SUN RA — Greatest Hits (review)

Boxset / Compilation · 2000 · Avant-Garde Jazz

3.5/5 · 2012-05-15
js

In 1996 the Evidence label released their incredible collection of Sun Ra singles in a 2 CD box set called “Sun Ra : The Singles”. This labor of musicological love received high praises from Sun Ra fans and jazz fans in general. Four years later Evidence released this odd collection of various Ra songs culled from the Saturn label called “Sun Ra Greatest Hits“. Most of these songs are not singles though, but are instead cuts taken from albums. Basically this CD tries to give a chronological overview of Ra’s career and ends up being somewhat successful in that regard.

The first half of this CD centers around Ra’s early years when his band was playing very quirky hard bop that sounded like few others. Certainly Ra’s enduring mark on jazz will be his later experimental work, but its great to hear his early work together in one collection. Although Ra’s take on the hard bop of the day is full of modern elements, there is also an intangible element to this music that recalls the earlier swing days where Ra learned his trade. Capturing the essence of early jazz is something that cannot be faked and was a hallmark of Sun Ra’s band even when playing their most futuristic music. This mix of jazz’s older noire past with modern elements made Sun Ra’s music somewhat similar to the music of Charles Mingus during this time. Both of these artists were way ahead of the pack in the mid-50s.

As mentioned earlier, this CD does attempt to present an overview of Sun Ra’s career, so after the first half made up of early works, the second half of this CD deals with Sun Ra’s more avant-garde music. Its in the presentation of the avant-garde material that this CD starts to develop problems. Basically Sun Ra’s later avant-garde music is “album music” and pulling excerpts from those albums only works as an attempt to document his musical journey, but it does not make for a satisfying listening experience. More so than many other jazz artists, Sun Ra’s albums were often unique one-time musical visions that stand as complete entities that shouldn’t be chopped up. On a positive note, this CD does end with two cuts that should be of interest to Ra fans who may not already own these two. "The Order of the Phantom Jesters" shows Ra's interest in the lounge exotica of the day and seems to be a full song, not an excerpt, and "The Perfect Man" is one of the top cuts from the singles collection and has his small combo playing a James Bond styled noir low-fi synth pop hit.

This CD makes a good collection for someone who is new to Sun Ra and wants a basic overview of his music, but for long time fans of Ra’s music, the collection of early material is nice, but the chopped up later works are mostly frustrating, although the piano cut from “Monorails and Satellites” is very nice. For those seeking a good representative album of Sun Ra’s avant-garde music, “Live at Montreaux” is a good place to start.