Sun Ra and Arkestra playing Billy Strayhorn's "Take The A Train" at the Jazzfestival Montreux on July 9th, 1976. Please also visit my blog: crownpropeller.wordpress.com
Danny Davis: flute, alto saxophone Marshall Allen: flute, alto saxophone John Gilmore: tenor saxophone Chris Capers: trumpet Larry Bright: drums Stanley Morgan: conga Pat Patrick: flute, baritone saxophone Ahmed Abdullah: trumpet June Tyson: dancer, vocals James "Ham" Jackson: bassoon, Egyptian drum Elo Omo: bass clarinet Sun Ra: Moog synthesizer, organ, piano Vincent Chancey: french horn Clifford Jarvis: drums Al Evans: trumpet Tony Bunn: electric bass Hayes Burnett: double bass
Sun Ra was so underrated and overlooked as a pianist. Saw him twice and all I can say is "Space is the Place!" You are missed Master Sun Ra. Safe travels!
Bernie guitar sorry bernie but that must be one of the most ignorant comments i ever read cute! not bad! go check your ears maybe they hear something else cosmicaly
The new school of jazz is all about going "out" but i don't see anyone daring to go this "out". Hes still playing the tune, there is a whole lot of mood here.
@@itis4137 he created his own freedom within his own structures in the context of another compisition; absolutely his own thing! he was not only exploring tonality, but other musical/sonic concepts within his solo. hope this helped a little!
you can't appreciate this until you play Ellington's original right before. Sun Ra totally transformed the tune into something totally his own. That piano intro was unreal!
sun ra's intro to this is OUTSTANDING. the first time I heard this 'A Train' was 1982 (I think) and it was a bootleg album with a plain white cover. the piano intro is all I wanted to hear. when I found this video it was miraculous. this music is more real for me now and not just a audio memory. seeing him process ideas while playing that intro is so great.
+Jesse Meman Jesse, what you think of as being a bootleg album probably was the original Saturn Pressing of "Live At Montreux" which may have looked like a bootleg.
+crownpropeller thank you for that info it was probably just what you described. these were the most sophisticated long hairs I had known who mentored me. I'm fortunate they decided to turn me onto this so early in my learning career.
His final chord or assembly of notes he left ringing to blend were for me utterly sublime. Literally could listen to that assembly of notes for well a long time.
Listening to this in 2021; John Gilmore does what I call "the Kansas city chase" thing, it feels like Charlie Parker from the 40's up to modern stuff. Legendary!
At the intro first the melody is caught up in the swirl of sounds that is NYC, and by the end, he transforms it into a snowfall in the winter, the city still busy, but quieter, like the crunch of footsteps in snow, and if you look closely, you can literally see the notes for the melody falling like flakes into place. This man was a mountain of genius.
Holy crap. Max Roach, Edward Blackwell, Danny Richmond, Rashied Ali, Billy Higgins, all were masters of the drum set. But wow, what technical command of the trap drums. Jarvis found great inspiration in his paradildlles and radamacues.
this kicked my ass!!!! well done. ra’s intro and gilmore--monsters!!!!! then the drums-- i’m dead, not sure how i’m writing this. this audience was blessed that night
@@vfont8567 pcasso could draw aswell as michealangelo when he was 5. he got bored untill he discovered african art, did hesteel or was he inspired, telle me; what are you wearing today? did you steal your shoes? thisway of thinking is stupid, you cant steel what is universal. a lot was stollen from africa, a lot of wealth, but knowledge and culture is universal. did you think a genious influenced by african art is disrespecting it? i'm the type of guy that thinks all the african art you see in european museum should be brought back to africa, but when it comes to knowledge, you cant steal, you can just get influenced, and thus open your mind. should africans avoid using airplanes? did the ancient egyptans steal the idea of building chariots from the hittites? allthough they made 'em better....
@@baddriddimworkshop Picasso was a recessive troglodyte that blatantly plagiarized African intellectual property just like all of the other recessive troglodyte thugs.
@@vfont8567 there is no such thing as intellectual property. this was exactly my point. why dont you answer my question: did the egyptians steel the chariot from the hittites??? truth an knowledge are universal. do you shink duke elington shouldnt have learned to play piano? claming such things or spreading resentment will not bring justice back, it wont make nobody feel better. in reverse, teaching the world that africa has been a source of enlightment for the world will bring back the respect africans deserve.
No artist is more underrated than Sun Ra. He was one of the founders of Afrofuturism and the inventor of noise music. Although Sun Ra influenced art around the world, he never had a hit on the charts. Most people don't know that the origin of the concept for the movie ``Black Panther'' can be traced back to Sun Ra.
I got to see him w/them once, late 80s? What struck me the most was how rich and comfortable their sound was within the group, like old familiar shoes that had been LONG down the same road together (not unlike the Monday night Vanguard band), in spite of the frenetic 'outside' places their music would explore along the way. Also again in spite of being known for their 'wildness' and improvisational nature I was actually surprised to see the mountain of charts they had sitting at each players chair. It made me chuckle for the snickers my group garnered around St Louis jazz scene for the pile of charts we kept on the bandstand like it was unprofessional or like we didn't KNOW our music perhaps. Well when you don't just throw together for gigs playing the same 20 standards and actually rehearse like we did running through endless tunes over time those charts just do seem to pile up .. ;)
@@dennisnoonan1604 Gilmore is a talented musician nonetheless. And it's not like he doesn't know how to play "in," seeing that he played with a few hard bop greats
@@dennisnoonan1604if you listen to gilmore on other Sun Ra tracks like Possession, But Not For Me, Sometimes I'm Happy, etc., or even Gilmore's own album as a co leader with Clifford Jordan it may be a little easier for you to hear his musicianship; definitely a killer player still even aside from when he's playing ""noise""
Sun Ra has inspired a whole new generation of artists and musicians to continue the work. I feel like I just found a diamond on the sidewalk. Thank you death grips. Thank you Sun Ra and the Arkestra. Thank you maggotbrain. Thank you Kanye. Thank you, to all black people that fueled these counter cultures in the 60's, 70's, and into today. We noticed, and we are going to take it from here and make you proud. Don't believe, watch. Don't say, do.
and don't forget to give a listen to DEEP PURPLE and look up what it all means. Now I know why the company calls themselves SATURN records. Man, what a trip. I love life again.
Neither Duke nor Cecil Taylor has anything on Ra's piano playing! There's a reason there are no transcribed Sun Ra solos. They are just beyond reach for anyone but him.
I love both Duke and Taylor, but I have to agree. I think Sun Ra is easily one of the greatest Jazz pianists of all time, yet he's so overlooked by everyone.
I think this qualifies, in general, as one of the coolest things I've ever seen any human do. Sun Ra literally DECONSTRUCTS the song, and makes it his bitch. One of the most recognizable , melodic and memorable jazz melodies of all time. He basically turns it inside out, and then bends the sound waves around a few black holes. OMG. Chills . Every time.
Extraordinarily awesome ! I was 16 at the time, and the girls admired my "eccentricity" - I just found it normal that jazz constantly evolves, and The Duke would have been proud of Sun Ra. Sun's belief that man originated from Saturn might have a grain of truth, looking at the latest results of NASAs inter-planetary missions 😉.
Danny Davis: flute, alto saxophone
Marshall Allen: flute, alto saxophone
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone
Chris Capers: trumpet
Larry Bright: drums
Stanley Morgan: conga
Pat Patrick: flute, baritone saxophone
Ahmed Abdullah: trumpet
June Tyson: dancer, vocals
James "Ham" Jackson: bassoon, Egyptian drum
Elo Omo: bass clarinet
Sun Ra: Moog synthesizer, organ, piano
Vincent Chancey: french horn
Clifford Jarvis: drums
Al Evans: trumpet
Tony Bunn: electric bass
Hayes Burnett: double bass
Take the A(stral) Train.
Sun Ra's version is like taking the ACTUAL A-Train.
The Chaos of pure creation. I wish more young people would listen to Jazz, the TRUE american musical heritage.
me 2
@@babblybird camera man was feeling it....he went along for the ride!
Sun Ra was so underrated and overlooked as a pianist. Saw him twice and all I can say is "Space is the Place!" You are missed Master Sun Ra. Safe travels!
Just curious why you think he was underrated and overlooked. He has a huge discography and following, and played with all the greats.
@@TerriblePerfection So true! I never heard anyone say that Sun Ra was anything but extraordinary at the piano.
@@nwjazz Saw him in Detroit years ago. Waited hours because he was late, and my car was broken into, and it was still worth it. 😊
@@TerriblePerfection People talk about him as a bandleader/composer much more than as a pianist
@@lucascampbell2756 true
Ra`s into is like a moment when you take the A Train and it goes just right in the outer Space.
not bad. kind of cute!
Four - seven *likes* #balanced
Bernie guitar
sorry bernie
but that must be one of the most ignorant comments i ever read
cute! not bad!
go check your ears
maybe they hear something else cosmicaly
This A train makes makes some extra stops out there!
How is it possible this is the first time I’ve seen any of these men? I’m 30 years old, how could this have happened.
they sheltered you so you wouldn't give up because they knew you weren't any good? But maybe you'd be mediocre, at best? Never give up on you. 🤷♂️
The new school of jazz is all about going "out" but i don't see anyone daring to go this "out". Hes still playing the tune, there is a whole lot of mood here.
Matthew Shipp trío . William Parker
I have signed pictures of Sun Ra that I took at the time of this recording with the hat he has on in this video. This is my man, Sun Ra.
Not many people get this. But this is simple absolute genious.
Who cares whether they get it or not/ We dig it and that's what counts.
dont understand his intro can u explain?
@@itis4137 he created his own freedom within his own structures in the context of another compisition; absolutely his own thing! he was not only exploring tonality, but other musical/sonic concepts within his solo. hope this helped a little!
@@itis4137 theme and theme variation. The heart of improvisation
@@ergbudster3333 If you dig it, you get it!
An underated pianist.
He was ahead of his time
One of the great innovators
you can't appreciate this until you play Ellington's original right before. Sun Ra totally transformed the tune into something totally his own. That piano intro was unreal!
Sunny Ra rerouted the A Train to Outer Space!
This actual track was my route into Sun Ra.
phenomenal
Take the a train wasn't written by Ellington. It was written by Pittsburgh, Pa native Billy Strayhorn.
Otherworldly.
sun ra's intro to this is OUTSTANDING. the first time I heard this 'A Train' was 1982 (I think) and it was a bootleg album with a plain white cover. the piano intro is all I wanted to hear. when I found this video it was miraculous. this music is more real for me now and not just a audio memory. seeing him process ideas while playing that intro is so great.
+Jesse Meman
Jesse, what you think of as being a bootleg album probably was the original Saturn Pressing of "Live At Montreux" which may have looked like a bootleg.
+crownpropeller thank you for that info it was probably just what you described. these were the most sophisticated long hairs I had known who mentored me. I'm fortunate they decided to turn me onto this so early in my learning career.
Love it
Love his sense of harmonic chaos and how he synthesis unrelated elements into one. An amazing genius.
His final chord or assembly of notes he left ringing to blend were for me utterly sublime. Literally could listen to that assembly of notes for well a long time.
Gilmore's solo is breathtaking!
Listening to this in 2021; John Gilmore does what I call "the Kansas city chase" thing, it feels like Charlie Parker from the 40's up to modern stuff. Legendary!
So that's Gilmore?
Who's on bass and drums please?
@@monsterjazzlicks Coltrane actually studied with Gilmore for a time. Gilmore is one of the greatest tenor saxophone players ever!
3:00 the camera just went into an astral journey
As a musician I held many in respect, but Sun Ra, I held in complete AWE.
At the intro first the melody is caught up in the swirl of sounds that is NYC, and by the end, he transforms it into a snowfall in the winter, the city still busy, but quieter, like the crunch of footsteps in snow, and if you look closely, you can literally see the notes for the melody falling like flakes into place. This man was a mountain of genius.
That intro just demolished the song and glued it back together with the ether. I love it
Wow. I'm just blown away.
"Hi, my name is Clifford Jarvis, and I'll be melting your face off tonight."
Holy crap. Max Roach, Edward Blackwell, Danny Richmond, Rashied Ali, Billy Higgins, all were masters of the drum set. But wow, what technical command of the trap drums. Jarvis found great inspiration in his paradildlles and radamacues.
@@meckel1271 All my favorite drummers. Good taste.
an original by Billy "duke ellington" Strayhorn
Wow,no wonder John Coltrane loved John Gilmore's playing!
Almost played with Sun Ra this would have been a composition I would have loved to been a part of
please tell me about this!
please
this kicked my ass!!!! well done. ra’s intro and gilmore--monsters!!!!! then the drums-- i’m dead, not sure how i’m writing this. this audience was blessed that night
can i get a clap for the drummer
Oh yeah!
You get the clap
the great Clifford Jarvis
👏🏾
4:55: trumpet gets up to solo, and Gilmore just takes off instead.
Ye saw that 😂
Rip
🚀 🌌
I'M THE CAPTAIN NOW!
Ha
My God ! Sonny's Solo then intro then John's Solo...........Then Clifford's solo.Transcendent !
what a wonderful tribute not only to Strayhorn and Duke, but to Ra and especially John Gilmore
Coltrane said of Gilmore upon hearing him, "He's on to something" No doubt!!
TRUE!!!!
😅😅😅
Sun Ra was ZEN when it came to music. He started composing music at the age of 12..
one of the great jazz drum solos of alltime.
Astonishing in every way. Absolutely masterful.
Drummer is extraordinary
Legendary. Stage light making this cosmic brother sweat.
Extraordinary and unique...this guy does for jazz what Picasso/Dali do for art.
V Font Care to explain?
@@vfont8567 pcasso could draw aswell as michealangelo when he was 5. he got bored untill he discovered african art, did hesteel or was he inspired, telle me; what are you wearing today? did you steal your shoes? thisway of thinking is stupid, you cant steel what is universal. a lot was stollen from africa, a lot of wealth, but knowledge and culture is universal. did you think a genious influenced by african art is disrespecting it? i'm the type of guy that thinks all the african art you see in european museum should be brought back to africa, but when it comes to knowledge, you cant steal, you can just get influenced, and thus open your mind. should africans avoid using airplanes? did the ancient egyptans steal the idea of building chariots from the hittites? allthough they made 'em better....
@@baddriddimworkshop Picasso was a recessive troglodyte that blatantly plagiarized African intellectual property just like all of the other recessive troglodyte thugs.
@@vfont8567 there is no such thing as intellectual property. this was exactly my point. why dont you answer my question: did the egyptians steel the chariot from the hittites??? truth an knowledge are universal. do you shink duke elington shouldnt have learned to play piano? claming such things or spreading resentment will not bring justice back, it wont make nobody feel better. in reverse, teaching the world that africa has been a source of enlightment for the world will bring back the respect africans deserve.
@@baddriddimworkshop Lies. You have zero intellectual integrity.
Picasso is lying thieving recessive troglodyte and so is the progeny of your parents.
Great live performance of genius musicians
one of the best trumpet solos of all time
Nobody talks about how great Sun Ra was, but he's killing!!
If you ever wondered what Monk's piano teacher sounded like, perhaps it was something like what Sun Ra is putting out on this video.
Fabulously intense Gilmore soloing yet again.
Had the album forever - so lovely to see the footage...
No artist is more underrated than Sun Ra.
He was one of the founders of Afrofuturism and the inventor of noise music.
Although Sun Ra influenced art around the world, he never had a hit on the charts.
Most people don't know that the origin of the concept for the movie ``Black Panther'' can be traced back to Sun Ra.
The myth, the legend, at his mystical best - a la Sun Ra~~~~
will i ever recover from this??? its a lot to try to imagine how good this is--- as "out there" as it is...
amazing...50 years ahead of its time
Yes.
And this was only 44 years ago! LOL. We still haven't caught up!
He's killing it from 6:53 huge respect
"I love jazz my man" haha madlib the badkid put me onto the jazz legends because of his song "Jazz Cats"
John Gilmore has me wanting to completely throw away all my guitar knowledge and pick up a saxophone like I used to play in middle school
this is the best ❤
Everything a cover version should be.
I got to see him w/them once, late 80s? What struck me the most was how rich and comfortable their sound was within the group, like old familiar shoes that had been LONG down the same road together (not unlike the Monday night Vanguard band), in spite of the frenetic 'outside' places their music would explore along the way. Also again in spite of being known for their 'wildness' and improvisational nature I was actually surprised to see the mountain of charts they had sitting at each players chair. It made me chuckle for the snickers my group garnered around St Louis jazz scene for the pile of charts we kept on the bandstand like it was unprofessional or like we didn't KNOW our music perhaps. Well when you don't just throw together for gigs playing the same 20 standards and actually rehearse like we did running through endless tunes over time those charts just do seem to pile up .. ;)
Yeah I would say that this is descriptive of taking the the "A" on Saturday night.
Wow, just pure genius.
This is out of this world
Mission accepted 💎
getting shivers from that intro
The inspiration behind The MC-5
Sun Ra has chops!
got to hear the arkestra twice..each time a gas
John Gilmore kills it!!!🙏
Not my idea of music, more like noise. Not a fan.
@@dennisnoonan1604 Gilmore is a talented musician nonetheless. And it's not like he doesn't know how to play "in," seeing that he played with a few hard bop greats
@@mexicotaco0913 Trane was inspired by and respected Gilmore, he stayed with Sun Ra for years...they were not the same when he passed
@@dennisnoonan1604if you listen to gilmore on other Sun Ra tracks like Possession, But Not For Me, Sometimes I'm Happy, etc., or even Gilmore's own album as a co leader with Clifford Jordan it may be a little easier for you to hear his musicianship; definitely a killer player still even aside from when he's playing ""noise""
*Listen to the work of my brother FEELFOUND, he really needs support, he is trying. 💯*
love your blog as well ... thanks for posting
Perfection Sun Ra Was Brilliant A Genius
woah.
The Drummer went complete super sayan
Buddy Rich could only wish.
Thanks!
Sun Ra has inspired a whole new generation of artists and musicians to continue the work.
I feel like I just found a diamond on the sidewalk. Thank you death grips. Thank you Sun Ra and the Arkestra. Thank you maggotbrain. Thank you Kanye.
Thank you, to all black people that fueled these counter cultures in the 60's, 70's, and into today. We noticed, and we are going to take it from here and make you proud.
Don't believe, watch. Don't say, do.
and don't forget to give a listen to DEEP PURPLE and look up what it all means. Now I know why the company calls themselves SATURN records.
Man, what a trip. I love life again.
still love it!!
Your channel is quality. Thanks again.
John Gilmore and Clifford Jarvis - top shelf. I would love to see a video clip of "Lights On a Satellite" from this concert. It's on the LP.
I need that cap. I work around NSA in central Maryland.
Awesome!
Neither Duke nor Cecil Taylor has anything on Ra's piano playing! There's a reason there are no transcribed Sun Ra solos. They are just beyond reach for anyone but him.
I love both Duke and Taylor, but I have to agree. I think Sun Ra is easily one of the greatest Jazz pianists of all time, yet he's so overlooked by everyone.
I think this qualifies, in general, as one of the coolest things I've ever seen any human do. Sun Ra literally DECONSTRUCTS the song, and makes it his bitch. One of the most recognizable , melodic and memorable jazz melodies of all time. He basically turns it inside out, and then bends the sound waves around a few black holes. OMG. Chills . Every time.
SO SHWEEEETTT...much love Tee with LIONS NAMED LEO.[the music worldwide}
and sooooo cool..!!
Your blog is fantastic!
Awsome!
Awesome 😎🤘🏾
Billy Strayhorn composition!
magnifique!
Sun Ra and the drummer are possessed and I need no exorcist to come here and help me out if I carry on trying to figure this out ... I´m outta here
True he is
you're amazing
He is my creative Superhero !
So nice
Double sorry
Total performance will never be surpassed,
Somebody mentioned playing >outside<
This is ultra inside!
8:21 Courage, honesty & at peace with himself and the music he loves.
Sehr schoenes Blog!!
Holy crap. MASSIVE!
Take the Astro Train
Perfect Comment! 💪🏾💯💯
Wow genio
brilliant
Extraordinarily awesome ! I was 16 at the time, and the girls admired my "eccentricity" - I just found it normal that jazz constantly evolves, and The Duke would have been proud of Sun Ra. Sun's belief that man originated from Saturn might have a grain of truth, looking at the latest results of NASAs inter-planetary missions 😉.
John Gilmore colossus
next stop on the A train? jupiter.
Sir John Gilmore 🎶🎶🎶🎆🎇🌅🎶🎶🎶 SunRa, The Master at creation🎶🎶🎶🎆🎇🌅🌅🎇🎆🥰🎶🎶🎶
Wow !
Sun Ra eternal genius!
Fucking fantastic!!!