Sunday 23 March 2008
Playlist, 23/03/08
FEATURED ARTIST: Sun Ra
This week we featured the music of inter-stellar sonic explorer, Sun Ra. Shockingly, we've rarely, if ever, played anything by the king of space jazz on Project Moonbase before. So we thought it was about time to shine the starry spotlight on the great man.
If you enjoyed the Sun Ra tracks we played in the show, I said I would give a few pointers for further exploration.
Evidence Music have done a fine job of putting out around 20 CDs (equating to around 30 albums) of Sun Ra's back catalogue. Of these, Greatest Hits is perhaps a rather obvious choice as an entry point but it is a good sampler covering a wide range of Sun Ra's numerous styles, though clearly Sun Ra never released anything that could really be called a "hit". Lanquidity is a lovely little groover of an album. The collection of all the singles that the Saturn label released is a fantastic 2-CD set which covers everything from the very early doo-wop days right through the decades to the truly out there stuff of the early 80s. I also like the space-exotica of Cosmic Tones. My Brother the Wind Vol 2 is 50% smooth mellowness and 50% electronic, radiophonic noodling. Nice...
Atavistic have also put out 6 Sun Ra CDs and a couple of DVDs. Of these, I would recommend Spaceship Lullaby which collects together much of Sun Ra's very early work with vocal groups such as the Nu Sounds and the Cosmic Rays and Night of the Purple Moon which is a great example of Sun Ra's spaced-out Roksichord playing.
The best Sun Ra discography I've found on-line is here and if you want to catch the remaining members of the Arkestra in action, they are still playing and touring. Their official site is here and they also have a MySpace page. I saw them play in Edinburgh a couple of years ago - a truly wonderful experience.
The Music
1. Jimi Tenor & Rhythm Taxi - Moon Goddess (Live In Berlin, 2007)
2. Setsubun Bean Unit - Gujo Ondo (Wire Tapper Exclusive Edit) (The Wire Tapper 19, 2008)
3. Ray McVay - Theme From 2001 (1974)
4. Calimbo Steel Band - The Blue Danube (The Heart of Trinidad, 1962)
5. The Cosmic Rays - Dreaming (Sun Ra: The Singles, 1955/1996)
6. Slim Gaillard - How High the Moon (Slim Gaillard Rides Again, 1958)
7. Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra - Dance Of The Living Image (The Night Of The Purple Moon, 1970/2007)
8. Towny - What Planet Is This? (10 From Towny)
9. Sun Ra and the Blues Project - Robin's Theme (Batman and Robin, 1966)
10. Sun Ra - Where Pathways Meet (Lanquidity, 1978/2000)
11. Tätärä - Under The Boardwalk (Next Show, 2000)
12. Build an Ark - Door of the Cosmos (The Stars Are Singing Too) (A Sun Ra Dedication - The Myth Lives On, 2003)
13. Fats Waller - There's Honey On the Moon Tonight (The Very Best Of, 2008)
14. Dinah Washington - Caravan (Diva, 2003)
15. Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Research Arkestra - Island In the Sun (Janus, 1970/1999)
16. June Tyson & Yaziko - Astro Dark (Caviar Club - Finest Lounge & Club Styles, Vol. 1, 2006)
17. Sun Ra - Love In Outer Space (Sun Ra: The Singles, 1975/1996)
The News
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