Customer Reviews

Solo Piano Recital: Teatro la Fenice Venizia

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Sun Ra was often written off as a so-so keyboard player (probably by people who didn't listen to him much!). Fortunately, his enormous catalogue proves otherwise, and no recording does so more definitively than this Solo Piano Recital.

It is pure delight to hear Ra dig deeply into this program of his own compositions and jazz standards, pulling them apart with great joy and then rearranging the pieces into delightful tapestries of sound. Purists may not like what he does to "St. Louis Blues," but his great ability to _do it_ cannot be denied. You will hear echoes in his playing of the entire range of piano jazz from Jelly Roll Morton all the way up to Cecil Taylor.

Sun Ra recorded solo all too infrequently. Of the solo recordings I have heard I consider this the best, the fullest, the most delightful. It's a recording I will be able to use to convince those who doubt Sunny's celestial abilities. It's that good -- really.

If you're a longtime listener of Sun Ra, this CD emerges as a
special treat. If you're unfamiliar with the legendary Myth
Realist, or have been shooed away from Ra by the current wave
of archival conservatives posing as Jazz classicists, then be
advised that SOLO PIANO RECITAL is a live concert recording
which makes the joyful truth ringingly clear.

Recorded in the late 1970s, this is Sun Ra alone at the piano,
spinning rhapsodic balladry which covers the whole spectrum of
Music, from the most beguiling Blues to the fiercest freeform,
marvelously structured and -always- wondrously soulful!
Try Ra's puckish take on Billy Strayhorn's epic "Take The 'A' Train",
or his wily ruminations on "St Louis Blues" for an
idea of how much of a master the Birmingham-born Cosmic Blues
Talker was of all the Music. Dare the intrepid swing of his
own "Friendly Galaxy" or "Spontaneous Simplicity", both
presented here as a snappy medley which charms and ignites
the ear and mind.

Even if you've enjoyed Ra's other collections of solo piano
music (released through Evidence and Improvising Artists), this
CD is a standout; a balanced presentation of a Jazz giant
holding gleeful court with great power and tremendous heart.
Listen well, and onward...

Not much to say, really - except that you are not likely to find another solo piano jazz record with such a stylistic scope, such humor, such swing, such depth, such beauty, such anger, such blues. The incredible Sun Ra and his vision really shines.

Sun Ra had always projected music as a global vehicle to better understand the meaning of life and this solo piano concert conveys that message quite masterfully.

The 11 numbers cover the vast artistic knowledge of Sun Ra travels over jazz classics - St. Louis Blues, Take the "A" Train - his catalog of material - Love In Outer Space, Outer Spaceways Inc. - and the exploration of vision and sound with two improvisational pieces.

This rhapsody of Sun Ra is the genius of a true artist within a solo platform to launch an outstanding performance.