SUN RA

Resonance Records proudly presents Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank, a blazing set of previously unissued 1978 concert recordings by Sun Ra and his Myth Science Cosmo Swing Arkestra, as a limited two-LP set for RSD Black Friday, November 29.Co-produced by Zev Feldman and Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson (who also played drums on the ’78 concert), the newly unearthed live session is an exciting successor to Sun Ra at the Showcase: Live in Chicago, another archival find that Feldman issued on his Jazz Detective imprint for Record Store Day this April. The new collection will also be released as a two-CD set on December 6. Prophetic avant gardist Sun Ra’s big band is heard in blistering form — playing repertoire ranging from space age jazz to interpretations of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and jazz standards by Fletcher Henderson, Miles Davis, and Tadd Dameron — on a dynamic 12-track set recorded at a show mounted by the Left Bank Jazz Society at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 23, 1978. Those recordings are augmented by two tracks captured at the concert and featured in the classic 1980 film Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise by the acclaimed music filmmaker Robert Mugge, who also provided images for the new package. The deluxe Resonance packages include an essay by noted jazz critic J.D. Considine (who attended the ’78 show); reminiscences from Anderson, Mugge, Left Bank member John Fowler, critic Dan Morgenstern, and Arkestra veteran and latter-day bandleader Marshall Allen; and thoughts on Sun Ra’s artistry from musicians Gary Bartz and Craig Taborn.

SIDE 1
01 - BAND INTRO - THUNDER OF DRUMS - 4:27
02 - TAPESTRY FROM AN ASTEROID - 12:52
03 - SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW (HAROLD ARLEN) – 2:59
04 - A PLEASANT PLACE IN SPACE - 4:26

SIDE 2
01 - SPACE TRAVELIN' BLUES - 5:56
02 - YEAH MAN (FLETCHER HENDERSON) - 2:36
03 - BIG JOHN SPECIAL (HORACE HENDERSON) - 3:09
04 - LIGHTS ON A SATELLITE - 4:47
05 - LADY BIRD (TADD DAMERON) - 5:52

SIDE 3
01 - COCKTAILS FOR TWO (ARTHUR JOHNSTON & SAM COSLOW) - 4:26
02 - WATUSI - 11:23
03 - THEY PLAN TO LEAVE - 9:09

SIDE 4
01 - IMAGES IN A MIRROR - 4:08
02 - WE TRAVEL THE SPACEWAYS – 7:28
03 - BLUES PIANO JOINT - 6:05*
04 - 'ROUND MIDNIGHT - 5:53* (THELONIOUS MONK)
*Bonus tracks from Robert Mugge’s film, Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise