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A Space Odyssey

Product Image: A Space Odyssey

A Space Odyssey

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Description
Sun Ra was the ultimate outsider artist,* the first musician to declare that space was the place,* claiming to hail from Saturn as his crew fearlessly traversed the outer limits of aural exploration,* taking jazz to new levels of free improvisation. Although the sound they whipped up could be cacophonic,* Ra never stopped paying homage to his jazz roots,* like glimpsing his home planet in the starship s rear view mirror. Often dismissed as bonkers by jazz buffs at the time,* the 21st century has seen him recognised as one of the greatest musical minds and innovators of the last century,* amassing music s most formidably complex catalogue and one of its strangest legends. Compiled and annotated by music journalist and long-time devotee Kris Needs,* A Space Odyssey charts the early days of Sun Ra s voyage,* from swing to the solar system,* starting with his first composition in 1933. This painstakingly-compiled labour-of-love tribute is intended to reflect Sun Ra s journey from leaving the Jim Crow oppression of his Birmingham,* Alabama birth-place,* through his first Chicago recordings then on to New York City,* where his unique musical visions could flourish and take off. CD1 *(Pre-flight) features Sun Ra s earliest recordings from the 1940s,* playing piano for Wynonie Harris and Lil Green,* jamming with Stuff Smith,* and coaching or arranging for artists such as Andrew Tibbs,* the Hambone Kids and the Dozier Boys with Red Saunders Orchestra. Other artists he worked with featured here include pianist Dorothy Donegan,* Joe Williams,* Jo Jo Adams and LaVern Baker. There s also an intriguing brace of tracks displaying his experiments with mid-1950s vocal groups such as Nu Sounds and Cosmic Rays,* while introducing berserk space-preacher Yochanan. All along,* Ra was blueprinting his sonic spaceship until the time was right to launch under his own name in mid-1956 with effervescent debut single,* Saturn *,* on his newly-established label of the same name
Product details
Release Date:
2013-02-08
Publication Date:
2013-02-08
Publisher:
Fantastic Voyage (Rough Trade)
Languages:
Published: English
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
[email protected]
Weight:
136 g
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