The Sun Ra Discography.
I missed this one when I started building my Sun Ra collection earlier this year. This rather full CD consists of a rare live set from 1960 which, although an amature recording, stands up pretty well. The three opening tracks are not as good as their "studio" versions although "Space Aura" is still bloody outstanding and by far the outstanding moment of this set. I'm not at all a fan of the Gershwins music but there is some nice soloing on the two covers here. "How High The Moon" gets some great treatment, especially the wonderful bop Sax solo that fills 2/3 of the, unfortunately Sun Ra's piano and Boykin's bass are almost inaudible. "China Gate" sounds more like an original Ra composition which closes out this set
The Majestic Hall session has a bunch of songs already familiar but some previously unheard compositions as well which makes this lo-fi set a must hear for Ra fanatics. The band sounds fine and the songs are good but the sound quality is a bit of a challenge.Still an important addition to my Sun Ra collection. For a far more eloquent review of this release check out Nuvoids Sun Ra Sunday. My Rating 3/5.
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