Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Sun Ra: At The Showcase (Live In Chicago, 1976-1977)

Sun Ra: At The Showcase (Live In Chicago, 1976-1977)

By Mike Jurkovic
May 21, 2024
View read count

Sun Ra: At The Showcase (Live In Chicago, 1976-1977)

It is an unchallenged law of nature that wherever or whoever anyone happens to be when they encounter

Sun Ra

piano
1914 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Sun Ra, they are certain to be somewhere and someone else after the meeting. That holds especially true of Sun Ra at the Showcase: Live in Chicago.

Captured during two barn-burning performances at the Windy City's venerable Showcase Club in '76 and '77, this limited 2-LP, 2 CD set—released by the equally venerable

Zev Feldman

producer

" data-original-title="" title="">Zev Feldman's Jazz Detective label to celebrate Record Store Day, April 20, 2024 —Sun Ra at the Showcase: Live in Chicago finds the irascible galactic innovator in prime live form.

Never one to let preconceived notions of form or formality get in the way, Ra leads a loose, eighteen piece amalgamation which features Ra's fellow space travelers tenor saxophonist

John Gilmore

saxophone, tenor
1931 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">John Gilmore,

Marshall Allen

saxophone, alto
b.1924

" data-original-title="" title="">Marshall Allen on alto sax, flute and kora,

Danny Davis

flugelhorn
1925 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Danny Davis on flugelhorn, and

Danny Ray Thompson

saxophone, baritone

" data-original-title="" title="">Danny Ray Thompson on baritone sax, amongst the energized many.

Co-produced by Michael D. Anderson of the Sun Ra Music Archive, the set comes richly curated with vintage photos, an interview with Allen (who is still going strong at 99), and essays/memoirs from still-awed collaborators as

Matthew Shipp

piano
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Matthew Shipp,

Reggie Workman

bass
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Reggie Workman,

Jack DeJohnette

drums
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Jack DeJohnette,

David Murray

saxophone, tenor
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">David Murray and others.

But it is the music of Ra and his cohorts which his audience are after, and Sun Ra at the Showcase: Live in Chicago has plenty of that! "Calling Planet Earth & The Shadow World" screels and yowls, its hypnotic logic a captivating force. A barroom sing-along introduces "Moonship Journey" and Gilmore takes it well from there. The other horns swing on in as the trumpeters (

Michael Ray

trumpet
b.1962

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Ray,

Ahmed Abdullah

trumpet
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Ahmed Abdullah, and

Emmett Mcdonald

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Emmett Mcdonald cut through and drummer

Luqman Ali

percussion

" data-original-title="" title="">Luqman Ali and bassist

Richard Williams

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Richard Williams set the toe-tapping beat.

It is a love fest. It is a pensive yet riotous "View From Another Dimension." It is a head bopping nod to dance hall days with "Rose Room" as Ra comps cooly on electric keys and Gilmore blows free and fulsome. Ra drives his keyboard to mania on "Theme Of The Stargazers," leading to the natural, emphatic conclusion which is "Space Is The Place." Of course it is. Welcome to it.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

CD 1:
New Beginning; View From Another Dimension; Synthesis Approach; Ankhnaton; Rose Room; Moonship Journey; Velvet.
CD2:
Calling Planet Earth & The Shadow World; Theme of the Stargazers; Space is the Place; Ebah Speaks in Cosmic Tongue; Greetings from the 21st Century.

Personnel

Sun Ra

piano

John Gilmore

saxophone, tenor

Marshall Allen

saxophone, alto

Danny Davis

flugelhorn

Eloe Omoe

clarinet, bass

Danny Thompson

saxophone, baritone

Michael Ray

trumpet

Ahmed Abdullah

trumpet

Emmett Mcdonald

trumpet

Vincent Chancey

french horn

Dale Williams

guitar, electric

Luqman Ali

percussion

Eddie Thomas

percussion

James Jacson

bassoon

Atakatune Stanley Morgan

percussion

June Tyson

vocals

Cheryl Banks-Smith

vocals

Judith Holton

vocals

Elo Omoe

saxophone, alto

Danny Ray Thompson

saxophone, baritone

Richard Allen Williams

trumpet

Additional Instrumentation

Sun Ra: electric keyboards; Marshall Allen: alto sax, flute; kora; Elo Omoe: bass clarinet; Danny Ray Thompson: flute; Vincent Chancey: french horn; Eddie Thomas: vocals; James Jacson: ancient ihnfinity drum, oboe; Atakatune: congas.

Album information

Title: At the Showcase (Live In Chicago, 1976-1977) | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Jazz Detective

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Afro Blue
< Previous

Nicola Caminiti: Adam Arturo
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.