SUN RA — Hours After (review)

SUN RA — Hours After album cover Album · 1989 · Progressive Big Band Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
js
When Sun Ra started his Arkestra in the mid-50s, he was a total fire brand, the leader of the avant-garde in jazz. He continued in this vein for several decades, but sometime in the 80s he felt a desire to re-visit the music of his pre-Arkestra days. Back in those early days, like most hungry musicians, Ra took jobs wherever he could; playing piano with the Fletcher Henderson orchestra, touring with BB King, providing background music for burlesque shows in Chicago and many other far reaching gigs. These shows in which the Arkestra delved into the past were a mixed bag, sometimes they were magical journeys to musical worlds that no longer exist, other times it sounded like the band was just going through the motions to get their pay at the end of the evening. “Hours After”, a studio album that Sonny recorded in 1989, falls somewhere in between those two extremes. Its not a great album, by Sun Ra standards, but it has its good moments too.

Side one opens with the standard “But Not for Me”, the band plays it straight ahead in swinging style and Sonny shows off his considerable chops as a stride pianist. It’s a decent jam, but before its over the song fades. Studio fades can sound good on a pop song with a repeating chorus, but on a jazz blowing session, it sounds so wrong it hurts. Jazz songs that fade in mid solo are very rare and there is a reason for that. Next up is the title track on which Sonny re-visits his burlesque show roots with a sleazy vamp driven by a jump blues backbeat. This one could have been good, but the band sounds like they are just going through the motions. Once again there is an odd ending when the band just sort of stops playing. “Beautiful Love” closes this side with Ra on vocals. Sonny is not a great singer, but he does have an interesting ‘character’ voice with a certain amount of pathos.

Side two opens with a classic Arkestra free jazz onslaught, but once again the band just doesn’t sound inspired until halfway through the jam someone, probably John Gilmore, takes a tenor solo and interjects some personality and inspiration. Ra follows with some great tone colors on the synthesizer. Album closer, “Love on a Far Away Planet”, is the top track and features the band in spiritual jazz groove mode with only a few solos here and there, mostly this one is all about that African rhythm. The flute voicings in the melody are pure ethereal Ra.
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