SUN RA Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Sun Ra's musical legacy is a many-sided dice, but if there's one unanimous entry point into his astral adventure it is surely Space Is The Place. Originally transmitted to earth in 1973, this landmark record bursts with life from the opening strains of the title track in all its 20-plus-minute glory. It's no surprise it's come up for a repress via Verve's By Request series, given how essential it is to anyone's understanding of jazz at its most bold and brilliant. This is a record which transcends most typical definitions, breaking down barriers and showing what's possible if we just dare to dream.

Review: The one and only Sun Ra recorded a wealth of seminal albums that took jazz into all new realms. One of them was The Futuristic Sounds Of Sun Ra and it is now 60 years old. To mark the occasion it gets a special anniversary reissue which maids us just how groundbreaking it was. This version features an all-analog re-mastering by Kevin Gray, plus Tom Wilson's original liner note and new essays by jazz historian Ben Young. It was first recorded in just one intense day and features a Latin-influenced opener, 'Bassism,' the bluesy 'Of Sounds and Something Else,' and plenty of other gems.

Review: Having first made this Sun Ra reissue available in limited quantities for Record Store Day 2016, Org Music has decided to give it a full release. Spaceways showcased material that the spiritual jazz pioneer recorded with his "arkestra" in 1966 and '68, most of which eventually saw the light of day on El Saturn Records in 1974. Given that copies of that particular release are nigh on impossible to find, this reissue is more than welcome. It's as spacey, intergalactic and out there as you'd expect, with the ten-minute "Outerspace Incorporated" - all extended drum solos, cacophonous hand percussion and trippy horn motifs - and groovy "We Travel The Spaceways" being particularly potent.