Tracks for the 1968 album Sound of Joy were actually recorded during the same period (late 1956) as Jazz By Sun Ra, Vol. 1. Scheduled to be released by Transition Records soon after their release of Vol. 1, the tracks were ultimately shelved for over a decade until a few numbers ("Reflections In Blue", "Two Tones", "El Viktor" and "Saturn") appeared on the 1966 Saturn record Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra Visits Planet Earth and then finally in complete form as Sound of Joy on Delmark two years later. John F. Szwed writes in his 1997 book Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra:
Several pieces (“Two Tones", “Ankh”, “Reflections in Blue”) use two baritone saxophones, which combine with bass and timpani to give the band a powerful bottom sound. “Overtones of China” extends the orientalism of early jazz with gongs and wood blocks, asymmetrical themes, and the feel of shifting time; two pieces (“Paradise” and “Planet Earth”) are given Latin rhythms; and “Reflections in Blue” and “El Viktor” make full use of timpani with solos or a heavy back beat. Throughout, there are unusually conceived background riffs, surprising counter-melodies, and multiple themes (each with a different rhythm and in a different key).In his 1993 article "Sun Ra - Supersonic Sounds From Saturn", Robert L. Campbell describes the album as below:
Art Hoyle’s slashing bop attack on trumpet contrasted well with Dave Young’s softer muted approach. Scales had left, so Pat Patrick had to double on alto and baritone while Charles Davis, a rising bop baritonist, joined the saxes, allowing Sun Ra to give his music an extremely heavy bottom. “Ankh” is a supremely relaxed blues for the two baritonists; “Two Tones” gives them a bebop cutting contest. “El is a Sound of Joy” is fully mature now: a serenely Oriental theme for the saxes with alto on top, a contrasting baritone solo backed by hand claps, a repeated phrase that hangs enigmatically unresolved. Sun Ra’s piano solo is an uncanny amalgam of Ellington, Monk, and Herbie Nichols. Then there is “Saturn,” with its marvelously twisted introduction leading into a vigorous riff tune with solos by Gilmore, Hoyle, and Patrick. The introduction is too good to abandon, so they repeat it at the end. When Gilmore first played “Saturn” in 1955, it convinced him that Sun Ra was “more stretched out than Monk” and that there was more to life than playing bebop.
Additionally, on this album John Avant replaces Julian Priester's role on
trombone while William Cochran (drums) and Victor Sproles (bass) comprise the
rhythm section (as they did on the fall 1956 sessions for
Super-Sonic Jazz). Two songs featuring vocalist Clyde Williams were
omitted from the original LP but later appended to the CD release.
Sound of Joy (released 1968)
Personnel:
Sun Ra: piano, Wurlitzer electric pianoAll tracks recorded late November/early December, 1956 and composed by Sun Ra except "As You Once Were" (Sun Ra/Clyde Williams), "Dreams Come True" (Sun Ra/Robert Douglas Mayo) and "Two Tones" (Pat Patrick/Charles Davis).
Art Hoyle: trumpet, percussion
Dave Young: trumpet
John Avant: trombone
Pat Patrick: alto sax, baritone sax, percussion
John Gilmore: tenor sax, percussion
Charles Davis: baritone sax, percussion
Victor Sproles: bass
William Cochran: drums
Jim Herndon: tympani, timbales
Clyde Williams: vocals (10, 11)
1. El Is a Sound of Joy
This is an alternate take of a song first featured on Super-Sonic Jazz. A drum/timpani roll leads into a modulating ballad theme, which then leaps into a strutting mid-tempo groove featuring baritone sax and punctuated by an jagged theme melody. A fragmented piano solo from Sun Ra is followed by Pat Patrick on alto sax. Another exploratory piano break arrives but is eventually interrupted by a return to the ballad theme to close out the tune.
2. Overtones of China
Gong strokes and woodblocks introduce an accented introductory theme. After an
ensuing "Eastern" melody, it soon settles into a held harmony under which Sun
Ra soon adds color with brief electric piano figures. John Gilmore soon enters
with some repeated, questing tenor figures, quickly joined by soft brass
"Oriental" accents. Ra eventually develops these accents with some extended
ornamentation, after which the main theme returns, punctuated by more gong
strikes. The tune ends in a subdued, almost questioning mood.
3. Two Tones
This tune, composed by Pat Patrick and Charles Davis, is driven by playful
figurations from the two baritone saxophonists. After the duet opening, a
boisterous main theme enters, followed by consecutive baritone solos from both
composers. Sun Ra eventually contributes a piano solo, which is followed by a
return of the two baritones in a playful exchange of statements. A restatement
of the theme ends the piece.
4. Paradise
A patient bass thrum introduces Sun Ra's cascading piano lines over stick
percussion, establishing a lush "tropical" mood. Later, chimes enter and help
Ra introduce some new colors as he switches to electric piano to contribute
more ornamentation. After a drum roll, the electric piano becomes increasingly
playful, leading to some more adventurous harmonies. Ra soon returns to piano
to add a few aggressive rhythms before allowing the song to gently float
away.
5. Planet Earth
The first half of the main theme is slow and patient, but its latter half
takes on a more energetic swing mood, ending in an accented cadence. This
leads to a relaxed segment featuring muted trumpet over a complex modulating
harmony. After a brief return of the "swing" theme another trumpet solo
appears. Sun Ra then contributes a brief piano solo before a return to
restatements of the main theme. In later years this piece would be performed
with an added vocal lyric.
6. Ankh
Low saxophone textures drive the modulated themes in this amiable swing tune.
A bridge section eventually appears and introduces a baritone solo marked by
low accents/snare hits on the downbeats for the first chorus. The solo soon
gains energy when the drum toms enter, and after a few choruses Sun Ra enters
and contributes a relatively innocuous piano solo. As the toms continue to
transform, the piano also soon transforms into an electric piano lead. A low
brass riff interlude leads to a final restatement of the theme. Hints of the
first bridge sequence close out the tune.
7. Saturn
An earlier take of this track appeared as a B-side to some copies of the single featuring "A Call For All Demons". After a rhythmic opening figure driven by left-hand piano riffs, the saxophones enter with an infectious, syncopated (and multi-part) theme over an uptempo groove. John Gilmore takes a whirling tenor sax solo which is followed by two trumpet solos (featuring first Dave Young and then Art Hoyle) and then a baritone sax solo (Pat Patrick). After a restatement of the theme, a coda (based on the opening theme) finishes things off.
8. Reflections in Blue
As the title suggests, this is a mid-tempo blues, featuring solos on trumpet
(Hoyle), tenor sax (Gilmore), baritone sax (Davis/Patrick), piano/Wurlitzer
electric piano (Sun Ra) and timpani (Jim Herndon). One thing which stands out is Ra's Wurlitzer piano - in the first chorus he plays both piano and Wurlitzer simultaneously. In a later chorus, he highlights a "swing-less" bass line as a contrasting texture and then later switches back to jazzy right hand syncopated figures.
9. El Viktor
A timpani roll and snare accent introduce an uptempo "crime jazz" burner which
features solos on trumpet (Hoyle), acoustic bass (Victor Sproles), and finally
a drums-timpani exchange (William Cochran and Jim Herndon).
CD Bonus tracks
"Two ballads written by Sonny and sung by Clyde Williams in a full, baritone voice (“As You Once Were” and “Dreams Come True”) were left off the LP since Delmark’s president Bob Koester felt they didn’t fit with the other pieces on the session. But this sequence of tunes, like those on some of Sonny’s other early records, approximates what he played at clubs at the time." (John F. Szwed, Space Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra)
10. As You Once Were
This ballad features a tenor solo from John Gilmore, after which Clyde Williams' vocal returns with some added Wurlitzer piano from Sun Ra added underneath.
11. Dreams Come True
This is mid-tempo vocal swing tune featuring solos on electric piano (Ra), tenor sax (Gilmore) and trumpet (Hoyle/Young).
Personnel:
Sun Ra: piano, solar electric piano, Egyptian Sun Bells, Chinese Solar Gong
John Gilmore: tenor sax, Solar Bells, tambourine, solar drum
Pat Patrick: Rhodesian Bells, solar drum, Space Lute
Lucious Randolph: trumpet
James Spaulding: alto sax
Marshall Allen: flute
Nate Pryor: trombone
Jim Herndon: timbali, tympani, boo-bams
Ronnie Boykins: bass
Robert Barry: drums
As noted above, "Reflections In Blue", "Two Tones", "El Viktor" and "Saturn" first appeared on the B-side of the 1966 Saturn LP Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra Visits Planet Earth. Side A of the album includes a piece titled "Eve" as well as newly-reworked versions of "Planet Earth" and "Overtones of China" (recorded in late 1957/early 1958) highlighting the contributions of newer band members Marshall Allen, James Spaulding, Ronnie Boykins and Lucious Randolph. "Befitting the title, the A side of the LP presents a mystic travelogue in which the band descends on “Planet Earth,” time-travels to the Garden of Eden to encounter “Eve,” and then zooms to the Far East to explore "Overtones Of China." (from Irwin Chusid's Bandcamp notes).
"The 1958 versions have grown heavy with percussion: the usual two drummers, plus horn players doubling on tambourines, Rhodesian bells, Chinese gongs, hand drums, “space lutes”, (Marshall) Allen’s flute. (James) Spaulding’s wriggling alto and Lucious Randolph’s dancing trumpet have begun to explore new territory, out beyond the boundaries of hard bop." ("Sun Ra - Supersonic Sounds From Saturn", Robert L. Campbell)
1. "Planet Earth"
This alternate version includes more prominent electric piano in the introductory measures as well as a more prominent amount of "cowbell" textures in the percussion section. The first half of the main theme is slow and patient, but its latter part takes on an energetic swing mood, ending in an accented cadence. A slightly fractious bridge featuring winds and brass soon occurs, followed by a repeat of the first theme. Next comes a trumpet solo (Lucious Randolph) which is soon joined by Marshall Allen on flute. James Spaulding then contributes a witty alto sax solo before the band returns to repeat the main theme.
2. "Eve"
A drum roll ushers in a spacious piano cadenza which soon becomes a bit harmonically cloudy. Eventually, a sense of order returns, just before the arrival of a swaying groove topped with increasingly tense brass figures. A brief sax figure ushers in more rolling piano lines, after which the brass harmony theme returns and continues to modulate. A more friendly bass figure eventually surfaces, leading the piece towards a final ending cadence. (Some sources place this track from the Transition sessions, in which case for the personnel substitute in Pat Patrick (alto sax), Victor Sproles (bass) and William Cochran (drums).)
3. "Overtones of China"
This extended version has a more bombastic opening gong crash and features a
piano/tympani-driven intro (as well as what sounds like col legno bass in the foreground). An oddly-modulating "Eastern" brass melody mutates a
couple times but soon settles into a held harmony until Sun Ra enters
with an extended piano solo employing "Oriental" scales. As the drums continues building on a tribal groove,
Marshall Allen comes in with a flute solo. The main theme then returns,
punctuated by more cymbal crashes. The tune ends with some final electric
piano ornaments.
Sound of Joy
2017 Bandcamp ReleaseSun Ra Visits Planet Earth
Apple Music
Wiki Entry
Temple.net Entry
United Mutations Entry
2015 Bandcamp Release
Apple Music
Wiki Entry
Temple.net Entry
United Mutations Entry
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