Other Voices, Other Blues is one of several albums done with this basic lineup in January of 1978. This album is billed to
the Sun Ra Quartet, but it sounds like there's a bass player present on at least some of the cuts (it could be
Ra, but he'd need three hands). As the title implies, this album shows listeners the many sides of the blues and demonstrates what some highly individual players can do with the blues. "Bridge on the Ninth Dimension" starts as a slow, spooky synth blues that morphs into an uptempo freakout session about halfway through. This is really the only truly "out" portion of the album, although the blues get decidedly weird on "Rebellion."
Sun Ra plays piano on "One Day in Rome," "Along the Tiber," and "Sun, Sky and Wind" and synthesizer on the others. This is really a great setting to hear what these guys can do as soloists, with the easy-to-follow changes of the blues and stripped-down ensemble.
Luqman Ali's drumming is the anchor, and everyone gets plenty of solo space. Fans of
John Gilmore should surely seek this out, but Michael Ray and
Sun Ra are also simply fantastic. As with other Horo releases, this will be hard to find, but well worth it. [This release was remastered and co-produced by
Michael D. Anderson (of the
Sun Ra Music Archive) and
Irwin Chusid, under the auspices of
Sun Ra LLC, the heirs of the late music legend. Original session tapes were used when available and sound quality should surpass all previous CD/digital editions.] ~ Sean Westergaard