Record Store Day
Saturday 23rd April 2022
Originally recorded to celebrate the 100th birthday of cult jazz bandleader
Sun Ra and the 90th birthday of leader Marshall Allen, this is the first time
‘Babylon’ has been available on vinyl. It includes one bonus tracks
not on the CD version.
Each copy is signed by the legendary 97 year old maestro Marshall Allen. Legendary pianist and bandleader Sun Ra departed from this Earth in Double 180g
vinyl, gatefold sleeve, hand signed and hand numbered, limited to 1999 copies
worldwide.
Legendary pianist and bandleader Sun Ra departed from this Earth in 1993 but
his cosmic legacy lives on via this excellent live set featuring his Arkestra recorded at the Babylon Club, Istanbul in May 2014. Now directed by alto saxophonist
/ flautist Marshall Allen, the music reflects the imperturbable spirit of freedom
and creativity of a band which has existed for some six decades.
Also on board for this particular astral journey are long established members
of the Arkestra crew including Vincent Chancey (French horn), Knoel Scott (alto
saxophone), Elson Nascimento (percussion) together with relative newcomers
Tara Middleton (vocals & violin) and Farid Barron, the first to occupy the pianists chair since Sun Ra’s passing.
As with all Arkestra performances the music is a beguiling mix of inter-planetary (free) flights of fancy and more conventional pieces such as “Stardust”,
an appropriately titled standard, and the Ra penned “Saturn”, a fixture in the
bands book since the mid -1950’s.
LP 1: Astro Black / RA #2 / Saturn / Discipline 27B / Stardust
LP 2: Care Free #2 / Sometimes I’m Happy / Dancing Shadows / Satellites Are
Spinning