Sun Ra Arkestra: Seductive Fantasy

It seems entirely fitting that "Seductive Fantasy," the single from the Sun Ra Arkestra's first studio album in twenty years, should be a reworking of an old song, one that dates back over forty years to On Jupiter (El Saturn, 1979). With Sun Ra it was ever thus; old is new and new is old. The original "Seductive Fantasy" was a sprawling, seventeen-minute affair that morphed from loose groove and extended soloing into increasingly abstract, and almost arrhythmic terrain. Significantly shorter at just under eleven minutes, the new version is more consistent in structure, and more of a psychedelic trip.

Baritone saxophonist Danny Ray Thompson and bassist Tyler Mitchell's three-note unison motif exerts a hypnotic groove that never lets up. A rich chorus of Duke Ellington-esque horns, percolating percussion, piano glissandi and sci-fi effects underpin a succession of solos. Alto saxophonist—and Arkestra leader—Marshall Allen squeals ecstatically over gloriously riffing horns. Vincent Chancey pursues a more melodious course on French horn, while pianist Farid Barron unleashes a torrent of tumbling lines, flitting between bluesy elegance and angularity. The spacey soundscape swells as Allen's EVI and guitarist Dave Hotep's pedals effects come increasingly to the fore.

Vocalist Tara Middleton brings an additional layer of ethereality to the mix with her rap on vibrations and colors, before leading a typical Arkestra call and response. "Oh, the vibration is just a little different here," she intones. Different from 1979 certainly, but wonderfully uplifting all the same. Since this recording, sadly, Danny Ray Thompson—an Arkestra stalwart since 1967—and conguero Atakatune Stanley Morgan, have left this planet. Their vibrations, however, carry on. An alternative, four- minute version of "Seductive Fantasy" features a brilliant, trippy animation by Chad VanGaalen that will delight old heads. The Sun Ra Arkestra marches proudly on.