The Squid's Ear Magazine

Sun Ra and His Arkestra

I Struck a Match on the Moon / Dreamsville [7-inch VINYL]

Sun Ra and His Arkestra: I Struck a Match on the Moon / Dreamsville [7-inch VINYL] (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

Recorded during the The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra sessions in 1961 after moving the Arkestra to the Philadelphia/NY area from his original Chicago base, these two ballads are sung by Ricky Murray, "I Struck a Match..." written by Sun Ra and very much an Arkestra tune, while "Dreamsville" is a Livingston-Mancini-Evans tune that receives Ra's big band treatment.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Sun Ra-band leader, composer

Ricky Murray-vocals

Other performers uncredited


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UPC: 0608887586930

Label: Corbett vs. Dempsey
Catalog ID: CvsDS003
Squidco Product Code: 30182

Format: 7" Record
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: USA
Packaging: 7" Record
Recorded at Medallion Studios, in Newark, New Jersey, on October 10, 1961.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"In 1961 Sun Ra took off from Chicago - where he had established the Arkestra, his dedicated ensemble and the vehicle for his mission to better the planet - and with a scaled-down version of the band he landed in New York. Their first recording session was in Newark in October of that year. The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra, recorded for the Savoy label, is a beautiful document of the material they'd honed during a long residency at the Wonder Inn at the end of the Chicago period. Among tracks left in the vault from that day in the studio were these two great ballads sung by Ricky Murray, both of them redolent of the bright popcraft that had long been part of Ra's repertoire, with classic Afrofuturist themes of navigating outer space and altered destiny cloaked in sweet songs with tart arrangements. This 7-inch vinyl single is limited to 1000 copies, with full-color cover including a rare photo of the band with Ricky Murray."-Corbett vs. Dempsey

Ricky Murray remembers:

"We did that at the Wonder Inn, just before going to Montreal. When we played the Wonder Inn didn't have too big a crowd but we were playing like it was a concert! In Montreal, though, we packed them in! College kids from McGill. They thought we were going to play rock 'n' roll, but Sunny [Sun Ra] said we didn't drive all this was to do that. Sunny said: 'We're going to New York.' So that was it. We had bass fiddle, drums, and about four guys in one vehicle, very tight. Ronnie Boykins' father's car broke down on the bridge on the way into Manhattan. We had an audition at The Five Spot when we first hit New York, another place called the African Room. We stayed at the Hotel Scott, a floor above Chubby Checker's room. Kinda rough when we hit New York, boy! Mean days. We were doing those songs, 'I Struck a Match' and 'Dreamsville,' also 'China Gate' and a few others that Sunny had. We had an audition also at the Village Gate I think. Marshall Allen especially liked playing 'I Struck a Match on the Moon' because he got a chance to light up a cigarette while we were singing."

Other performers on this 7" are likely:

Marshall Allen-Alto Saxophone, Woodwind [Morrow], Flute

Pat Patrick-Baritone Saxophone

Ronnie Boykins-Bass

Leah Ananda-Congas

Harvey (15)-Cover

Willie Jones-Drums

Bernard McKinney-Euphonium, Trombone

Sun Ra-Piano

John Gilmore-Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet


Artist Biographies

"Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, legal name Le Sony'r Ra; May 22, 1914 - May 30, 1993) was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his experimental music, "cosmic philosophy", prolific output, and theatrical performances. He was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame in 1979. For much of his career, Ra led "The Arkestra", an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up.

Born and raised in Alabama, Blount would eventually become involved in the 1940s Chicago jazz scene. He soon abandoned his birth name, taking the name Sun Ra (after Ra, the Egyptian God of the Sun) and developing a complex persona and mythology that would make him a pioneer of Afrofuturism: he claimed he was an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, and throughout his life he consistently denied any ties to his prior identity. His widely eclectic and exploratory music would eventually touch on virtually the entire history of jazz, ranging from swing music and bebop to free jazz and fusion, and his compositions ranged from keyboard solos to big bands of over 30 musicians. From the mid-1950s until his death, Ra led the musical collective The Arkestra (which featured artists such as Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, June Tyson throughout its various iterations). Its performances often included dancers and musicians dressed in elaborate, futuristic costumes inspired by ancient Egyptian attire and the space age.

Though his mainstream success was limited, Sun Ra was a prolific recording artist and frequent live performer, and remained both influential and controversial throughout his life for his music and persona. He is now widely considered an innovator; among his distinctions are his pioneering work in free improvisation and modal jazz and his early use of electronic keyboards. Over the course of his career, he recorded dozens of singles and over one hundred full-length albums, comprising well over 1000 songs, and making him one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century. Following Sun Ra's death in 1993, the Arkestra continues to perform."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Ra)
3/27/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



SIDE A



1. I Struck a Match on the Moon

SIDE B



2. Dreamsville

Related Categories of Interest:

Vinyl Recordings

7" New
Sun Ra
Jazz
Improvised Music
Song Based Music
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv

Search for other titles on the label:
Corbett vs. Dempsey.


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