Wavelength Infinity: Various artists (Rastascan Records, PO Box 3073, San Leandro, CA, 94578)
Written for the Utne Reader, reviewed by Scot Hacker
Pianist/composer Sun Ra emerged from Fletcher Henderson’s big bands of the 40s to declare he was a messenger from outer space, come to spread a gospel of Afro-cosmic consciousness through a music that was as much compositional genius as it was extraterrestrial. Two and a half years after his passing, the legacy of Sun Ra and his Cosmo-Love Adventure Arkestra continues to ripple outward, influencing ever-widening circles of spiritually galvanized improvisers.
In fitting tribute, Gino Robair of San Francisco’s Splatter Trio has produced "Wavelength Infinity" -- a 2-CD set of Sun Ra tunes as covered by 31 different artists, each of whom bear no small debt to Ra’s trace on their truly distinctive styles. Including musicians as dissimilar as Denmark’s John Tchichai and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, R&B statesmen NRBQ and jazz cellist Kash Killion, the offerings range from relatively straight-ahead covers (Charlie Kohlhase Quintet’s "The Kingdom of Not" is one of the collection’s bright beacons) to radical atmospheric homages (great Ra literary eulogist Hartmut Geerken improvises a spacious, atonal astral stroll on the Sun Harp, a prepared Ukrainian bandura which Ra once gave him in Giza, Egypt). Electric rake virtuouso Eugene Chadbourne makes "Space Is the Place" sound like it was written for banjo, tape loops, and irony, while Graham Connah Group’s cover of "The Satellites Are Spinning" paints the Arkestra’s trajectory with a fitting combination of honor and humor. Several of the tracks embed various of Ra’s paradoxical, cosmically ebullient poems, either stand-alone or accompanied, such as Miss Murgatroid chanting the prayerful "Yes, No, Neither" in a distant voice over electronically treated accordion.
Those not already embroiled in the Ra mythology should start with his earlier recordings. Existing fans will find this a rich epitaph to a musical life that few have ever truly fathomed. All proceeds benefit remaining members of the Arkestra.
[Writers] [Birdhouse]