Cymbals has finally landed… and brought a 2nd saucer with it!
Originally recorded for the Impulse! jazz label in ’73, Cymbals is paired with a 2nd disc of unheard material from the same sessions. Hear Ra’s Baroque soundscapes, electrolytic clusters and dithering Moogs catalyze images of monoliths, space stations, computers malfunctioning and galaxies imploding on two compact saucers, with liner notes by known Ra-fficianado Brother Cleve!
Making its debut here, the 2nd disc is culled from a mysterious tape recorded during the same time frame and with many of the same musicians (though no Ronnie Boykins; Ra provides keyboard bass). Could this be one of the unissued Impulse! LPs? Quite probable. The tape box only lists the song titles.
The 2nd disc opens with some “Space Age Cocktail Music” as only Sun Ra could conjure in his intergalactic lounge. Continuing the Sci-Fi film references, the first four tracks could well be post-last call cantina music from a galaxy far, far away. The final two tracks, comprising Ra’s keyboards and accompanying drums/percussion, feels like an alternate soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film still playing in theaters in 1973.
The Cymbals / Symbols Sessions New York City 1973 is yet another piece of the puzzle, the Mr. Re of Mr. Ra. On two compact saucers with liner notes by known Ra-fficianado Brother Cleve!
Also available on LP!
Includes:
The World Of The Invisible • Thoughts Under A Dark Blue Light • The Order Of The Pharonic Jesters • The Mystery Of Two • Land Of The Day Star • The Universe Is Calling • Space Landing • Of Drastic Measures • Of Otherness • Myth Evidential • Destination Of The Known Unknown