js "Out There a Minute" is a unique one in the Sun Ra discography in that it does not come from one concert or one studio session, but instead it is, as explained on the back cover of the album, "Sun Ra's personal selection of rare Arkestra recordings from the late 60s". This makes the album one of the closest things to a 'best of' collection that you will find with Sun Ra's name on it. Unique also in that most of his albums will portray a more or less unified musical vision for that album, "Out There", on the other hand, is a very eclectic album that covers a broad range of Sun Ra styles.

As we move from track to track, we may encounter cacophonous free jazz, exotic lounge fantasies, more or less straight ahead jazz that gets a little weird around the edges, or sometimes a lot weird around the edges, African flavored ensemble percussion or some sparse pieces that sound like Eurocentric avant-garde 60s concert hall music of the Stockhausen/Cage variety. Most of the tracks are really good making this one a must have for a Sun Ra fan.

If you know your Sun Ra history then you will recognize many familiar elements, such as the soloing of Marshall Allen and John Gilmore, which shows up on many tracks. "Somewhere in Space" features that bizarre singer who was with the band for a while and sang through a backwards megaphone, he had a made up stage name that is not listed on the album, but he does appear on at least one other Ra album. "Song of Tree and Forest" features echoed flutes and piano that were made possible when Sonny's sound man came up with a way to turn a reel to reel recorder into an echo device.

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.

js “The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra” came out in 1965 when the world of free jazz was starting to peak. Although often lumped with the free jazz crowd, Ra always made it clear that his band did not play free jazz per se, Ra was the leader and organizer and when you were in his band, you were not free, you were “in the Ra jail”. Sonny’s weird humor aside, the band certainly used intensely free sections when called upon, but still, this album was often criticized by the free crowd at the time for being too much like composed modern concert hall music. Well you certainly can't keep everyone happy and I doubt Sun Ra ever tried or was the lest bit interested in pleasing anyone but himself and his faithful band. Despite the fact that Sonny put out so many albums, quite often each album has a unique approach not to be duplicated on subsequent albums. “Heliocentric” has some familiar Sun Ra elements, but also has some musical. elements that exist only on this album. This is an Arkestra album, but it’s a slightly small Arkestra and features some of Ra’s best long standing band members.

One of the salient features on this album are all the low instruments, bass trombone, bass marimba, bass clarinet, baritone sax, Ronnie Boykin’s powerhouse bass fiddle and lots of tympany. As a contrast we also get some extreme upper register sounds from Ra’s celesta and Marshall Allen’s piccolo. Sun Ra’s band had a knack for taking European orchestral instruments and making them sound African, and that is in full effect here. The tympanis in particular take on the sound of a very low pitched talking drum. On the opening title track murky low end ramblings from the marimba and bass are punctuated with held tones on the horns in imitation of the horns you would hear on an African field recording, along with frequent interjections from the tympany. On “Outer Nothingness” the band becomes more active with short chaotic outbursts followed by mysterious low rumbles. Side one closes out with, “Other Worlds”, which is a classic free jazz free-for-all.

On side two we open with a short off kilter jazz waltz before the band settles into more juxtapositions of quiet sections and more charged sections. Halfway through “Of Heavenly Things”, Boykins slips into a walking bass line as the others take turns with their trademark odd solos. “Nebulae” is a real treat as we get to hear Sonny working out on the celesta, not an instrument he used often. The album closes out with “Dancing in the Sun” a chaotic bebop romp that is quite short in true bebop fashion. This is one of Sonny’s better offerings and the recording quality is quite good for a Sun Ra album. There are no vocal chants on here, the space chants can be fun live, but tedious on albums, this album is pure instrumental music and pure magic.

js It is so nice that you can go in record stores now and get classic Sun Ra records in brand new condition. “Secrets of the Sun” originally came out in 1965, but it has been recently re-issued and is available at better record stores today. The cover credits this album to Sun Ra & His Solar Arkestra, but actually this is one of those Sun Ra small group albums, which are often special and unique. If you are familiar with “Angels and Demons at Play” and “Night of the Purple Moon”, then you are familiar with some of Sonny’s small group albums, but unfortunately, “Secrets” is not quite as good as those two masterpieces, but its not bad either. Like all 60s Sun Ra albums, the recording quality is not great, the piano is out of tune, and the mixing is just bizarre, but all these things are standard trademarks of classic Sun Ra.

The first two tracks on side one feature somewhat laid back semi-free jazz played over vague rhythmic ostinatos, with performers wandering in and out of the mix. Ahrt Jnkens (possible fake name) plays the ‘space voice’, which sounds like someone vocalizing through a horn and changing the sound with a plunger. It sounds like Ellington’s horns on acid and downers. It’s a little bit annoying but seems to fit in with the vibe okay. Closing track, “Space Aura”, is the closest thing to a real jazz song on here as the combo hits an off-kilter hard bop groove while Pat Patrick, John Gilmore and Marshall Allen turn in solos.

Moving on to side two, on “Love in Outer Space”, Marshall Allen solos on the ’morrow’, which sounds a lot like a bass clarinet, while accompanied by somewhat faint and distant percussion. “Reflects Motion” is the closest track to sounding like classic 60s free jazz, with John Gilmore and crew sounding similar to what Archie Shepp was doing during this time period, but of course it was Archie who learned all this from John in the first place. This track has a bizarre opening as Gilmore and Marshall Allen play a fast and lengthy unison line that sounds like a cross between be-bop and an atonal tone-row concoction. Throughout this album Sun Ra focuses his piano solos on playing dense block chords in interesting rhythmic juxtapositions. It is somewhat similar to things Dave Brubeck would try, but Dave sounds so square and forced compared to what comes to Sonny with ease. “Secrets” is a good album for Ra fans, its just unique enough to add another facet to the Sun Ra legacy. it’s an interesting album, but not a great one.

js “Celebration for the Comet Kohoutek” is a live concert recorded by the Sun Ra Arkestra on December 22, 1973 at New York City’s Town Hall. The first side of the album is a fairly good recording, at least by Sun Ra standards, of an excellent performance. Side two starts off okay, but then falters significantly for the last half of that side. After a brief opening, side one kicks off with the well known “Astro Black”, sung by the Arkestra veteran, June Tyson. From here the band goes into mixtures of hard bop grooves and screeching free jazz with fiery solos from many of the horn players. Specific credits are not given, but possibly that is Kwame Hadi behind those fiery trumpet solos. As for the other players, you can expect the usual suspects such as Marshall Allen, Danny Davis, John Gilmore, Pat Patrick and the rest of the crew.

Halfway through this side Sun Ra steps in with an incredible analog synthesizer solo. If you have heard his early meanderings on “My Brother the Wind”, you will not believe how much Ra’s technique on the synth developed after those early experiments. He must be using a fairly complex setup because the sounds he is producing, and the way he is able to pull up endless variations, is far beyond what a Mini-Moog is capable of. I know Sonny used the Korg MS-20 some, a pair of those linked together could probably pull off these sort of cross-modulated wave forms. After Ra’s solo fades, the percussion section kicks in for an aggressive African groove over which Sonny at first supplies something close to classic soul jazz riffs. Ra playing in this style is very rare and its quite a treat for long time fans of his, but soon he moves back to supplying more elctronic sounds to the percussion celebration.

After a brief Arkestra intro, side two goes into more synthesizer excursions from Sonny, and once again his technique, control and imagination are very impressive. The way in which the tone colors constantly morph and change recalls Milton Babbit’s “Ensemble for Synthesizer”. I would not be surprised if Ra was very familiar with that landmark electronic piece. After the lengthy solo, the band tries to reappear, but something has happened, they sound like they are in another room way down the hallway. The last half of side two is given to call and response vocal numbers, including the over recorded, “Space is the Place”. These songs get tedious quickly because the arkestra is barely audible while the vocalists are way too loud. When one singer starts doing lounge club RnB type vocals on “Space is the Place”, its time to go ahead and hit the tone arm eject. Overall, possibly the most salient feature on this album is Sun Ra’s extended synthesizer solos. I do not know of any other record of his that contains such a wealth of synth colors. Other albums of his often sound like he is just learning how the device works.