Some Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue

Some Blues But Not the Kind That’s Blue stands out in Sun Ra’s massive discography for a couple of reasons — the visionary bandleader usually led large ensembles and here he leads a smaller group, and the album is dominated by standards. Originally released in 1978, this 2008 expanded edition includes two takes of Fred Ahlert and Roy Turk’s 1928 classic, “I’ll Get By,” and "Untitled," a previously unreleased jam. Not surprisingly, Sun Ra and his band utterly transform the American songbook pieces and the results are thrilling. (The players include tenor saxophonist John Gilmore, trumpeter Akh Tal Ebah, and alto saxophonist/flutist Marshall Allen.) The album opens with the title track, a Sun Ra original, immediately transporting the listener to another universe. (Sun Ra’s stride-influenced acoustic piano is a special treat.) During the ten-minute take on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things” there are nods to the John Coltrane Quartet’s landmark interpretation, but this group definitely has its own thing going. “Nature Boy” is one of the album's standouts; it’s hard to think of another version this soulful.