Sun Ra Discography

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This post is definitely going to be one of my favorite post I have done on Blax-Jive. Sun Ra is simply genius. His life is beyond music and deeper than what you may hear. I'm proud to make this post and I hope everyone take advantages of the selected biographies I will have listed. I am only going to post a summary of Sun Ra, but its much deeper than what I am posting.

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Sun Ra (May 22, 1914 to May 30, 1993) was an innovative and individual jazz composer, bandleader and piano and synthesizer player, who came to be known as much for preaching his bizarre cosmic philosophy as for his phenomenal musical compositions and performances.

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Born Herman "Sonny" Blount in Birmingham, Alabama, he abandoned his birth name and took on the name of Sun Ra (Ra being the name of the ancient Egyptian god of the Sun) and headed a band with an ever-changing ensemble known as the "Arkestra" (or sometimes "Solar Arkestra").

The musical development of Sun Ra can be (loosely) categorized into three periods:

The first period of the 1950s was when his music evolved from big-band Swing into the outer space-themed "cosmic jazz" he was best known for. Early inhis career, Ra worked as an arranger for Fletcher Henderson. Music critics and jazz historians say some of his best work was recorded during this period. Notable Sun Ra albums from the 1950s include Sun Ra Visits Planet Earth, Interstellar Low Ways, Angels And Demons At Play, We Travel The Spaceways, and Jazz In Silhouette (among many others).
It was during the 1950s that Sun Ra began wearing the outlandish, Egyptian-styled costumes and headdresses he would be known for. Claiming that he was not from the Planet Earth but rather from Saturn, Ra developed a complicated persona of "cosmic" philosophies and lyrical poetry that preached "awareness" and peace above all. He eschewed racism (having been a victim of it many times, in regards to the touring and booking schedule of the Arkestra), though he rarely came out and directly spoke about any controversial subjects. He preferred to make music, which he did, as the cast of musicians touring and working with him changed on an almost daily basis.
(The most notable graduate of the Sun Ra Arkestra was John Gilmore, a saxophonist whose work influenced that of John Coltrane).
During the 1960s, his music underwent a chaotic, free jazz experimental period. It was during this period that his popularity reached its peak, as the "beat generation" and the psychedelic era embraced him. In this era, Ra was among the first of any musicians to make extensive use of synthesizers and other various electronic instruments. Newcomers to Ra's music may have difficulty with his albums of this era. Notable titles from this period include The Magic City, When Sun Comes Out, The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume One and Other Planes Of There.
During their third period, beginning in the 1970s and onward, Sun Ra and the Arkestra settled down into a more conventional method (though still highly eclectic and energetic), and Ra took a liking to the films of Walt Disney. He incorporated smatterings of Disney's musical numbers into many of his performances from then on; and in the late 1980s the Arkestra even performed a concert at Walt Disney World. The Arkestra's version of "Pink Elephants on Parade" is available on Stay Awake, a compilation of Disney tunes by many artists.
A number of Sun Ra's 1970s concerts are available on CD, but none have received a wide release in comparison to his earlier music. The album Atlantis can be considered the landmark that led into his 1970s era.

During his career Sun Ra recorded over one hundred albums, but many of them were printed on microlabels, and his music was largely unknown outside of the live jazz touring circuit. In the 1990s, after he had left this plane of existence, many of his recordings were released on compact disc for the first time under the Ihnfinity Music label.

The Arkestra continues to tour and perform as of November 2003, now led by alto saxophonist Marshall Allen.

Sun Ra and his Arkestra were the subject of a documentary film made in 1972 and a feature film entitled Space Is The Place in 1974. The soundtrack, also by Sun Ra, is available on CD.

Some recommended albums (by no means all-inclusive): Atlantis, Supersonic Jazz, Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy, We Travel the Spaceways, Singles, Languidity, The Magic City.

Brother From Another Planet [Documentary On Sun Ra]

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Albums

Read the companion guide to this thread by Jon-A at The Astro-Infinity Equation

• 1957 - Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 (a.k.a Sun Song) / alternate / alternate
  
• 1957 - Super-Sonic Jazz (a.k.a. Super Sonic Sounds) / alternate
  
• 1958/59 - Jazz in Silhouette / FLAC alternate
• 1954-1960 - Spaceship Lullaby
  
• 1961 - The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (a.k.a. We Are In the Future)
• 1963 - When Sun Comes Out
• 1964 - Gods on Safari / alternate
  
• 1963-67 - Angels and Demons at Play (two-in-one with "Nubians of Plutonia")
  
• 1965 - Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow / alternate
  
• 1965 - Fate in a Pleasant Mood / alternate
  
• 1965 - Rocket Number Nine Take off for the Planet Venus (a.k.a. Interstellar Low Ways)
• 1965 - Secrets of the Sun
• 1965 - The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume I (a.k.a Cosmic Equation; Other Worlds) / alternate
  
• 1966 - The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume II (a.k.a. The Sun Myth) / alternate
• 1966 - Other Planes of There
• 1966 - The Nubians of Plutonia (aka 'The Lady With the Golden Stockings') / alternate
  
• 1966 - The Magic City / alternate / FLAC version
  
• 1966 - Visits Planet Earth
• 1966 - Batman and Robin (Sun Ra & The Blues Project) / FLAC alternate / alternate / alternate
  
• 1966 - When Angels Speak of Love
• 1966-68 - Spaceways (live '66-'68, rel. 1998)
  
• 1967 - Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy / alternate
  
• 1967 - Strange Strings / alternate / alternate
  
• 1967 - We Travel the Spaceways
• 1968 - Monorails and Satellites, Volume I / alternate
  
• 1968 - Sound of Joy / alternate / alternate / alternate
  
• 1969 - Atlantis / alternate
  
• 1969/70 - Continuation / alternate
  
• 1969 - Monorails and Satellites, Volume II
• 1970 - Holiday for Soul Dance
• 1970 - My Brother the Wind / alternate
  
• 1970 - Night of the Purple Moon / alternate
  
• 1970 - Nothing Is (a.k.a. Heliocentric Worlds Volume 3; Dancing Shadows) / alternate / alternate
  
• 1970 - Sound Sun Pleasure!! / alternate
  
• 1971 - It's After the End of the World: Live at the Donaueschingen and Berlin Festivals FLAC
  
• 1971 - Black Myth / Out In Space
  
• 1971 - My Brother the Wind Vol.2 (a.k.a. Otherness)
• 1971 - Nidhamu
• 1971 - Calling Planet Earth (live, Copenhagen) / alternate
  
• 1971 - Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Volume I
• 1971 - Nuits de la Fondation Maeght, Volume II
  
• 1971 - Pictures of Infinity
  
• 1971 - Outer Spaceways Incorporated / alternate / alternate
  
• 1971 - The Solar-Myth Approach, Volume I / alternate
  
• 1971 - The Solar-Myth Approach, Volume II / alternate
  
• 1972 - Live in Egypt 1 (Dark Myth Equation Visitation) /alternate
• 1972 - Bad and Beautiful / alternate
  
• 1972 - It's Forbidden - Live at the Ann Arbor Jazz & Blues Festival
• 1972 - Cymbals / Crystal Spears (Impulse, unreleased)
• 1972 - Universe in Blue
• 1973 - Astro Black / alternate
  
• 1973 - Deep Purple (a.k.a. Dreams Come True)
• 1973 - Discipline 27-II / alternate
  
• 1973 - Space Is the Place / alternate
• 1973 - Space Is the Place (Original Soundtrack)
• 1973 - Friendly Love
• 1974 - Horizon - (a.k.a. Starsnatchers) (rec 1971)
  
• 1974 - Outer Spaceways Incorporated (a.k.a. A Tonal View of Times Tomorrow, volume 3)
• 1974 - Space Probe / alternate
  
• 1974 - Sub Underground (a.k.a. Temple U; Cosmo-Earth Fantasy)
• 1974 - The Invisible Shield (a.k.a. Janus; A Tonal View of Times Tomorrow, vol. 2; Satellites Are Outerspace....) / alternate
  
• 1975 - Pathways to Unknown Worlds
• 1975 - What's New?
• 1976 - Cosmos / FLAC alternate
  
• 1976 - Featuring Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold
• 1976 - Live at Montreux / alternate
  
• 1977 - Solo Piano, Volume I
• 1977 - Somewhere Over the Rainbow (ft. Pharoah Sanders) (a.k.a. We Live To Be)
• 1977 - Taking a Chance on Chances
• 1977 - The Soul Vibrations of Man
  
• 1978 - Lanquidity / alternate
• 1978 - Media Dreams (a.k.a. Saturn Research) - single album issue
  
• 1978 - Media Dreams (2 CD reissue)
  
• 1978 - Visions (with Walt Dickerson) / alternate
  
• 1978 - New Steps / alternate
  
• 1978 - Other Voices, Other Blues / alternate
  
• 1978 - Some Blues But Not the Kind Thats Blue (a.k.a. 'Nature Boy'; 'My Favorite Things') / alternate
  
• 1978 - St. Louis Blues (a.k.a. Solo Piano, Volume II) / alternate
  
• 1978 - The Antique Blacks / re-issue
• 1978 - The Sound Mirror: Live in Philadelphia '78
• 1978 - Unity
  
• 1979 - Disco 3000
  
• 1979 - Disco 3000 - expanded 2 disc set FLAC / MP3
• 1979 - God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be (a.k.a. Blithe Spirit Dance; Days of Happiness; Trio)
• 1979 - I, Pharaoh
• 1979 - Omniverse / alternate
  
• 1979 - Sleeping Beauty (a.k.a. Door of the Cosmos) / alternate
  
• 1979 - The Other Side of the Sun / FLAC alternate
  
• 1980 - On Jupiter (a.k.a. Seductive Fantasy) / alternate
  
• 1980 - Sunrise in Different Dimensions / FLAC alternate
  
• 1980 - Voice of the Eternal Tomorrow (a.k.a.The Rose Hue Mansions of the Sun)
• 1981 - Aurora Borealis (a.k.a. Ra Rachmaninov)
• 1981 - Beyond The Purple Star Zone (a.k.a. Immortal Being)
• 1981 - Dance of Innocent Passion
• 1981 - Of Mythic Worlds
• 1982 - Oblique Parallax (a.k.a. Journey Stars Beyond)
• 1982 - Strange Celestial Road
• 1983 - Just Friends
• 1983 - Ra to the Rescue
• 1983 - The Sun Ra Arkestra Meets Salah Ragab in Egypt / alternate / alternate
  
• 1984 - A Fireside Chat With Lucifer
• 1984 - Celestial Love
• 1984 - Live at Praxis '84, Volume I
• 1984 - Nuclear War / alternate / FLAC alternate
  
• 1985 - Cosmo Sun Connection
  
• 1985 - Hiroshima (a.k.a. Stars that Shine Darkly, Volume I)
• 1985 - Live at Praxis '84, Volume II
• 1985 - Outer Reach Intensity-Energy (a.k.a. Stars that Shine Darkly, Volume II)
• 1985 - When Spaceships Appear (a.k.a. Cosmo-Party Blues; Children of the Sun)
• 1986 - Live at Praxis '84, Volume III
• 1986 - Hours After / alternate
  
• 1986 - John Cage Meets Sun Ra / alternate
  
• 1987 - A Night in East Berlin / My Brothers the Wind and Sun No. 9 / alternate
  
• 1987 - Reflections in Blue - see comments there for new link
  
• 1988 - Cosmo Omnibus Imaginable Illusion: Live at Pit-Inn, Shinjuku, Tokyo
  
• 1988 - Hidden Fire I / alternate
  
• 1988 - Hidden Fire II
• 1988 - Love in Outer Space: Live in Utrecht / alternate
  
• 1989 - Blue Delight / alternate
  
• 1989 - Purple Knight /alternate
  
• 1989 - Out There a Minute (compiled unreleased 60s recordings) / alternate / alternate
  
• 1990 - Live in London
  
• 1992 - Mayan Temples /alternate / FLAC alternate
  
• 1992 - Destination Unknown (FLAC / MP3)
  
• 1993 - At the Village Vanguard / alternate / alternate
  
• 1993 - Concert for the Comet Kohoutek (ESP)
  
• 1993 - Friendly Galaxy
  
• 1993 - Pleiades
• 1993 - A Tribute To Stuff Smith
• 1993 - Somewhere Else (rec 88-89) / alternate
  

Posthumous Releases

• 1994 - A Quiet Place in the Universe
• 1994 - Live at the Hackney Empire (rec. 1990)
  
• 1994 - Live From Soundscape NYC
• 1994 - Live from Soundscape disc 2 : Sun Ra Interview
  
• 1995 - Second Star to the Right (Salute to Walt Disney) / alternate
  
• 1996 - Stardust From Tomorrow
• 1999 - Life Is Splendid (Ann Arbour Blues & Jazz Festival, rec. 1972)
  
• 1999 - Outer Space Employment Agency (rec 1972) / alternate
  
• 2000 - God's Private Eye
• 2000 - Standards
  
• 2002 - Music From Tomorrow's World (rec 1960) / alternate
  
• 2003 - Live in Paris at the Gibus (rec. 1973) FLAC/MP3 / alternateMP3
  
• 2003 - Piano Recital: Teatro La Fenice, Venezia
• 2005 - The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 3 - The Lost Tapes
• 2006 - What Planet Is This? (rec 1973) PART ONE - PART TWO or FLAC x 6
  
• 2006 - Live at Club Lingerie
• 2006 - Live at Myron's Ballroom
• 2006 - Springtime in Chicago (2 CD, FLAC) - rec 1978
  
• 2007 - Complete Detroit Jazz Center Residency (27 CDs, rec. 1980-81)
  
• 2007 - Creator of the Universe : The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 1
• 2007 - Intergalactic Research : The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 2 (rec 71-72)
• 2007 - The Shadows Took Shape : The Lost Reel Collection Vol. 3 image
  
• 2007 - Dance of the Living Image : The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 4 (rec 1974)
• 2007 - The Universe Sent Me : The Lost Reel Collection, Vol. 5 image
  

Two In One Albums

• 1963-67 - Angels and Demons at Play & 1966 - The Nubians of Plutonia (aka 'The Lady With the Golden Stockings')
• 1967_We Travel The Spaceways & 1972_Bad and Beautiful
• 1966 - Visits Planet Earth & 1965 - Rocket Number Nine Take off for the Planet Venus (a.k.a. Interstellar Low Ways)
• The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums: 1973_Cymbals & 1973_Crystal Spears
  

Live Bootlegs

• 1968 - Electric Circus, New York
  
• 1969 - Newport, Rhode Island
• 1970 - Paradiso, Amsterdam (October 18) - FLAC from Stu
• 1971 - Delft, Netherlands (FLAC) / alternate
  
• 1973 - Carnegie Hall (July 6) - FLAC from Stu
  
• 1975 - Live In Cleveland aka "Live at the Smiling Dog Saloon Cleveland" , WMMS broadcast.
  
• 1978 - Berkeley, CA
• 1978 - Sun Ra Arkestra WUHY fm Philly, Pa
  
• 1982 - Manchester
• 1982 - 'Sun Ra On Earth'
• 1982 - 'Sun Ra Live In Berlin'
• 1984 - 'Sun Rise In Egypt 1-3' FLAC
  
• 1984/85? - Sun Ra & the Outskirts of the Universe Ark @ The Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia - nice live version of "Nuclear War" - donated by Disco_3000
  
• 1987 - Santa Cruz
  
• 1991 - Binghamton, NY
• 2009 - Zurich, Switzerland (Arkestra under Marshall Allen)
• 2009 - Berlin, Germany - March 27
  

Singles

• Saturn ES 538B : Journey to Saturn / Enlightement (1970-74)
  
• Saturn 874 : October / Adventur In Space (1957-58, rel. 1967)
  
• Saturn 3066 : The bridge / Rocket Number Nine (1968)
• Sun Ra & The Cosmic Rays : 'Dreaming' / 'Daddy Don’t Tell Me No Lie' (1955)
• Quest / Outer Space Plateau (1982)
  

Compilations

• Greatest Hits : Easy Listening for Intergalactic Travel (FLAC)
• An Introduction to Sun Ra: An Ile Oxumare Compilation (1959-1988)
  
• "The Singles" (2 Cds) / FLAC alternate /alternate
  

Mixtapes

• DJ Blueprint : "Space music" (Sun Ra mix)
• Monohub's Sun Ra Mix - tracklist and info
• SquareRootof(-1) - Sun Ra mix at Blackclassical
  
• "The Sun Rises in the East" - really interesting experimental mix that mixes Sun Ra pieces with Strata-East artists and others, at Blackclassical
• "Calling Planet Earth" - One hour podcast of highlights from the 10 cd 'Live At The Horseshoe Tavern Toronto (1978)

Covers and Interpretations

• "Infected" - Sun Ra Covers & Inspirations
• I.H.C. Plays The Music Of Sun Ra vol. 1: Roma-Saturno-Roma (2009)
• Spaceways Incorporated - Thirteen Cosmic Standards by Sun Ra & Funkadelic (2000)
• Adventures On the Sun - The Music of Sun Ra (2009) - reinterpretations by instrumental hip hop producers / alternate link
  

Miscellaneous

• "Rockin with Sun Ra" - great post at 'The Hound Blog' that examines Sun Ra's 'rock n roll' collaborations and output, with downloadable MP3s
• "Shadows Of Tomorrow" - Madv*llain video with Ra samples & images
• Sun Ra & Don Cherry on New Visions TV Show 26.2.89, NY NY (7 mins of piano & trumpet)
  
• Sun Ra sings "I Don't Believe In Love" (1.59) included on art gallery CDR compilation "Eye and Ear". "Sun Ra checks in with an a cappella rejection of romance that sounds like it was sung into a cheap handheld cassette recorder. It’s really just a trifle, but it affirms his roots in cornball pre-WW II songcraft."
• Souvenir programme for the concert by Sun Ra and the Arkestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on November 9, 1970 - 16 page booklet.
• "A Space Warning to the Planet Earth" - magazine article by Sun Ra (scan)
  
  

Arkestra recordings without Sun Ra (post 1993)

• Alash and the Extra Special Terrestrial Guests (Sun Ra Arkestra) @ The Rotunda, Philadelphia, 18 June 2007 & 29 January 2008
• "A Song for the Sun" - Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen / FLAC alternate
• "Hymn to the Universe" (2008) - Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen
  

Audio Interviews

• 1982 - Interview with Sun Ra by Bob Caylo recorded in an alley outside the Bluebird, Bloomington, Indiana. (Donated by Stu)
• 1990 - Interview with Sun Ra (129 mins, mp4)
  

Video

"Brother From Another Planet : The Sun Ra Story"
(2005, BBC documentary, 1.9.GB)
- text search "BBC" on the page.

"Space Is The Place"
(1972, released in 1974, 81 mins).

"Sun Ra - A Joyful Noise"
Documentary film by Robert Mugge (1980)

"Live in West Berlin" (1983)

from Transparency DVD 0171
"Sun Ra Volume Two: Sun Ra Arkestra East and West Berlin"


Resources & Selected Biographies

• Companion guide to this thread by Jon-A
  
• Sun Ra at Biography Base
• Sun Ra Biography at Wikipedia
• The Cosmic-Myth Equations of Sun Ra by David A. Martinelli
• Sun Ra Discography by Robert Campbell
• Sun Ra Discography at RateYourMusic
• The Sun Ra Quilt of joy! (pics)
• The Sun Ra Picture Archive
  
• The Sun Ra Arkive - good info blog

Some notable sources & links :

Post set up self-science and maintained by Simon. Big thanks to : Mr. Moo; stu; guijira; arkadin; free défendu; ish; drhotte, sawanotsuru, Disco_3000, reza, Jon-A, free bones, pathways to unknown worlds, filbert and trane rider at CIA. Also thanks to everyone who has contributed and offered advice; and all of the blogs linked to here.