February 1 street date. Repress, originally released in 2000. Surprise reissue of the most infamous and difficult to procure Sun Ra artifact; originally issued on Amiri Baraka (then LeRoi Jones)'s Jihad label (home of the original Sunny's Time Now by Sunny Murray as well). This is the first release on the DC-based Sonboy label officially sanctioned by Baraka (and mastered from the original tapes that have been sitting in his basement all along). Other unreleased sessions from the Jihad library of tapes are still rumored to follow this release. Originally issued in 1968, "A Black Mass" was personally distributed by Baraka via a network of radical Black literature bookstores and was not commonly found in the channels that records of the time moved in. As a result, it has enjoyed a mystical status for the better part of its 30+ year existence, and many hard-core Ra completists have never seen a copy.
January 13 street date. Fredfades & Sun Raw are keeping alive the gritty, analogue sound with 12-bit drums and loops but with their own unique style. Fred has been working with KingUnderground for the last 3 years and has a flock of releases. Sun Raw from Stockholm, Sweden is new to the crew but about to drop his debut “Beat Weeks”. The duo are both part of Mutual Intentions crew and find inspiration from old music, from Jazz, funk, soul, rock and anything they find in the crates.
September 13 street date. Detroit's Mike Huckaby returns on Kindred Spirits with the second volume of Sun Ra edits. Renowned for his DJ sets, edits and productions, he was the perfect choice for reworking highlights of the Sun Ra catalog. The A-side features "Friendly Galaxy" and the flip contains a beautiful stretchedout version of the classic cut "Space Is The Place,"
accompanied by "To Nature's God" from Nidhamu/Dark Mythic Equation, originally released on Art Yard records. Includes exclusive artwork by Stephen Serrato and a silkscreen printed plastic insert.
Available now. 2015 repress -- 50 Anniversary edition on Esperanto green colored vinyl; #'d edition of 1000 copies. The astonishing sessions that went light years beyond "free jazz" improvisation to create a music of deeply felt, explosive and gentle gesture made from sound itself without reference to previous notions of melody or harmony are now reissued on 180 gram vinyl with Sun Ra's original, self-created cover art. Recorded by Richard Alderson on April 20, 1965, this set of tunes finds Sun Ra breaking ground by using synthesizers and having the Arkestra musicians double on percussion. Remastered on 180 gram vinyl.
Available now. 2015 repress -- 50 Anniversary edition on "Esperanto Green" colored vinyl; #'d edition of 1000 copies. Volume two of Sun Ra's classic Heliocentric recordings from the 1960s. The astonishing sessions that went light years beyond "free jazz" improvisation to create a music of deeply-felt, explosive and gentle gesture made from sound itself without reference to previous notions of melody or harmony are now reissued on 180 gram vinyl with Sun Ra's original, self-created cover art. Recorded by Richard Alderson on April 20, 1965, this set of tunes finds Sun Ra breaking ground by using synthesizers and having the Arkestra musicians double on percussion. More explorations of outer space by the spokesman for the space age. Manufactured in the U.S. by the original label. Digitally re-mastered.
November 12 street date. Three tracks taken from Sun Ra's "Cosmo Earth Fantasy" album. The A-side features an amazing track filled with African rhythms and percussion called "The World of Africa," followed by "Love Is Always," a beautiful downtempo jazz composition. The B-side contains a wild version of "Space Is the Place," full of chanting and free improvisation.
Excl. - CD1: The Les Brown Era * Aren’t You Glad You’re You * Barbara Allen * Made My Up My Mind * While The Music Plays On * Dig It * My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time * He’s Home For A Little While * T’aint Me * A Red Kiss On A Blue Letter * I’ll Always Be With You * He’ll Have To Cross The Atlantic * The Last Time I Saw You * Come To Baby Do * We’ll Be Together Again * Sentimental Journey * You Wont Be Satisfied * Day By Day * In The Moon Mist * There’s Good Blues Tonight * My Number One Dream Came True * I Got The Sun In The Morning * Sooner Or Later * The Whole World Is Singing My Song * You Should Have Told Me. CD2: Going Solo * It’s Magic * My Young And Foolish Heart * Just An Old Love Of Mine * It Takes Time * I’m Still Standing Under The Apple Tree * Pete * A Chocolate Sundae On A Saturday Night * Why Should We Both Be Lonely * Tell Me Dream Face * Just Imagine * Say Something Nice About Me Baby * Pretty Baby * Papa Wont You Dance With Me * Imagination * That’s The Way He Does It * Love Somebody * I’ve Only Myself To Blame * Put ‘Em In A Box Tie ‘Em Up With Ribbon * Thoughtless * It’s A Quiet Town * Confess * It’s The Sentimental Thing To Do * I’m In Love * It’s You Or No One * I’ll String Along With You
Available now. One of three new volumes of incantations by Sun Ra and his cohorts, sent to sparse music backdrops, 1957-1982. Unknown, unhinged, unheard recordings from the mystic mind of Sun Ra. This recently unearthed and meticulously restored series compliments Norton's previous trio of early Sun Ra rarities.
Available now. One of three new volumes of incantations by Sun Ra and his cohorts, sent to sparse music backdrops, 1957-1982. Unknown, unhinged, unheard recordings from the mystic mind of Sun Ra. This recently unearthed and meticulously restored series compliments Norton's previous trio of early Sun Ra rarities.
April 21 street date. RECORD STORE DAY RELEASE. Unearthed Sun Ra Double Live lp from Portland, OR (10/28/88) with concert poster. Never before released concert sourced from the original master tapes of the audiophile recording engineer. Approved and sanctioned by Sun Ra Estate. Mixed by Drew Canulette (Nirvana, Neil Young). Pressed at RTI - Audiophile pressing.
April 21 street date. Sun Ra, the extraordinary, outlandish, and sometimes controversial pianist, is often described as an "acquired taste?, with a massive and diverse catalog. This release is a good place to start for uninitiated or dismissive listeners. The album showcases Ra?s grounding in the jazz tradition, with unique takes on standards like "Time After Time," "Easy to Love," and "But Not for Me?. Not unordinary for Sun Ra, the recording process was informal; "Can This Be Love?" was recorded in his Chicago apartment in 1955; he is accompanied only by the great Wilbur Ware on bass. The other five tracks, which feature, among others, Ra's longtime associate John Gilmore on tenor saxophone, were recorded at the Choreographer's Workshop rehearsal space in 1962 and 1963. The album is finally receiving its first ever vinyl release with a psychedelic swirl color pressing, exclusively for Record Store Day 2018.
November 23 street date. Intended for release in 1975 by ABC/Impulse!, Crystal Spears was ultimately rejected by the label, perhaps the new group of execs just didnt hear what was going on on these recordings. Certainly for the uninitiated, this is not jazz as they know it but unbridled cacophony...or is it? Modern Harmonic presents the first legitimate LP release of Crystal Spears, pressed on colored vinyl and with liner notes by Ra-ficionado Brother Cleve!
September 1 street date. In classic Sun Ra fashion Angels And Demons At Play collects recordings made 4 years apart (1956 and 1960) but still sounds like a perfect, cohesive album. That's the beauty of the Arkestra, though it lasted decades and featured dozens of different musicians, Sun Ra's unique vision maintained a free-form order that unified all the various incarnations and countless recordings into a whole. Featuring Arkestra mainstays like Pat Patrick, Marshall Allen, Ronnie Boykins, and John Gilmore, Angels And Demons At Play features mostly shorter tracks, in a swinging and dark mood that exemplified Ra's late 50s work. Reissued on 180 gram LP with download card.
August 10 street date. Two related classic Saturn LP reissues on a single CD, both recorded at the Detroit Jazz Centre - in 1980 and 1981 respectively. They share an excellent sound quality and great playing – there’s a classic version of Rocket No.9 and plenty of otherworldly Moog and electronic keyboards - up there with Ra’s best on record. Rocket excepted, all the pieces are original to these LPs and don’t appear elsewhere, though the first track of Purple Star Zone is heard again at the end, with another name (exactly as it was on the 2 LPs), so it was clearly much liked by the boss. These were 10 -14 piece bands, featuring the regulars, including June Tyson, and some visiting guests. The first LP features prominent electric guitar. A fine release, touched with greatness. And with a good sound. Comes in the usual elaborate gatefold digipack covers for which the Artyard label is justly praised.
July 15 street date. Herman Poole Blount, better known to the world as Sun Ra, lived more musical lives in his 79 years on this planet (and others) than seems possible. In the 30s he was the most rigorous bandleader in Birmingham, heading the Sonny Blount Orchestra and filling every waking moment with music or philosophical discussions, by the 40s he had moved to Chicago and performed with luminaries such as Wynonie Harris, Fletcher Henderson, and Coleman Hawkins. By the 50s he had changed his name to Sun Ra and began performing with longtime Arkestra bandmates John Gilmore and Marshall Allen. By the 1960s, Sun Ra's vision of spiritual free jazz was fully formed. This collection features unreleased tracks from Sun Ra's Arkestra from 1963, focuses heavily on the masterful tenor saxophone of John Gilmore.
April 18 street date. RSD 2015 release. Recorded at Tivoli Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Dec. 5, 1971, Calling Planet Earth captures Sun Ra in his prime. This marks the album’s first-ever vinyl release with a psychedelic color swirl pressing, which perfectly matches the disc’s far-out material. There will be 2,000 copies available worldwide.
This recording is from a concert recorded in the mid 1970s. Includes a Sun Ra poem (recited by June Tyson) that has been unheard or seen until this release.
October 20 street date. Corbett Vs. Dempsey present a reissue of Sun Ra Discipline 27-II, originally released in 1973. Recorded during the same sessions in 1972 at Chicago's Streeterville Studios that produced Ra's most popular and best-known record, Space Is The Place (1973). Sporting a percussion-rich 18-piece Arkestra, the music can be thick, voluble, and dense or it can winnow down to a small group. This marks the first time Discipline 27-II has been reissued on CD. Includes an explosive bonus track from the same session.
May 18 street date. God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be is something of a rarity in the Sun Ra catalog—a cohesive album with none of the stylistic eclecticism and musical chair shifting many of the artist’s self-released LPs were known for. Recorded at Variety Studios one day in 1979, the album’s five tracks comprise a solid jazz trio set. God is More Than Love … is the only complete piano-bass- drums studio session in the massive Sun Ra catalog. The album offers an intense set of cosmic vagabond moods, reflecting the telepathy that is the essence of small combo jazz. Other than an overdubbed second piano on Days of Happiness the five works were spontaneously generated and forever fixed: none of the titles recur in the encyclopedic Ra discography. Originally released on Saturn in several small press runs under the alternate title “Days of Happiness” between 1979 and 1981, fully realized artwork was never established and the album never got much circulation, thus it has remained a largely overlooked session in the Ra omniverse. Nearly 40 years later, the record is long overdue for acclaim on it’s second time around. Newly remastered edition on CD and LP (with tip-on style jackets/ RTI vinyl)
Nov. 10 street date. Norton recently took a rocket ride into the vaults of El Saturn Research and arrived back on Earth with a motherlode of unissued early R&B, doo wop, soul and general weirdness featuring Sun Ra and his Arkestra backing a variety of artists. This series consists of two albums of "Doo Wop from Saturn and Beyond". Volume 1 is entitled 'Interplanetary Melodies'.
Available now. (new black vinyl version, previously released on colour vinyl for 2017RSD) Janus is a compilation of rare material from the Sun Ra Arkestra, drawing from tapes recorded between 1963 and 1970, taken from both live and studio performances. The space-age jazz shaman conjures up a variety of styles and moods along the way. Remastered, and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl.
July 26 street date. Recorded in March 6, 1959 at El Saturn Studio in Chicago, "Jazz In Silhouette" is considered to be one of Sun Ra's best albums from his Chicago period before veering off into "full-fledged explorations into the avant-grade" that characterises the recordings made in New York. An overlooked masterpiece.
March 1 street date. Master quality French television broadcast from 1972, 31 minutes total. This black and white portrait of the Arkestra is startlingly beautiful, and is possibly the single finest film of the band ever seen. This even surpasses "Space Is The Place" in its details of how this tribe conjures the purest magic of costumes, percussion and joyous science fiction truth. Recorded on a momentary stop in France (Jan.8, 1972) on their way back to Oakland after the Autumn/Winter 1971 European and Egypt tours, this flawless video recording has never been seen by even the most hardcore Sun Ra collectors and discographers.
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