''We Travel the Space Ways'' is an album by the American jazz musician

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

and his Myth Science Arkestra. Recorded mostly in 1960, the album was released in 1967, on Sun Ra's own label

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

. The album brings together a number of eras and personnel of the Arkestra, and was probably mostly recorded by Ra himself during rehearsals.From Sonny Blount to Sun Ra, Campbell, retrieved 25-07-09
/ref> The earliest recording, ''New Horizons'', was recorded at Balkan Studio, Chicago, April 13, 1956, and predates the version on

Jazz by Sun Ra ''Jazz By Sun Ra'' (later titled ''Sun Song'') is the debut album by Sun Ra. The record label for the first pressing says "07-12-56", presumably when it was recorded. The LP originally appeared on Tom Wilson's short-lived ''Transition Records''. ...

. ''Velvet'' was recorded at the end of the session at RCA Studios, Chicago, around June 17, 1960, that yielded over 30 recordings spread across 5 albums ('' Fate In A Pleasant Mood'', '' Holiday for Soul Dance'', ''

Angels and Demons at Play ''Angels and Demons at Play'' is a jazz album by Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra. Side one was recorded in 1960, including two tracks taken from the mammoth session either at Hall Recording Company or at the RCA Studios (both in Chicago), a ...

'', ''We Travel the Space Ways'' & ''

Interstellar Low Ways ''Interstellar Low Ways'' is an album recorded by the American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra, mostly recorded in Chicago, 1960, and released in 1967 on his own El Saturn Records, El Saturn label. Originally titled ''Rocket Num ...

''). ''Eve'' and ''Space Loneliness'' were recorded at the Pershing Lounge, Chicago, July 13, 1961. The rest were recorded at various rehearsals in 1960. The mechanical sound at the end of the title track comes from a toy robot:

"The bizarre whirring and quacking heard at the end of “We Travel the Spaceways” comes from a toy robot with flashing lights; John Gilmore told John Corbett that around this time the Arkestra would release the “robots” into the audience during their performances. The band also used mechanical “flying saucers” as props".

When the album was re-issued on CD by Evidence, it was coupled with the whole of the 1961 album '' Bad & Beautiful'', Ra's first recording for Saturn after arriving in New York.

Track listing

12" Vinyl

All songs were written by Sun Ra.
Side A: #"Interplanetary Music" - (2.41) #"Eve" - (3.08) #"We Travel the Space Ways" - (3.23) #"Tapestry from an Asteroid" - (2.07) Side B: #"Space Loneliness" - (4.49) #"New Horizons" - (3.01) #"Velvet" - (4.36) The album includes a number of alternative versions of songs that also appear - usually in better quality recordings - on other early Saturn albums; ''Interplanetary Music'' and ''Space Loneliness'' appear on ''

''; ''Eve'' is also on '' Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra Visits Planet Earth''; ''We Travel The Space Ways'' from ''

When Sun Comes Out ''For the song by Harold Arden and Ted Koehler, see When the Sun Comes Out'' ''When Sun Comes Out'' is an album by the American Jazz musician Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra. The album was originally released on Ra's own record label, Saturn ...

''; ; ''Tapestry From An Asteroid'' from ''

The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra ''The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra'' is an album by the American jazz musician Sun Ra and his Arkestra, recorded on October 10, 1961, for the Savoy label and released in 1962. The album was supervised by Tom Wilson, who would later produce album ...

'' on Savoy Records; ''New Horizons'' from ''

''; & ''Velvet'' which appears on ''

Jazz In Silhouette ''Jazz in Silhouette'' is the third studio album by pianist-composer Sun Ra and His Arkestra. It was recorded on March 6, 1959, and released in May of the same year. The album was recorded in Chicago during a session that also included the whole o ...

''. All of these records had already been released by the time ''We Travel the Space Ways'' was produced.

Musicians

*Sun Ra *

Phil Cohran Kelan Phil Cohran (May 8, 1927 June 28, 2017) was a jazz musician. He was best known for playing trumpet in the Sun Ra Arkestra in Chicago from 1959 to 1961, and for his involvement in the foundation of the Association for the Advancement of Crea ...

Marshall Allen Marshall Belford Allen (born May 25, 1924) is an American free jazz and avant-garde jazz alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and EWI (an electronic valve instrument made by Steiner, Crumar company). Allen is best ...

*George Hudson *

John Gilmore John Gilmore may refer to: * John Gilmore (activist) (born 1955), co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Cygnus Solutions * John Gilmore (musician) (1931–1995), American jazz saxophonist * John Gilmore (representative) (1780–1845), ...

*William Strickland *Art Hoyle *Julian Priester *James Scales *Wilburn Green * Pat Patrick *

Ronnie Boykins Ronald Boykins (December 17, 1935 – April 20, 1980) 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 pri ...

* Robert Barry *Jon Hardy *William Cochran

References

Complete Sun Ra's Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:We Travel The Space Ways Sun Ra albums 1961 albums El Saturn Records albums Evidence Music albums

Track listing

12" Vinyl

Musicians

See also

References