Sun Ra ‎- 1973 - Astro Black

Sun Ra

1973

Astro Black

01. 10:59
02. Discipline "99"
03. Hidden Spheres
04. The Cosmo-Fire

Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vibraphone – Sun Ra
Alto Saxophone – Danny Davis
Alto Saxophone – Marshall Allen
Baritone Saxophone – Danny Thompson
Bass – Ronnie Boykins
Bass Clarinet – Eloe Omoe
Clarinet – Pat Patrick
Congas – Atakatun
Congas – Chiea
Congas – Odun
Percussion – Tommy Hunter
Tenor Saxophone, Percussion – John Gilmore
Trombone – Charles Stephens
Trumpet – Akh Tal Ebah
Trumpet – Lamont McClamb
Violin, Viola – Alzo Wright
Vocals [Word-melody] – June Tyson
Voice [Space Ethnic] – Ruth Wright

Recorded at El Saturn Studio, Chicago, Illinois, May 7, 1972.
Mixed at Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, California.
℗1973, ABC Records, Inc. / ABC Records, Inc. © 1973

Sleeve features seven poems taken from the book titled "The Immeasurable Equation" by Sun Ra.

After years of self-releasing albums on his own Saturn label, Sun Ra signed with ABC's Impulse jazz imprint in 1972. A reissue series of earlier hard-to-find Saturn LPs was undertaken, along with a few new projects. The first premiere, Astro Black, was recorded and released in 1973 in the now-obsolete quadraphonic format (tho it was playable on stereo phonographs). The undertaking signaled a noble campaign on the part of Impulse producer Ed Michel to mainstream Sun Ra and broaden his audience, without any sacrifice of artistic integrity.

But the effort was doomed: the label suffered commercial losses on the project and lost faith in avant-garde space funk. Within two years, after corporate reshuffling (i.e., firings and hirings), ABC's Sun Ra project was abandoned. The company clipped the corners of the cardboard sleeves and dumped the lavishly illustrated gatefold LPs in record store discount bins (or as some disgruntled fans claimed, UNDER the bins). Yet the Sisyphean venture produced some worthwhile new music.

Astro Black was a return to quasi-accessibility, away (though not completely) from the anti-jazz experimentalism of the late 1960s, and toward synthesizer-driven space jams. The Arkestra's horn skronk was still prominent, but on side one of Astro Black it was largely anchored by the propulsive rhythm section of returning bassist Ronnie Boykins and drummer Tommy Hunter (along with a battalion of African percussion). With Sun Ra perched behind his Minimoog, this is very much a 1970s album. But as any listener will attest, it's also very much a Sun Ra album.

On the 11-minute title track, vocalist June Tyson croons a siren song above bassist Boykins' snaking groove. About 3-1/2 minutes in, the Arkestra achieves liftoff, after which they explore some free interplay the rest of the way.

"Discipline 99" is a loose, relaxed space walk with some fine ensemble work by the horns. The "Discipline" series, variously numbered and composed by Ra during the 1970s, were generally group-performed works which omitted solos; this recording is an exception, showcasing expressive offerings by John Gilmore (tenor sax), Akh Tal Ebah (trumpet), and the bandleader (electro-vibraphone). The percussion-heavy "Hidden Spheres" serves up some steamy African exotica, with Marshall Allen (alto sax), Kwame Hadi (trumpet), and Eloe Omoe (bass clarinet) intensifying the mood.

Side B of the LP (here track 4) consists of "The Cosmo-Fire," a sprawling 18-minute otherworldly affair of conducted Afro-futuristic improvisation unified by Boykins' inventive bass and punctuated by Sunny's synth and organ. The work provides an uncompromising contrast to the album's A-side, and proved that despite the major label upgrade, Sun Ra was intent on challenging his listeners.

There's a short chronicle of Ra's Impulse adventures in "The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse! Records," by Ashley Kahn. The book includes the following amusing anecdote by Ed Michel, in which he recalls his first Sun Ra mixing session in 1972: "I liked to mix at the pain threshold. It was really loud. We were mixing it quadraphonically in a relatively small room. Sun Ra was sleeping deep and snoring loud. For some reason, I stopped the tape in the middle of the tune. He came awake, wheeled his head like an owl does—all around the room, checking everything out. He said, 'You Earth people sleep too much.' He put his head down and started to snore again."

Original 1973 Album Cover

One of a handful of albums Sun Ra released on Impulse in the early '70s, Astro-Black provides a reasonably comprehensive picture of where the Arkestra was around the time, drawing to the end of their ultra-free period and beginning to investigate some traditional jazz forms. The opening title track explores some of Ra's spacier side, sounding a bit like a calmer alternative to his well-known "Space Is the Place" with June Tyson's ethereal vocals and the leader's ghostly synthesizer. "Discipline '99'" is a relaxed, bluesy number, although, as was often the case, one could argue that the band is a bit too relaxed and the piece does plod a little. But this is followed by a lively African-percussion-driven work, "Hidden Spheres," which, along with the propulsion provided by the great, underappreciated bassist Ronnie Boykins, is a fine example of Ra's band at their most enjoyable. "The Cosmo-Fire," the 18-minute track that closes the album, is a sprawling affair, a smorgasbord of Arkestra once again held in place by Boykins' bass, serving as a solid stem off of which Sun Ra launches abstract organ and vibraphone explorations and the rest of the band wails and sputters. Again, the performance is loose, but in a way that enhances the otherworldly effect that Ra strove for. Astro-Black isn't by any means the finest work by this musician, but is a decent introduction to his unique sound world.

Sun Ra didn't mellow with age, at least not during the time of this record, which is just as opaque as ever. Enigmatic and impenetrable, it's not quite certain what the musicians were up to (my guess is that it would have to do with outer space), but one has to admit that, whatever it is, it largely works. The only one of a planned series of new recordings for Impulse that actually materialized, it bears the trademark sound of producer Ed Michel, who managed frequently to create an avantgardish, pretty far-out sound that still wasn't totally inaccessible. It's not one of the Arkestra's most prolific records. but it's very listenable and still gives you the feeling of being an intellectual when you're listening to it.