to be somewhere and someone else after the meeting. That holds especially true of Sun Ra at the Showcase: Live in Chicago. Captured during two barn-burning performances at the Windy City's venerable Showcase Club in '76 and '77, this limited 2-LP, 2 CD set--released by the equally venerable Zev Feldman's Jazz Detective label to celebrate ...
Continue ReadingSun Ra: At The Showcase (Live In Chicago, 1976-1977)
by Glenn Astarita
Embark on a cosmic odyssey with Sun Ra and his Arkestra as they unveil At the Showcase Live in Chicago 1976-1977, a celestial offering dripping with mystique and intrigue. This transcendent collection not only unveils previously unreleased tracks but also grants access to the legendary Showcase Lounge, overseen by the venerable Joe Segal. Complemented by a captivating booklet featuring insights from Marshall Allen and reflections from jazz luminaries like David Murray and Matthew Shipp, this album becomes a veritable treasure ...
Continue ReadingSun Ra: At The Showcase (Live In Chicago, 1976-1977)
by Troy Dostert
Describing the music of Sun Ra is always challenging--perhaps even more so when it is documented on a live recording. A case in point is this offering from the Jazz Detective label, a substantial slice of Ra taken from two concerts at Chicago's Jazz Showcase in the mid-'70s. It can be dense and opaque, even impenetrable at times. But it also swings mightily, with a generous big-band sound which should appeal to all but the most closed-minded jazz listeners. It ...
Continue ReadingTerry Adams: Terrible [Deluxe Edition]
![Read "Terrible [Deluxe Edition]" reviewed by Dave Linn](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/1915e29cbe092b861b4848bdfe28ad6b.jpg)
by Dave Linn
Terry Adams is best known for his work with the seminal band, NRBQ (New Rhythm & Blues Quartet). Their self-titled debut (Columbia, 1969), included Sun Ra's “Rocket Number Nine." The follow-up was a collaboration with early rock legend Carl Perkins called Boppin' The Blues. In 1974 singer, songwriter, and guitarist extraordinaire, Big Al Anderson and drummer Tom Ardolino joined the band. For the next 20 years that lineup thrilled live audiences around the world. In 1994, Anderson (dismayed by the ...
Continue ReadingTyler Mitchell Octet: Sun Ra's Journey Featuring Marshall Allen
by Alberto Bazzurro
Alternando momenti in cui si avverte chiara l'eredità del dedicatario dell'opera (sua la metà dei brani) ad altri un po' più routinieri, i primi e i secondi impreziositi dai graffi dell'ospite d'onore Marshall Allen, che di Sun Ra fu come tutti sappiamo uomo di fiducia per svariati decenni (e che ai tempi dell'incisione in oggetto, live allo Smalls nell'agosto 2021, aveva da qualche mese varcato la soglia dei 97!), si sdipana questo pregevole lavoro a firma di Tyler Mitchell, newyorchese, ...
Continue ReadingSun Ra Arkestra: Living Sky
by Stefano Merighi
Mentre la Enterplanetary Koncepts continua a sfornare inediti della Sun Ra Arkestra, il roccioso Marshall Allen--che va per i 100 il prossimo anno...-riesce a concepire di tanto in tanto nuove produzioni. Dopo l'apprezzato Swirling, ecco Living Sky, inciso a Philadelphia nel 2021, ancora sotto lo choc del COVID. E appare proprio come una seduta di musica dolcemente terapeutica questa raccolta di brani tenui, riposanti, deliziosi. Il gruppo raduna 19 elementi, che sotto la guida di Allen imbastiscono una ...
Continue ReadingSun Ra: Space Is The Place (Music From The Original Soundtrack)
by Doug Collette
The outlandish persona Sun Ra created and maintained for himself over the years may sometimes distract from the adventurous intent of the music he made. Yet it is testament to his vigorous loyalty to both the music as means of communicating his cosmic ideology and the basic tenets of his unconventional means of creativity that neither theme intruded dangerously upon the other during the course of his sixty-some year career. In a fittingly limited edition run (for both ...
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