Arkestra!

June 19, 2010 6:54 AM

If I like Rahsaan Roland Kirk's Rip Rag and Panic, what Sun Ra album will I like?

Also, what other artist's, beside Cecil Taylor, would I like? I already have Bitch's Brew and am familiar with most of miles' ouevre. I'm thinking like Ornette Coleman or anybody with the same wacky alien mindset as Sun Ra. I don't want to go into John Zorn-ish territory though and I'd like to stay contemporary to Sun.

posted by spicynuts to media & arts (9 answers total)

People have gotten lost in Sun Ra´s vast discography and never returned, but based on what you´ve written here, I´m going to suggest as starters:

Reflections In Blue (Black Saint, 1987)
Sound of Joy (Delmark, 1968)
Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy (Saturn, 1967; reissue: Evidence, 1992)
Nothing Is (ESP, 1970)
posted by HP LaserJet P10006 at 7:12 AM on June 19, 2010

Other artists:

John Coltrane's Ascension
Albert Ayler
Steve Reid
They're contemporary, but I think the Exploding Star Orchestra would be a good fit.
posted by hydrophonic at 7:44 AM on June 19, 2010

Since you mention the wacky-alien-mindset part, how about Moondog?
posted by box at 7:52 AM on June 19, 2010

I imagine you already know Monk and Mingus and Coltrane, and you've already looked up Taylor and Coleman's collaborators (e.g. Sunny Murray, William Parker, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden) and Miles' other electric albums (I like On the Corner, but also Pangaea or Agharta).

You might like some of the associations, like the AACM and Human Arts Ensemble, and a lot of the loft-jazz scene.

What are your favorite Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman albums?

(I like a lot of the people you mention, but I'm not exactly clear on what you're looking for--the wacky alien mindset is unique, and 'contemporary to Sun Ra' covers most of the history of jazz. If you could elaborate more, it might be possible to give better suggestions.)
posted by box at 8:05 AM on June 19, 2010

Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch. Oliver Nelson's the Blues and the Abstract Truth.
posted by creasy boy at 12:47 PM on June 19, 2010

if you like cecil taylor, you might like marilyn crispell
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 2:53 PM on June 19, 2010

I really like "The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra". Nice, tight charts with great horn arrangements. Not a contemporary of Ra but you might like the Vandermark 5s
"Free Jazz Classics, Vol.3&4". Vol.4 is all Kirk songs.

http://www.amazon.com/Free-Jazz-Classics-Vol-Vandermark/dp/B000EPFCGI/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1276987582&sr=1-13
posted by Zebtron at 3:54 PM on June 19, 2010

Well I actually don't like Cecil Taylor so that's why I excluded him. I guess what I'm looking for is that sweet spot between Coltrane and miles' bitches brew with some wacked out philosophy behind it like Sun Ra. I don't want to get into fusion like Mahavishnu though. I guess my main question as about sun ra albums.
posted by spicynuts at 4:27 PM on June 19, 2010

Any of these compilations might provide some jumping-off points.
posted by box at 7:14 PM on June 19, 2010