Monorails and Satellites, volumes 1+2 are two albums of solo piano compositions by the American Jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 musician Sun Ra

Sun Ra

Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...

. Recorded in 1966, Volume 1 was released in 1968 and Volume 2 in 1969, both on Sun Ra's own Saturn

El Saturn Records

El Saturn Records is the name of an American record label. The label was one of the most active artist-owned record labels created in 1957 by Alton Abraham. Notable albums produced by the label include works by Sun Ra....

label. The first volume was reissued on compact disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 by Evidence in 1992, whilst the second record has yet to be reissued. The album showcases Ra's skills as a pianist, which are often compared to Cecil Taylor's;

'Monorails and Satellites, a 1966 solo piano recording, showcases Ra's unique style, which bridges the bluesy architecture of Jelly Roll Morton

Jelly Roll Morton

Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....

 with the angularity of Monk

Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...

 and Cecil Taylor's

Cecil Taylor

Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...

 ascent beyond traditional structure.'

According to Ra's biographer, John Szwed, the title might refer to Stanley Kubrick's

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...

 2001

2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...

, featuring a monolith that Ra remembered as a monorail, 'perhaps connecting it to his UFO experience' . Both albums shared the same sleeve of disembodied hands playing a keyboard that seems to be plugged directly into Saturn

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...

.

Volume 1, 12" Vinyl

All songs by Sun Ra except Easy Street;

Side A:

1. Space Towers - (3.37)
2. Cogitation - (6.36)
3. Skylight - (3.59)
4. The Alter Destiny - (3.08)

Side B:

1. Easy Street - (Jones) - (3.38)
2. Blue Differentials - (2.54)
3. Monorails and Satellites - (5.36)
4. The Galaxy Sun - (3.17)

Volume 2, 12" Vinyl

All songs by Sun Ra

Side A:

1. Astro Vision
2. The Ninth Eye
3. Solar Boats

Side B:

1. Perspective Prisms of Is
2. Calundronius

Musician

• Sun Ra - piano, and electronics on Astro Vision

Recorded at the Sun Studios, New York, (the commune where the Arkestra lived), 1966