Fate in a Pleasant Mood (Remastered 2014) [feat. John Gilmore & Marshall Allen]

Recorded in 1960 and released in 1965, these are the final recordings Sun Ra and his Arkestra did while based in Chicago. Unlike with some albums from this era, most of the material here was recorded in a proper studio. The sound quality is excellent—now remastered from original source tapes using a 24-bit transfer. That said, an unreleased 45-rpm single version of “Lights on a Satellite” is covered in a heavy blanket of spacy reverb that verges on the surreal. More conventional are the brief but nuanced “The Others in Their World,” a lovely gem that swings with fine horn work, and the uptempo hard bop of “Distant Stars,” which features an angular piano solo by the bandleader. Those who want to hear Marshall Allen’s wonderful flute work can turn to the exotica of “Kingdom of Thunder” and the more outward and exotic “Space Mates”—the latter includes great drum work (probably from John Hardy) and another fine piano solo. All in all, it's not a bad place for a neophyte to start or a fan to bone up on the band’s Chicago period.