Sun Ra And His Astro Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra

Corbett Vs. Dempsey present a reissue of Sun Ra Discipline 27-II, originally released on El Saturn Records in 1973. Arguably the last great original-era Saturn LP to be reissued on CD, Discipline 27-II has long deserved to be more familiar to Sun Ra fans and layfolk alike. 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), it’s got much the same vibe, from the 24-minute four-part suite of the title track — an important conducted piece that Ra performed frequently in these years — to the opening cut, “Pan Afro”, with John Gilmore’s sensational tenor work. Sporting a percussion-rich 18-piece Arkestra, the music can be thick, voluble, and dense or it can winnow down to a small group, as on the delightful track “Neptune”, a vehicle for June Tyson’s singing and the site of the indelible Sun Ra space chant: “Have you heard the latest news from Neptune, Neptune, Neptune?” This marks the first time Discipline 27-II has been reissued on CD. It has been remastered from the original tapes, includes a never published period photo of Ra by Charles Shabacon, and ends with an explosive bonus track from the same session, showing quite a different side of the same ensemble.

Personnel: Sun Ra – electronic keyboard space age instruments, Moog synthesizer, vocals; John Gilmore – tenor saxophone, percussion, vocals; Marshall Allen – alto saxophone, flute; Danny Davis – alto saxophone, flute; Pat Patrick – baritone saxophone, bass; Danny Thompson – baritone saxophone, flute; Eloe Omoe – bass clarinet, flute; Akh Tal Ebah – trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals; Lamont Kwamie McClamb – trumpet, percussion; Russell Branch – percussion, congas; Stanley Morgan – percussion, congas; with Alzo Wright, Harry Richards, Lex Humphries, Robert Underwood on drums and vocals by June Tyson, Cheryl Banks, Judith Holton, and Ruth Wright. Cover art by LeRoy Butler; cover design by Alton Abraham. Recorded by Ed Michel at Streeterville Studios, Chicago, October, 1972; LP produced by Alton Abraham for Infinity Inc.