Prophet

Prophet documents a 1986 session at Mission Control Studios in Westford, Massachusetts, marking perhaps the only time Sun Ra played the Prophet VS (vector synthesizer), which was brand new at the time. Recorded in a single day (August 25), the release begins with "The Prophet," a 16-minute improvisation that sounds like Ra was figuring out how to use the instrument in real time. Opening with crashing digital gongs and synth burbles, Ra revels in the synths alien textures, levitating and flickering with punctuation by blown-out percussive bursts. Gradually, he finds a glassy, organ-like tone and settles into more melodic playing, easing into a playful comfort zone. The remainder of the album features accompaniment from fellow Arkestra members. James Jacsons drum solo "Infinity Excursion" leads into "The Prophet at Play," a collision of acoustic and digital drums, splattered with exuberant horns and later backed by subtle, sliding acoustic bass. "The Prophet Returns" is mostly Ra solo, and its some of his warmest, most spirited playing during the session. After the pieces most suspenseful section, the rest of the Arkestra joins in for a moment of unhinged splendor, ending up in between fractured swing and manic free jazz. Two CD-only bonus tracks briefly feature vocalist June Tyson, though unfortunately she clearly had a nasty sore throat that day. Still, the band is loose, swinging, and spacy, and "Theyll Come Back" is a rough but energized call-and-response duet. Prophet is an intriguing look into Sun Ras creative process, but ultimately it sounds more like a rehearsal than a top-tier Arkestra session, mainly interesting for the possibilities of what couldve developed had Ra been given more time with the instrument. ~ Paul Simpson