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Luqman Ali
Sun Ra: At the Showcase (Live In Chicago, 1976-1977)

by Giuseppe Segala
Moltissime sono le registrazioni di Sun Ra, alcune memorabili. In ognuna si nasconde una tessera, un elemento della sua vitalità inesauribile, della sua ricerca cosmica di torcere, frammentare, lacerare le convenzioni. Di toccare con mano meravigliata i materiali di cui dispone, quasi venissero da altri mondi, da altre dimensioni, da logiche differenti. Sun Ra trascende le convenzioni. Nel corso degli anni, il musicista ha ricevuto costanti attenzioni da parte del pubblico e delle etichette discografiche. Un pubblico che ...
Continue ReadingSun 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 ReadingSun Ra: Lanquidity (2 x CD Edition)

by Chris May
When it comes to Sun Ra, the elephant in the room--or perhaps the intergalactic space frigate orbiting your sound system--is how many musicians in the band were bombed out on acid during a typical recording session? By all accounts, Ra ran a tight spaceship and drugs, mind expanding or numbing, were strictly off limits. Then again, Frank Zappa was a similarly sober micro-manager, but bandmembers' memoirs have revealed what anyone with ears has suspected for decades: namely that weed and ...
Continue ReadingMarshall Allen Quartet Featuring Mark Whitecage: Mark-n-Marshall: Monday

by AAJ Staff
It’s taken the legendary alto player Marshall Allen 50 years to record his debut as a leader – he first recorded with saxophonist James Moody in 1949 – but it was worth the wait. As anyone who’s seen Allen snapping his fingers and bobbing his head on his regular gig with the Sun Ra Arkestra can tell you, Allen can play some of the most excoriating horn lines around, but his main mission is to have fun. This Monday date ...
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