Sun Ra - The Antique Blacks (1974)

The Antique Blacks is a great live date, recorded in 1974 but not released until 1978. This is a smallish band, and features the first recorded evidence of prominent electric rock guitar in the Arkestra, attributed only to "Sly." "Song No. 1" is a groovy sort of space bossa nova, with Sun Ra on rocksichord supported by great percussion as the other players join in. "There Is a Change in the Air/The Antique Blacks" is a Ra poem recited with musical accompaniment as is "The Ridiculous 'I' and the Cosmos Me." "This Song Is Dedicated to Nature's God" is actually a different tune than "To Nature's God" on Live in Egypt, Vol. 1, but is the same sort of upbeat, swinging singalong. "Would I for All That Were" is a short interlude with Moog craziness over an ominous march, which leads into a rousing version of "Space Is the Place." The Antique Blacks is notable for the recited poetry, as well as for the presence of the extroverted Sly, who adds a totally new dimension to the Arkestra sound. This one will be tough to find, but well worth it. - amg

01 - song n1
02 - there is a change in the air
03 - the antique blacks
04 - this song is decicatated to nature's god
05 - the ridiculous ''i'' & the cosmos me
06 - would i for all that were
07 - space is the place

Sun Ra Arranger, Composer, Mini Moog, Rocksichord, Vocals
Marshall Allen Percussion, Reissue, Sax (Alto), Vocals
Sly Guitar (Electric)
Atakatune Conga
Danny Davis Sax (Alto)
Ahk Tal Ebah Trumpet, Vocals
John Gilmore Percussion, Sax (Tenor), Vocals
James Jackson Bassoon, Percussion, Vocals
Clifford Jarvis Drums, Vocals

John Tchicai - Afrodisiaca

01. Afrodisiaca
02. Heavenly Love On A Planet
03. Fodringsmontage
04. This Is Heaven
05. Lakshmi

Ex-New York Art Ensemble member Jon Tchicai goes wild with 25 fellow musicians on this Free Jazz masterpiece from the year of the moon landing. Sonic Youth s Thurston Moore comments: beautiful, baby. BEAUTIFUL! Originally released in 1969.

Personnel: John Tchicai: alto and soprano saxophones, leader (2-5); Hugh Steinmetz: trumpet, leader (1); Willem Breuker: tenor saxophone (1, 4), bass clarinet (2); Pierre Doerge: guitar; Max Brúel: baritone saxophone (1); Theo Rahbek: trumpet, iron claves (2); Mauritz Tchicai: trombone, sousaphone, waterpipe (2); Joergen Thorup: clarinet; Michael Schou: alto saxophone, flute; Kim Menzer: trombone (1), flute (1); Willy Jagert: ophicleide; Bent Hesselman: flute (1); Sune Weimar: alto saxophone; Christian Kyhl: alto and soprano saxophones, triangle (2); Mogens Bollerup: tenor saxophone, petrol can (2); Niels Harrit: tenor saxophone (1), flute (1), saw (1); Ole Kühl: tenor and soprano saxophones; Ole Matthissen: organ, cymbal (2); Ole Thilo: organ, tankcap (2); Steffen Andersen: bass (1); Claus Boeje: drums; Jon Finsen: drums, glockenspiel (2); Anthony Barnett: percussion, tabla (4); Giorgio Musoni: balafon (1), africodrums (1), gong (1); Simon Kopel: tympani (1); J.C. Moses: cowbell (1), bongos (1), percussion (1).

John Tchicai

John Tchicai


John Martin Tchicai (born April 28, 1936) is a Danish jazz saxophonist. He was one of the earliest European free jazz musicians. He is of Danish and Congolese descent.

Tchicai studied violin in his youth, and in his mid-teens began playing clarinet and alto saxophone, focusing on the latter. By the late 1950s he was travelling around northern Europe, playing with many musicians.

After moving to New York City in 1963, Tchicai fell into the free jazz scene, co-forming the New York Contemporary Five and the New York Art Quartet, and playing on John Coltrane's epochal Ascension, and with Albert Ayler and others on New York Eye and Ear Control.

He returned to Denmark in 1966, and shortly thereafter focused most of his time on music education.

On Aug 30, 1975 his appearance at the Willisau Jazz Festival was recorded and released later that year as Willi The Pig. On this record, he plays with Swiss pianist Irène Schweizer.

Tchicai returned to a regular gigging and recording schedule in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s he switched to the tenor saxophone as his primary instrument. In 1990 he was awarded a lifetime grant from the Danish Ministry of Culture[1]. Tchicai and his wife relocated to Davis, CA (near San Francisco) in 1991, where he has led several ensembles. He was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in 1997. He is a member of Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith's "Yo Miles" band, a loose aggregation of musicians exploring Miles Davis's post-Bitches Brew electric music.

Since 2001 he has been living near Perpignan in southern France. He is currently (2006) experimenting with electronic components in his music.

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Photo by Matt Brown