This Song Can Change Your Life

Our Friday-night Dreaming of the Masters series got bumped last night for our review of the Man Man show at Terminal West the night before.  Besides, trying to re-brand Old School Saturdays as Fallback Fridays was an obvious contrivance, so herein we're starting a new tradition, Sun Ra Saturdays.

What better place to start than Discipline 27-II, possibly the most concise and explicit exposition of Sun Ra's philosophy and outlook ever recorded? Beginning with the gently swaying theme introduced at the start of the composition to the mesmerizing, long call-and-response performance by Sun Ra and his singers, notably the criminally under-recognized June Tyson, the song creates an almost hypnotic effect over its 24 minutes. 

If you ever wondered what "the deal" was with Sun Ra and his cult-like legions of followers, this song is it.  We're totally sincere when we say that if you give it a chance, this song can literally change your life.

Sun Ra and the Arkestra employ koan-like aphorisms such as "I gave up everything I never had" and "You're on the other side of the end of time" in an attempt to explain what can't properly be put into words.  To be sure, there are a lot of words in this piece, but you have to be hear the Arkestra articulate them to understand what's revealed in this song, all the profound cosmic truths and existential insights.  The closing section, which encourages us to transcend the ego by laughing at ourselves, has a particularly Zen-like quality and brings the composition to a joyous end as everyone in the Arkestra literally breaks down laughing.

Interestingly, the famous Sun Ra maxim, "At first there was nothing, and then nothing turned itself inside out and became something," is not heard in this version of Disciple 27-II, although it is stated in some live recordings of  the piece.  

Discipline 27-II was recorded in October 1972 during the same Chicago sessions that produced Sun Ra's legendary Space Is the Place LP.  The recordings featured the largest Arkestra line-up ever recorded in a studio, featuring Sun Ra on keyboards and vocal dramatizations, and the "space ethnic voices" of June Tyson, Ruth Wright, Cheryl Banks, and Judith Holton. 

The sizable reed section consisted of John Gilmore (tenor sax), Marshall Allen (alto sax and flute), Danny Davis (alto sax, flute and alto clarinet), Larry Northington (alto sax), Pat Patrick (tenor sax, baritone sax, flute and electric bass), Danny Ray Thompson (baritone sax, flute, and something called a libflecto), and Eloe Omoe (bass clarinet and flute). 

The brass instruments were by Akh Tal Ebah (trumpet, flugelhorn, and a mellophone equipped with a contrabassoon reed) and Kwame Hadi (trumpet). 

Drums and percussion were provided by Lex Humphries, Aye Aton, Harry Richards, Alzo Wright, Atakatune, Russell Branch and almost everyone else in the band.

We know that asking for 24 minutes is a lot of time for just one thing in these short-attention-span days, but we promise that if you give this piece your full attention, you will not only be entertained but more than rewarded.