The Listening Guide
🎶 The listening guide: five albums, released during the past twelve months, chosen around a weekly theme 🎶
The ‘Cosmic-myth equations’ behind keyboardist, composer, and bandleader Sun Ra’s enormous and eclectic body of work, make the late artist one of the most intriguing visionaries in all of music. His legacy undeniably lives on: through the Arkestra he once led — now helmed by the indomitable Marshall Allen — the artists influenced by first-hand experiences of his performances, such as Idris Ackamoor, and a still-expanding archive of recorded material, which continues to have an influence upon contemporary artists. This week, we highlight five albums that attest to the on-going influence of Sun Ra’s music, poetry, and equations.
Astral Travel – If You Say You Are From This Planet, Why Do You Treat It Like You Do?
Planet Battagon – Trans-Neptunia
Album of the Week
Our NQ Jazz Album of the Week is the new LP from Josephine Davies-led trio, Satori. Featuring Davies on tenor and soprano saxophones, James Maddren on drums, and Dave Whitford on double bass, How Can We Wake? features compositions inspired by the writings of the Indian sage Patanjali. Check out the record on Bandcamp!
Classic Album
On what would’ve been the drummer and bandleader’s 101st birthday, we tip our cap to the great Art Blakey, selecting one of his many hard bop classics for Blue Note Records. The Freedom Rider features two compositions from the pen of band members Lee Morgan and Wayne Shorter respectively, plus the title track of Blakey’s creation: seven-and-a-half minutes of skilful and ferocious solo drumming.