A Cosmic Hop in Montreal
We had a rare treat here in Montreal last night... in fact one that hasn't been matched since (if I remember correctly) 1989: the landing of the Sun Ra Arkestra in the city to treat us to their unique interstellar sounds. Of course, Mr. Ra (or Mr. Re, or Mr. Mystery, if you like) was not there in body, but with Marshall Allen - pictured here in a shot by Frank Schindelbeck - at the helm to carry on the galactic navigation, nobody was complaining! Winds-of-space abstractions, dreamy exotic grooves, Fletcher Henderson charts, and so on and so on - all the classic Arkestra sounds were graciously offered up to an enthusiastic crowd.

This will certainly be remembered as one of the greatest of the many fantastic events set up for this month by the good people at the Suoni Per Il Popolo festival. And, thanks to CKUT 90.3 fm who broadcast this event live, last night's sounds can be heard over and over again by anyone who wants to download the show from the station's audio archives. The two sets basically went from 22:01 - 23:05 and 23:40 - 24:59 (on June 6 of course). Go get em!

To make it easier for you, dear listener, I will post the links to the two sets:

links expired!

PS: There are quite a few dropouts at the beginning of set 1, but these clear up for the most part after about 30 mins.

Space is the place! Oh, and remember to listen to the Free Kick show this Saturday, June 10, from 9 - 11 pm eastern on CKUT 90.3 fm.

Dave