MUSIC

Unusually even for an out-there progressive jazz musician, Sun Ra came from Saturn which gave him a completely unique take on this round place we call Earth. The Antique Blacks was his 1974-era album which has been out of print since 1978. It's rather more sprightly than some of his more abstract work with free-form noise, poetry readings and sax solo-ing all competing for space. Truly an originator.

Ted Curson (1935-2012), a renowned jazz trumpeter from Philadelphia, has performed with many legends including Cecil Taylor and Charles Mingus. His masterpiece leader work released in 1971 from Futura Records, a legendary French avant jazz and free music label, has been officially reissued! This album was recorded at Europasonor Studio on June 18, 1971 during a visit to Paris, and features Georges Arvanitas (piano), Jacky Samson (double bass), and Charles Saudrais (drums). A gem of an album that transcends the boundaries of classical, modal jazz, fusion and free jazz.

For a label that wasn't around long, Strata East achieved the same sort of label recognition that Impulse! or Blue Note managed to build. In other words, you knew what you were getting when you bought a record on the label, even if you didn't know the names on the outside of the cover. This is no exception. Who is Shamek Farrah? Who knows? Who cares? It's the music that's important. This is the standard spiritually intense new jazz one learns to expect from the label, soaked in some Eastern influences but always with its ear to the street. Musicians took their roles as leaders and spokesmen very seriously back then.

This very adult statement from a group of very serious men is no exception. However, what might be an average, forgettable session is rescued by the propulsive engine of Milton Suggs' bass. He adds the fire and the drive that keeps things interesting and prevents the music from wandering into a circular spiritual morass.

‘Fallen Gods’ is the third studio album by Rapoon aka Robin Storey, formerly of :zoviet*france:. Originally released in 1994, ‘Fallen Gods’ emerged amid a prolific early period for the Rapoon project, following in the wake of debut album ‘Dream Circle’ – originally released in 1992 – and second outing ‘Raising Earthly Spirits’, released a year later. Building on the haunting industrial ethers of ‘Dream Circle’ and the esoteric, rhythmic drone of ‘Raising Earthly Spirits’, ‘Fallen Gods’ consolidates many of the sounds and disciplines that had shaped Storey’s work up to this point, while indicating a newfound, concerted focus on classical Indian instrumentation. The results represent a synthesis of myriad ideas, rooted in the duality between modernity and mysticism. Throughout ‘Fallen Gods’ the reverberant pulse of Tabla-led percussion and the remote tones of what sounds like the Bulbul tarang (aka Indian banjo) resound and repeat in locked instrumental cycles, as vast, atmospheric shadows and echoes are unfurled. On ‘Sanctum’ Storey creates a mesmeric form of ceremonial indigenous music and with ‘Iron Path’ combines ramshackle, automotive percussion and distant zither-like emanations. Intensities are heightened with the title track, as Storey delivers a sidereal melee of barrelling drum sequences, gleaming ambient vapours, and stuttering glossolalia. In these opening exchanges, as with much of ‘Fallen Gods’, archaic modes of musical performance are uniquely reconstructed, as organic elements are subjected to inventive technological processes; primitivism made mechanical. Presenting a pure vista of celestial drone on ‘Breathing Gold’, the album resumes a hypnotic, scrupulous exploration of perpetual drum cadences, deep modulations of traditional instrumentation and prodigious ripples of spectral, otherworldly resonances on ‘Sataranum’ and ‘Sacrement’. Works of infinite circular rhythms. From here the unadorned ancient tones of ‘Khomat’ and the chasmal nomadic roots music of ‘Dusk Red Walls’ present a shift in momentum, a sense of pause and suspended reflection, before the ascendant finale of ‘Valley’, a coda of undulating keys, expansive FX, and condensed surges of sampled percussion. Altogether these compositions form a deeply arresting body of work that is arguably considered one of Storey’s finest works, a record that still sounds both completely original and remarkably timeless. An enigmatic landmark in Storey’s early solo output, ‘Fallen Gods’ sees the sound world of the Rapoon project reiterated, expanded and memorably enriched. Across nine tracks Storey weaves together indeterminate, sonorous currents of ambient and experimental electronics with magnetic, sprawling passages of acoustic instrumentation, creating a profound work of entrancing, ritualistic minimalism. Comparisons could be drawn with the panoramic soundscapes of Lustmord, the fourth world ambitions of Jon Hassell, the heavy outernational psychedelia of Psychick Warriors ov Gaia but really ‘Fallen Gods’ illustrates an artist establishing their own trajectory, a distinct indication that Storey had moved way beyond :zoviet*france:. into the flourishing territories and intricate sound environments of the Rapoon project. Limited edition of 500 copies. Remastered by Colin Potter (Nurse With Wound).

One year after the release of "Journey To The One", which was released after he moved to Theresa and showed a new brilliance, this album from 1981 is also undoubtedly a great album. The title track, "Rejoice", which makes all of jazz seem spiritual and colorful, and "Origin", with its light-hearted progression and haunting chorus, are all beautiful, bright songs that resonate honestly to us.

Saturday Night Special is certainly a contemporary jazz cult classic album if there ever was one. Merging the heart and soul of Detroit jazz and rhythm & blues while also tossing in a little Latin music, keyboardist Lyman Woodard was at the forefront of defining an instrumental identity for the Motor City on this recording. With top-notch guitarist Ron English, saxophonist Norma Jean Bell, drummer Leonard King, and percussionists Lorenzo Brown and Bud Spangler, Woodard provided solid, head-nodding groove music punctuated by heady, at times spacy jazz improvisation that set the standard for any rival or modern-day jam band. Although he became an organist exclusively, Woodard added Mellotron and electric piano to his arsenal for this date. The muddy production values diminish the overall quality of the sound, but the music itself is undeniably unique, and set apart from the CTI recordings or the fusion music Miles Davis was producing in this mid-'70s time period. The two-part title track is an industrial mythic anthem signifying a steadily streaming automobile production line within a slow, slinky melody via Woodard's various keyboards, flute, and handclaps, a chicken scratch synthesizer insert by the leader, followed by a funky electric bass solo and a jam. "Belle Isle Daze" and "Cheeba" are also dual part pieces, the former a light samba cum boogaloo with Woodard's organ and synth gliding alongside the guitar of English, the latter a straight Latin groove with Woodard's burning B-3 and the percussionists working out in Afro-Cuban fashion. The most beautiful track is "Joy Road," a soul ballad with sighing, serene synth and the lilting alto sax of Bell. King wrote the song of self-determination "Creative Musicians" in a choppy beat as he sings "keep on rollin' right along," while "Allen Barnes," a tribute to Detroit's enduring saxophonist , is a mix of Milestones meeting Jimmy Smith. English, an unsung hero of post-Kenny Burrell guitardom, penned and leads out on the melodies of the commercial tune "On Your Mind" and the more complex "Help Me Get Away," a complex, churning, jazz-oriented piece in 5/4 time that reflects the bop aesthetic of the '50s that brought so many Detroit musicians into prominence. Immediately after Woodard's death in 2009, the Wax Poetics label reissued this recording on limited-edition vinyl, made the tracks and unreleased material available for downloading, and reissued Saturday Night Special on CD. It's a testament not only to the vibrancy of the Detroit scene and what Woodard offered as one of the forefathers of the burgeoning fusion movement, but more importantly, it signifies how local Detroit musicians prevailed against adversity to keep their traditions very much alive and well. ~ Michael G. Nastos

In the endless ocean of Sun Ra recordings, Space Is The Place ranks among the very best but more importantly stands as the most immediately understandable of his records. This masterpiece touches flawlessly on elements of many of Ra's multiple phases and provides both a mission statement for and a gateway to his immaculate body of work. Originally released in 1973; Tip-on Gatefold Jacket; Original Artwork; Limited Transparent Blue Colored Vinyl.