Strange Strings (Remastered 2014) [feat. Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, Danny Davis & Pat Patrick]

Fans know that Sun Ra’s ‘60s music moves into similar sonic territory trailblazed by experimental jazzmen like Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. But the aptly named title track from Strange Strings (subtitled “A Study in Ignorance”) is at the far edge of this voyage, featuring his horn section manipulating (a better word than “playing”) a variety of stringed instruments as well as other homemade ones, like one involving a piece of sheet metal and something called a “Moon Guitar.” There were also the typical horns and percussion, all of it recorded at a loud volume that insured that the sound quality was often distorted. Originally released in mono, all of this is now remixed with notably improved sound. The original three pieces—no titles originally given but listed here as “Worlds Approaching” (heard in stereo for the first time here), “Strange Strings,” and “Strange Strange”—are supplemented with unreleased stuff in mono, probably recorded around the same time with the same approach. One wonders if Sun Ra tired of his music being labeled avant-garde jazz (a concept he never embraced), and this was his response.