Sun Ra
Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. But despite all of the trappings, Sun Ra was a major innovator, starting off playing advanced bop, but early on was open to the influences of other cultures, experimenting with primitive electric keyboards, and playing free long before the avant-garde got established.
Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. But despite all of the trappings, Sun Ra was a major innovator, starting off playing advanced bop, but early on was open to the influences of other cultures, experimenting with primitive electric keyboards, and playing free long before the avant-garde got established.
On Jupiter
Originally issued as El Saturn 101679, recorded on 10/16/79, this incredible album is a mixture of live recording and studio post-production: 'On Jupiter' sounds unique to any other album Sun Ra made. The arkestra reflects a disco pulse right back on…
My Favorite Things: October 14th, 1977
My Favorite Things October 14, 1977 presents a superb collection of tracks recorded by the great Sun Ra and his Arkestra at the Variety Recording Studio, NYC. One of the rarely heard documents of the El Saturn label of the ‘70s, these recordings catc…
John Cage Meets Sun Ra: The Complete Film
* Restocked, reduced price * The never-before-seen in its entirety, visual documentation proving this avant-garde collaboration of mythic proportions did indeed occur. Recorded at Sideshows by the Seashore along the Coney Island boardwalk on June 8th…
Monorails & Satellites: Works for Solo Piano Vols. 1, 2, 3
CD Edition. "Considering the monumental depth of Sun Ra's recorded oeuvre, there are surprisingly few solo piano albums. Monorails & Satellites Volumes 1 and 2 were the first commercial LPs of the artist's solo keyboard excursions. Recorded in 1966 a…
Pathways To Unknown Worlds
**First ever CD reissue, containing three Pathways session recordings left off the original, one never before issued** Intrinsic energies of mythic worlds! Pathways was originally issued on LP in 1975 as part of Sun Ra’s ill-fated and short-lived ABC…
Astro Black
Astro-Black mythology, astro-timeless immortality! Astro Black has long been known as a cornerstone of the Sun Ra catalog. It is well recorded, features a superb Arkestral lineup, and successfully combines several of the styles in which Sun Ra orbite…
Crystal Spears
Recorded in ’73 and rejected by tin-eared major label execs in ’75, Crystal Spears (or “Crystal Clear” as it appears on the tape box) subsumes a cathartic brawl between Minimoog and Yamaha combo organ, with percussionists providing tonal textures, an…
Of Abstract Dreams
Strut and Art Yard present another exclusive from the vast catalogue of cosmic jazz pioneer Sun Ra: a previously unreleased radio session most likely recorded at the WXPN FM radio studios in Philadelphia, 1974-5. This newly discovered session featur…
Disco 3000
Few copies back in stock, totally sold-out at source. Originally released in 1978 on El Saturn Records. Disco 3000 is one of Sun Ra's greatest from the '70s. Recorded in Italy in 1978, it features some incredibly otherworldly keyboards that are some …
John Cage Meets Sun Ra: The Complete Concert
If you were going to envision the ultimate avant-garde meeting-of-the-minds jam session, who would you pick? Even the most hopeful fan of strange and innovative music couldn't have seen this one coming: on one afternoon in 1986, at Coney Island's dil…
The Cymbals 1973
**Completely sold-out at source, few copies avaialble** Cymbals has finally landed… and brought a 2nd saucer with it! Originally recorded for the Impulse! jazz label in ’73, Cymbals makes its first legitimate release on vinyl, paired with a second LP…
Exotica
Sensuous dreamscapes to transport the listener to the lush tropical environs of the outer reaches of the omniverse. Your choice of three colorful inter-stellar saucers or two compact saucers of "Exotic-Ra" bringing you to a lush cocktail party where …
Sun Embassy
Roaratorio's survey of the unheard Sun Ra continues with Sun Embassy. Consisting of recordings from Sun Studios (aka Ra's house in Philadelphia) from 1968-1969, the album features nine tracks: six compositions which have never been heard before in an…
Space Is The Place
The holy grail for Sun Ra collectors and fans, his original album previously released on Jackpot, with Tip-on Gatefold Jacketand Transparent Blue Colored Vinyl and an album that forever gave them a slogan to live by! The record's different than som…
Discipline 27-II
Corbett Vs. Dempsey present a reissue of Sun Ra Discipline 27-II, originally released on El Saturn Records in 1973. Arguably the last great original-era Saturn LP to be reissued on CD, Discipline 27-II has long deserved to be more familiar to Sun Ra …
Jazz By Sun Ra
This essential title is also available under the moniker of Sun Song (1956). Regardless of its name, this long player contains some of Sun Ra's most complex but most accessible efforts. Ra had been an active performer since the late 1940s, recording …
Angels And Demons At Play
Angels And Demons At Play was compiled from two different sessions, recorded four years apart (1956 and 1960), that reflect Sun Ra's evolution from hard Chicago bop towards exotic styles that transcended easy categorization. The album was released in…
Just Outta This World - Rare Tracks 1955-1961
Herman Poole Blount, better known to the world as Sun Ra, lived more musical lives in his 79 years on this planet (and others) than seems possible. This collection compile singles of rare hard to find early Sun Ra productions and performances from Ju…
The Lost Arkestra Series Vol 1 & 2
A double 10" set featuring Sun Ra recordings. Initially released on two separate 10"s back in 2010/13. Volume 1 features "Along Came Ra", a previously unissued live track recorded in Paris in 1983. The legendary Disco 3000 concert tapes are on the fl…
Continuation
2013 release. An expanded reissue of Sun Ra's Continuation, originally released in 1970. A special two CD reissue of the hyper-rare El Saturn Records album, recorded in 1963, early in the Arkestra's New York period, paired with a full disc of extra m…