2nd Chance: Sun Ra - Strange Strings (1967)

Strange Strings is one of the most obscure and downright weird recordings in all of Sun Ra’s immense (and weird) discography. By 1966, Ra had acquired a selection of odd stringed instruments – ukuleles, kotos, zithers, etc. – to be played exclusively here by members of the Arkestra. That the musicians did not how to play them was the whole point, it was, according to Ra, “a study in ignorance.” Structurally, the music builds on the kind of conducted-improvisation found on The Magic City (1965) (Evidence CD), but the unfamiliar instruments create a truly otherworldly din. Homemade metallic instruments clatter and thrum while strings are plucked, bowed, struck and scraped; sometimes drums and tympani pound ominously. Thick reverb saturates or, at other times, dries up the acoustic, creating shifting and distorted sonic perspectives. Sounding more like Iannis Xenakis than Fletcher Henderson, this stuff is definitely not for the faint of heart! The bonus track, “Door Squeak” features Sun Ra on, yes, a loudly squeaking door (which actually sounds very much like the MiniMoog, which he would take up years later) while more strange strings chatter in the background. Detailed liner notes by Hal Rammel and super deluxe packaging make this CD a must have for the connoisseur of Sun Ra’s furthest interplanetary journeys.

Strange Strings is a somewhat legendary album from the mid-'60s. "Worlds Approaching" is a great tune, anchored by a bass ostinato and timpani and featuring several fantastic solos, including Marshall Allen on oboe, Robert Cummings on bass clarinet, John Gilmore on tenor, and Sun Ra on electric piano. Off and on throughout the tune, Bugs Hunter applies near-lethal doses of reverb, giving the piece a very odd but interesting sound. "Strange Strings" is one of those songs that is likely to inspire some sort of "you call that music?" comment from your grandmother, or even from open-minded friends. It sounds like they raided the local pawnshop for anything with strings on it, then passed them out to the bandmembers. It's difficult to tell if some of these instruments have been prepared in some way, or if they're simply being played by untutored hands. There are also lots of drums and some viola playing from Ronnie Boykins that is also treated heavily with reverb. Despite the cacophony, there is a definite ebb and flow to the piece and what seem like different movements or themes. Whatever you think of the music contained, there's no denying that it produced some of the most remarkable sounds of the mid-'60s. If you don't like "out," stay clear of this one. [Atavistic reissued the album in 2009.]

Sun Ra (Wurlitzer ep, perc); Ali Hassan (tb); Marshall Allen (as, ob); Danny Davis (as, fl); John Gilmore (ts); Pat Patrick (bars, fl); Robert Cummings (bcl); Ronnie Boykins (b); Clifford Jarvis (d, tymp); James Jacson (log drum, perc).

Poor recording quality indicates a different session from the rest of the Strange Strings album.  This session could have been made a year or two earlier than the rest of the album.

124. [110] Marshall Allen (strings); Danny Davis (strings); John Gilmore (strings); Pat Patrick (strings); Robert Cummings (strings); Ali Hassan (strings); Carl Nimrod (strings, perc); Ronnie Boykins (b, vla, dutar); Sun Ra (lightning drum, tymp); James Jacson (log drums); Clifford Jarvis (tymp, perc); Art Jenkins [Thlan Aldridge] (strings, space voice).

Thoth Intergalactic KH-5472, Strange Strings, was issued in 1967 (it is described by Tam Fiori in the January 1968 issue of Jazz and Pop).  It also circulated under the catalog number 502.  "Strange Strings" begins as the second track on Side A ("featuring vocal by Arthur Jenkins"), and the continuation ("featuring lightning drum") fills all of Side B.  Some previous discographies give 1964 as the recording date, but John Gilmore places it after Nothing Is.

What were the strings?  Gilmore described his as "a little Japanese instrument"; in a Melody Maker article, Fiofori refers to "Chinese lutes, moon-guitars, mandolin, bass, koto."  In 1966 photos of a rehearsal in the Sun Studios (by Val Wilmer, in Omniverse Sun Ra), Boykins is shown playing a dutar, a bowed lute used in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (thanks to Ralph Pleshar for background on the dutar), as well as a more Oriental instrument.  Hartmut Geerken points out that none of the strings were actually electric, though they were closely miked and in some cases subjected to reverb (Carl Nimrod was incorrectly credited with "electric strings").  Geerken identifies one of Ra's "sun harps" as a Ukrainian bandura (it is shown on the cover of Holiday for Soul Dance); it is possible that one of the other Arkestra members played the bandura on this date.

On the jacket Jenkins is billed as "Thlan Aldridge," but according to articles in Jazz Wereld, August and October 1968, he and Aldridge are one and the same.  Indeed, the Carnegie Hall program for April 12-13, 1968, lists "Art Jenkins (= Thlan Aldridge)."

 Sun Ra and his Astro-Infinity Arkestra

1.  Worlds Approaching   10:17

2.  Strange Strings   12:48

3.  Strange Strange   20:24

4.  Door Squeak   10:29

or

-320-
RS
HF


Strange Strings (180g LP Reissue)

1. Worlds Approaching   10:10
2. Strings Strange   12:27

3. Strange Strange   19:58

-FLAC-
RS
HF

or

-320-
RS
HF