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Rating: I can safely reveal to you that I bought this CD mainly for the cover in 'Saturn rings style'. Scientific information: the rings of the planet Saturn (gas giant) are formed by millions of small asteroids about a kilometer in size and are located in this position because Saturn's axis of rotation is tilted.
Sun Ra was undoubtedly a musician with great talent and innovative ideas and possessed a musical culture that encompasses a bit of all musical genres. Sun Ra in ancient Egyptian means 'Sun King', but his real name is Herman 'Sonny' Blount (b. 1914, USA). Many musicians have been inspired by the art and compositions of this enigmatic character, endowed with a mysterious and almost magical aura that he has also 'built' over the years. For a certain period, he denied his earthly origins, developing the myth of the musician coming from space 'to save the Earth', though he will often reveal that his is an impossible mission. The early years of his life are obscure, probably spent in continuous wandering, employed in the humblest trades. At the same time, however, he carried out extensive activity as a pianist and arranger in various Blues and Jazz formations. In the '40s, he developed his musical project under the name Blount, and in the '50s, he formed the Arkestra Ensemble.
The musician's intention is to create a sound 'amalgam' as free as possible by combining various musical styles.
This previously unreleased recording is taken from the record session for Heliocentric Worlds Volume 2, on November 16, 1965, at the RLA Studios in New York City. Lost for over 35 years, it has now been found by the Good Doctor, who brought it to ESP. Deterioration of a portion of the tape required the deletion of about one minute of music, but you won't notice it.
I decided to insert this note contained in the booklet because it perfectly clarifies the origin of this recording.
The record is composed of five tracks for a total of about thirty-six minutes. Describing these tracks is definitely complex, yet they are essentially experimental music largely improvised. Sun Ra (piano, tuned bongos) is accompanied by seven musicians, namely: Pat Patrick (baritone saxophones, percussion), John Gilmore (tenor saxophones, percussion), Marshall Allen (alto saxophones, piccolo, flute, percussion), Robert Cummings (bass clarinet, percussion), Walter Miller (trumpet), Ronnie Boykins (bass), Roger Blank (percussion). "Íntercosmosís" is the longest track (17:03 min), with the saxophones of various musicians engaged in an 'intricate' improvisation highlighted. "Heliocentric Worlds" is instead centered on Sun Ra's piano, with a remarkable percussive base that is at times also emotional. "World Worlds" contains some more 'relaxed' passages of flute, saxophone, and piano. At certain moments, the music becomes seemingly 'confused', perhaps to contain any meaning and to reach indescribable depths.
A work that is difficult to label, suitable only for a certain type of listener. Surely, this record possesses immense inner expressive force, mainly due to Sun Ra's personality. His career would continue through the '70s and '80s with less pioneering works, even in the field of cinema, but always original and outside traditional schemes. He would die of a heart attack in 1993 a few days after his seventy-ninth birthday.
I dedicate the review to this brilliant artist who succeeded in creating works that have now become cult.
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