The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume Two is a 1965 recording by the jazz musician Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra. Where Volume One of the Heliocentric Worlds series had predominantly featured short abstract pieces, Volume Two features longer pieces[4] performed by a smaller group,[5] making it closer in spirit to the contemporaneous The Magic City, released on Ra's own Saturn label. The record has been widely bootlegged, some versions of which were retitled The Sun Myth.[6]
| The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume Two | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra | ||||
| Released | 1966 | |||
| Recorded | November 16, 1965 | |||
| Genre | Free jazz | |||
| Length | 36:45 | |||
| Label | ESP-Disk | |||
| Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [3] |
The album was re-released on CD by ZYX-Music (ESP 1017–2) in the 1990s.
The songs
edit"The Sun Myth" is constructed around the intertwining of Ronnie Boykins's bowed bass and Ra's electronic keyboard. These predominantly low sounds contrast sharply with the interlude commentaries from the other Arkestra members. A rare alternative version – also on ESP, and with the same catalogue number – overlays African singing at the beginning and end of the piece.[6]
"A House of Beauty" is a feature for piccolo, keyboards and bowed bass, which transforms into a piano and plucked bass duet.
"Cosmic Chaos" is an example of the apparently free but actually conducted blowing for which the Arkestra would become known over the following decades.
The sleeve design
editThe sleeve, designed by Paul Frick, features a German astronomical chart of the solar system. Beneath it, Frick has placed Sun Ra within a pantheon of astronomers and scientists including Tycho Brahe, Leonardo da Vinci, Copernicus, Galileo and Pythagoras.[7]
Track listing
edit12" vinyl
editAll songs by Sun Ra
Side A:
- "The Sun Myth" - (17:20)
Side B:
- "A House of Beauty" - (5:10)
- "Cosmic Chaos" - (14:15)
Recorded November 16, 1965 at Studio RLA, New York.[7]
Personnel
edit- Sun Ra - piano, tuned bongos and clavioline
- Marshall Allen - alto saxophone, piccolo, flute
- Pat Patrick - baritone saxophone
- Walter Miller - trumpet
- John Gilmore - tenor saxophone
- Robert Cummings - bass clarinet
- Ronnie Boykins - bass
- Roger Blank - percussion
- Richard L. Alderson - Engineer
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 186. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 1357. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ Jost, Ekkehard (1975). Studies in Jazz Research: Free Jazz. Universal Edition. pp. 187–189. ISBN 3-7024-0013-3.
- ^ Butters, Rex (4 September 2005). "CD/LP/Track Review: Sun Ra: Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 1 & 2". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ a b "R Campbell's Sun Ra discography". www.uab.edu. Archived from the original on 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ a b Sleeve notes, ESP-Disk 1017