Sun Ra & Salah Ragab - 2006 - Sun Rise In Egypt Vols. 1-3

Sun Ra & Salah Ragab

2006

Sun Rise In Egypt Vols. 1-3

Sunrise in Egypt Vol. 1

01. Watusa - The Egyptian March 13:05

02. Solo Organ 2:43

03. Speech (Sun Ra) 2:38

04. Shadow World 8:13

05. Happy As The Day Is Long 3:30

06. Day Dream 4:40

07. Blues House 9:39

08. Take The A Train 5:03

09. West Of The Moon 4:33

Sunrise in Egypt Vol. 2

01. Opening 15:37

02. Unidentified Standard 4:50

03. Opening 11:52

04. Speech (Sun Ra) 1:29

05. Opening - Love In Outer Space - Nuclear War 18:14

06. Blue Lou 3:00

Sunrise in Egypt Vol. 3

01. Round About Midnight 6:55

02. School You, About Jazz 6:05

03. Opening 10:48

04. Speech (Sun Ra) 1:58

05. Opening 18:00

06. Fate In A Pleasant Mood 17:06

Sun Ra, organ & synth;

Salah Ragab, drums;

John Gilmore, tenor sax & timbalets;

Marshall Allen, alto sax, kora, flute, oboe, percussion;

Danny Thompson, baritone and alto saxes;

Elo Omoe, bass clarinet, percussion;

Ronnie Brown, trumpet, percussion;

James Jacson, Egyptian infinity drum, bassoon;

Matthew Brown, congas.

Recorded in Cairo, Egypt, 1984

Sphinx Records / ECD 25735

A really rare slice of work from Sun Ra's 80s output. A live set that reunites the Arkestra with drummer Salah Ragab, one of the group's key supporters in Egypt. These CDs are all previously unreleased recordings, sourced from Salah Ragab's master tapes. It was previously only available for sale by contacting Salah Ragab personally and ordering it through the mail. Very interesting recordings that could originally be purchased directly from Salah Ragab.

This important reissue should be greeted joyfully by Sun Ra aficionados, as it fills a hole in his discography, but it is neither stellar Ra nor great jazz. The beautifully packaged CD collects less than forty minutes of the Archestra performing in Egypt with legendary percussionist Salah Ragab, and adds two selections from The Cairo Jazz Band, a short piece by an Egyptian sextet, and an interesting track from The Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble. The music from the Egyptians offers a fascinating peek at an attempt to integrate jazz improvisation with Arab culture. The CD leaflet documents some of the difficulties in bringing the concerts to fruition. On its own, the music should have relatively limited appeal, but as a novelty item, it should whet some appetites.