A tribute to a lost side of the creative powers of the legendary Sun Ra – his work in prose and poetry, presented here on record by a variety of different voices – all in a production that features some cool electronics from Marshall Allen as well! The instrumental work of Ra and the Arkestra have an undeniably righteous power and spiritual message – and those qualities are presented here in a more focused, more direct style through his pen – ideas that are clear and forthright, and which show very powerful concepts of life, music, politics, race, and the cosmos – all at a level that really showcases the depths of Ra as a philosopher! EVI electronics are played by Allen, who also speaks a bit on the record – alongside others who include Carl Hancok Rux, Zakia Sewell, Abioudun Oyewole, Melanie Charles, Jive Poetic, Tara Middleton, L'Rain, Saul Williams, and Mahogany L Browne. Titles include "When Angels Speak", "The Invisible Giants", "Sun-Day", "Nothing Is", "The Melody of Air", "The Void", "The Neglected Plane Of Wisdom" and more. (Jazz, Spoken Word) CD

A tribute to a lost side of the creative powers of the legendary Sun Ra – his work in prose and poetry, presented here on record by a variety of different voices – all in a production that features some cool electronics from Marshall Allen as well! The instrumental work of Ra and the Arkestra have an undeniably righteous power and spiritual message – and those qualities are presented here in a more focused, more direct style through his pen – ideas that are clear and forthright, and which show very powerful concepts of life, music, politics, race, and the cosmos – all at a level that really showcases the depths of Ra as a philosopher! EVI electronics are played by Allen, who also speaks a bit on the record – alongside others who include Carl Hancok Rux, Zakia Sewell, Abioudun Oyewole, Melanie Charles, Jive Poetic, Tara Middleton, L'Rain, Saul Williams, and Mahogany L Browne. Titles include "When Angels Speak", "The Invisible Giants", "Sun-Day", "Nothing Is", "The Melody of Air", "The Void", "The Neglected Plane Of Wisdom" and more. (Jazz, Spoken Word) LP, Vinyl record album

The wisdom and knowledge of Sun Ra – read by saxophonist David Boykin, an artist who is definitely carrying on the spiritual legacy that Ra began on the Chicago scene! The album is all spoken word – no music at all, but instead these really well-done readings by Boykin – who clearly embraces all of the ideas in the writings of Ra, and delivers them with an understanding that really makes the words leap off the page! Selections include writings from the late 50s through the start of the 80s – with titles that include "Of Variable Universe", "The Empty Space", "Sound Silence", "The Sounds Of Planets", "The Space Age Cannot Be Avoided", "We Hold This Myth To Be Potential", "The Visitation", "Visions Out", "The Three Dimensions Of Air", and "On Solar Planes". (Jazz, Spoken Word) CD

The great saxophonist Joki Freund leads an unusual group here in a very unusual setting! The lineup features Freund on tenor and soprano, Emil Mangelsdorff on alto and flute, Wolfgang Dauner on piano, Eberhard Weber on bass, and Peter Baumeister on drums – all working under the direction of producer Joachim E Berendt, who invited Harald Leipnitz to the session to read works by Jack Kerouac, William S Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Allen Ginsberg! (Jazz, Spoken Word) LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary album of spoken word and spiritual jazz – put together by The Institute of Positive Education in Chicago, and featuring wisdom and knowledge from the legendary Haki R Madhubuti! The album alternates shorter vocal/musical tracks with longer ones that are pure post-Coltrane jazz – played by a group that includes Wallace Roney on trumpet, Byron Harrison on guitar, and Rufus Wright on piano – all working with saxophonist Agyei Akoto, who's also the music director of the set. There's an incredibly positive feel to the set – one that tackles the issues of the time, but which does so with a sense of optimism that's extremely rare today – and which is part of the real charm of the album. Titles include "Talking Stick", "Rise Vision Coming", "Black Man", and "Walk The Way Of The New World". (Jazz, Spoken Word) CD

A legendary album of spoken word and spiritual jazz – put together by The Institute of Positive Education in Chicago, and featuring wisdom and knowledge from the legendary Haki R Madhubuti! The album alternates shorter vocal/musical tracks with longer ones that are pure post-Coltrane jazz – played by a group that includes Wallace Roney on trumpet, Byron Harrison on guitar, and Rufus Wright on piano – all working with saxophonist Agyei Akoto, who's also the music director of the set. There's an incredibly positive feel to the set – one that tackles the issues of the time, but which does so with a sense of optimism that's extremely rare today – and which is part of the real charm of the album. Titles include "Talking Stick", "Rise Vision Coming", "Black Man", and "Walk The Way Of The New World". (Jazz, Spoken Word) LP, Vinyl record album

A late-life interview with Sun Ra – one recorded in the studio of composer Charlie Morrow, who is wise enough to let Ra open up and speak his mind! There's no music at all on the record – which is great, as you get to hear the wisdom of Sun Ra in a very different way than when he's playing piano, or leading the Arkestra – speaking in a voice that's both full of the larger ideas that have always shown up in his writings, but with a quality that's surprisingly down to earth! That side of Ra isn't always that well documented – and the record is a great illustration of the charms that Ra could have when working at a very interpersonal level – still a man of concepts, but also a man of the people as well. (Jazz, Spoken Word) LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique little record – this amazing mix of keyboard jazz and spoken word – and unlike anything else we can think of! We might be tempted to think of the set as a more spiritual journey into territory that Rick Holmes explored with Roy Ayers – but the record is much more open and free-flowing – with a range of different keyboards from leader Abdur Razzaq, who plays Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and other keys – and also delivers a lot of percussion too! Rafiyq performs the vocals – and is recorded with this slight echo that makes his wisdom sound even more majestic – and titles include the long "Night Of Power (parts 1 & 2)", and the shorter "Reflections From The Grave". (Jazz, Spoken Word) CD