Sun Ra was outrageous and out there, but his brand of jazz was special. The composer, bandleader, pianist and synthesizer player was both philosophical and comical. He also was cosmic and down to earth. Jazz fans know Sun Ra means business, despite all of his mysticism and eclecticism. The spelling of his band, The Arkestra, says it all. [Photo above: the cover of the new album Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC]
Any in-depth listen to Sun Ra's music makes you realize he occupies a metaphysical space built by Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Sun Ra not only was avant-garde but also a mash of multiple jazz styles, from ragtime to bebop and free jazz.
Now, Strut Records has released Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC, which stood for Outer Space Visual Communicator. The tracks were recorded on August 25, 1986, at Mission Control studios in Westford, Mass., and were originally spontaneous and never intended for a formal album release. Yet the recent discovery of the tapes and their transfers have yielded astonishing music and one of Sun Ra's finest releases.
According to the liner notes, the OVC was a keyboard instrument that cast kaleidoscopic, multi-colored patterns onto a screen suspended above performers on stage (photos above and below). It was developed by technological innovator and rocket scientist Bill Sebastian during the mid-1970s. In essence, a keyboard-driven light show.
Sebastian and Irwin Chusid, who is the administrator of the Sun Ra catalogue, took on the task of cobbling together and restoring the discovered session tapes recorded in 1986 and sourced from Sebastian's archives. Together with mix engineers Sean Slade and the late Brother Cleve, the tracks were pieced together and mixed between 2016 and 2017.
In the new album's liner notes, Sebastian writes that he watched Sun Ra's live show in the early 1970s:
I was living in the Fort Hill area of Roxbury, and one of my friends said, "Hey, you got to come down and check this out." I said, "What?" He said, "I can’t explain it. Just come." So, we went down, and I was blown away.
"I believe it was at Paul’s Mall (above)—a small jazz club in Boston. Sun Ra packed in the whole Arkestra, and it was the most amazing evening I’d ever experienced. I knew at that moment, "This is what I’ve got to do with the OVC." I was a spectator. I had nothing to offer him at that point. His music was embodying everything that I was trying to achieve with the OVC.
Released as a double LP in a triple gatefold sleeve and a single CD, the package includes extensive liner notes and an in-depth interview with Sebastian and images sourced from Sebastian's video footage.
The tracks:
- Calling Planet Earth
- Theme Of The Stargazers
- Love In Outer Space (dx7 interlude)
- Love In Outer Space
- Stardust From Tomorrow
- El Is A Sound Of Joy
- Sunset on the Nile (DX7 interlude)
- Sunset on the Nile
- East Of The Sun
- Saturn Rings
- Calling Planet Earth (Piano Interlude)
- Discipline 27-II
If you know nothing about Sun Ra and have been put off by his odd and theatrical get-ups, this is your album. It is a perfect entry point that blends beautiful music with Sun Ra's ingenious far-out touches. The sound is fantastic, and it's one of the most rewarding and finest releases of Sun Ra's music. A must own.
JazzWax tracks: You'll find Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC (Strut) here.
JazzWax clips: Here's Calling Planet Earth...
And here's Saturn Rings...
