Following 2014s Marshall Allen compilation, In the Orbit Of Ra and 2015s Gilles Peterson-curated To Those Of Earth... And Other Worlds, Strut and Art Yard join forces once more for the first release anywhere of In Some Far Place. Recorded direct from the sound board and mastered from first generation reel to reel tapes, this is one oft he very few trio albums by Sun Ra ever to be released and is exclusively available for Record Store Day 2015. The release features rare photos from recently deceased photographer H.L. Lindenmaier with sleeve notes by the Sun Ra Arkestras Knoel Scott.
1977 was a transitional time for jazz enigma and self-proclaimed member of an angel race, Sun Ra. During the Summer of 1976, he had stormed Montreux and toured West Africa with one of the greatest of his full-sized Arkestras before embarking on occasional solo concerts for the first time, emphasising his prowess at the piano. Although he had always played the blues within Arkestra sets, he now summoned up the rolling tradition of blues piano, recalling Otis Spann, Avery Parrish, stride and ricky-tick styles.
During this intimate concert, Ra takes us through piano and synthesizer renditions of Arkestra staples like Love In Outer Space, Space Is The Place and Calling Planet Earth but also spends the latter part of the gig exploring jazz standards. Among them, we hear the first ever released Ra version of the 1930s standard I Cover The Waterfront alongside a dissonant version of Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child and St. Louis Blues. Ras ties to Italy would continue the following year as he recorded three acclaimed albums for Horo Records, run by filmmaker turned label owner, Aldo Sinesio.