Sun Ra aficionados seem to possess an insatiable appetite for archival recordings of the ever-evolving ensembles of the pianist, composer and bandleader. Born Helman Poole Blount, in Alabama, in 1914, Ra released possibly as many as 200 albums during his lifetime, including extremely limited pressings with hand-painted covers that he sold in person. You might think such a vast and collectable discography would be treasure-trove enough for even the most committed of Ra crate diggers, but no. Which brings us to this double live album from a 1978 gig at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, a storied venue run by the Left Bank Jazz Society.

There has always been something of a disconnect between experiencing Ra on record and seeing his Arkestra up close in concert. That was especially true in the era when an Arkestra gig was more of a multi-media, performance-art spectacle—one that could include dancers, film projection and a light show—than a simple concert. But the avant-garde trappings tended to obscure the fact that the music was always far more rooted in jazz traditions coming out of blues, swing and bebop than in the free jazz avant-garde of the '60s.

Yes, there is some tempestuous ensemble playing on "Tapestry from an Asteroid," which features singer