Nothing Is
Encyclopedia
Nothing Is is a live album
by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra
recorded in 1966 and released on the ESP-Disk
label in 1970.
Side B:
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by American composer, bandleader and keyboardist 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 and released on the ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk
ESP-Disk is a New York-based record label, founded in 1964 by lawyer Bernard Stollman.From the beginning, the label's goal has been to provide its recording artists with complete artistic freedom, unimpeded by any record company interference or commercial expectations—a philosophy summed-up by the...
label in 1970.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Lindsay Planer awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Sun Ra and his Arkestra issued only a handful of titles on the groundbreaking indie ESP-Disk label. Each title respectively contains some of their most expressive musical statements to date".12" Vinyl
Side A:- "Dancing Shadows" - 9:50
- "Imagination" - 1:53
- "Exotic Forest" - 9:50
Side B:
- "Sun Ra and His Band from Outer Space" - 1:58
- "Shadow World" - 13:48
- "Theme of the Stargazers" - 0:40
- "Outer Spaceways Incorporated" - 1:42
- "Next Stop Mars" - 0:38
CD Bonus Tracks
- "Velvet" - 7:20
- "Outer Nothingness" - 15:43
- "We Travel the Spaceways" - 1:30
- Recorded live on tour of New York state colleges in March 1966.
Personnel
- Sun RaSun RaSun 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...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, claviolineClaviolineThe clavioline is an electronic keyboard instrument, a forerunner to the analog synthesizer.It was invented by Constant Martin in 1947. It consists of a keyboard and a separate amplifier and speaker unit. The keyboard usually covered three octaves, and had a number of switches to alter the tone of... - Ali Hassan, Teddy Nance - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Marshall AllenMarshall AllenMarshall Belford Allen is an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and EVI ....
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, piccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
, oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca... - John GilmoreJohn Gilmore (musician)John Gilmore was an American jazz tenor saxophone player best-known for his long tenure as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Pat Patrick - baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
, flute - Robert Cummings - bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
- James Jacson - flute, log drums
- Ronnie BoykinsRonnie BoykinsRonnie Boykins was a jazz bassist and is best known for his work with pianist/bandleader Sun Ra, although he had played with such disparate musicians as Muddy Waters, Johnny Griffin, and Jimmy Witherspoon prior to joining Sun Ra's Arkestra.-Biography:He joined the Arkestra during the Chicago...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the... - Clifford JarvisClifford JarvisClifford Jarvis was an American hard bop and free jazz drummer.After studying at Berklee in the 1950s he established himself in jazz between 1959 and 1966 by recording with Chet Baker, Randy Weston, Yusef Lateef, Freddie Hubbard, Barry Harris, Jackie McLean, and Elmo Hope, and playing with Grant...
, Roger Blank, Jimmy Johnson - drumDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Carl S. Malone, Nimrod Hunt - sun horn, gongGongA gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....