In his biography Space Is the Place, documenting the life, times and boundless dreams of Arkestra leader Sun Ra, John F Szwed described Ra’s vivid presence amid “a cockpit of electronics” at the heart of his uniquely theatrical band on a college gig in the 1960s: “Sun Ra was in the house,” Szwed wrote, “and in his universe.” That universe was a unique merger of 1930s big-band swing, bebop, free-jazz, prototypical electronics, Afro-futurism, sci-fi, Egyptology and more. His legacy rolls on, almost three decades after his departure from the planet he believed he was only briefly visiting from his real home on Saturn.
Sun Ra’s saxophonist Marshall Allen, now 98, has kept the Arkestra on the road for fans old and new ever since. Living Sky is tranquil compared with much of the band’s dramatic past, but it’s still fuelled by sounds coming together and separating in congregations of spontaneous harmony. An Afro-Latin adaptation of Chopin’s Prelude in A Major mixes mellifluous horn sounds with the still-fiery Allen’s abrasive wails and yelps on alto sax; the exhilaratingly slow-walking Marshall’s Groove is a classically riffy Arkestra contrapuntal melee, while Day of the Living Sky contrasts sharp-plucked kora sounds with luminous flute lines. The classic Wish Upon a Star pitches microtonal alto-sax squalls against the quiet sighs of the other reeds. Living Sky is a fine tribute by the indefatigable Allen to his mentor’s methods, and a remarkable late-life affirmation of his own.
Also out this month
Once Around the Room – A Tribute to Paul Motian (ECM) is a variously raw and delicate balance of collective improvisation, quirky themes and haunting harmonies recorded by an A-list septet including three bassists and two drummers, in celebration of Motian’s legacy as a great percussionist/composer. Co-led by Danish guitarist Jakob Bro and American saxophonist Joe Lovano (both former Motian partners), the tracklist features two Lovano and two Bro originals, and Motian’s own scurrying, spacey Drum Music. Shortlived Jamaican saxophone legend Joe Harriott is in his most spiritedly headlong hard-bop mood on The Joe Harriott Quintet Swings High (Cadillac), a devotedly remastered late 60s session featuring the era’s most exciting bebop drummer, Phil Seamen, and a classic that confirms just why Harriott continues to be so revered by UK saxophonists (Courtney Pine and Soweto Kinch, among many) today. And at the sharp end of abstract improv, restlessly skilful Slovenian pianist Kaja Draksler and Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva share four dreamy, brittle, and often thrillingly cliffhanging extended improvisations on Grow (Intakt).
