Sun Ra’s restless, astral jazz has been an inspiration to countless musicians and artists. Meshell Ndegeocello is clearly one of those who has felt the full force of his sprawling brilliance, as she has curated and created an album entitled Red Hot & Ra: The Magic City set for release this Friday, April 12th. The album represents the latest project recorded for the Red Hot organization, a not-for-profit production company whose mission is in promoting public health and diversity through equal access to care.
Inspired by the Sun Ra track “Pleiades,” “Departure Guide of the 7 Sisters”—the third single from the project—drops today. With Deantoni Parks on drums/electronics, vocals from Jade Hicks and Ndegeocello on keys, it reunites core players from the latter’s GRAMMY-winning album The Omnichord Real Book (2023), which captured Albumism’s #1 Album-of-the-Year honors last year. “Departure Guide of the 7 Sisters” follows the previous release of “Bedlam Blues” and “#9 Venus the Living Myth.”
Maintaining the flute lines of the original, it adds shuffling, stuttering percussion to a track that somehow manages to twist and evolve over the course of its brief, nearly three-minute duration. Listen below for an intriguing peek into what promises to be an inventive, album-long reflection on the genius of Sun Ra.
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