Super-Sonic Jazz

Remastered original 1950s album. Original liner notes by Sun Ra. Super-Sonic Jazz, by Sun Ra, was recorded in 1956 at RCA Studios, Chicago. Sun Ra's 1956 effort is on fact one of the finest semi-unknown records in jazz. Sun Ra's relative obscurity among jazz listeners has always been a mystery; portrayals of Ra seem to miss the most important point: he was a musician of the highest order. His big band writing was a hybrid of Ellington-like harmonic lines, Basie-like driving swing, and Mingus-like exuberance. Although he is best known for his free-sounding jazz arrangements in the 1960's, Ra was steeped deeply in the tradition of big band music. This album displays that influence in full tilt, infused by the unique swing of his twelve-man group.