Jazz by Sun Ra

{{Infobox album

| name = Jazz By Sun Ra

| type = studio

| artist = Sun Ra and his Arkestra

| cover = JazzBySunRa.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Original Transition pressing, 1957

| released = 1957

| recorded = July 12, 1956

| venue =

| studio = Universal Recording Corp. (Chicago)

| genre = Post-bop, big band

| length = 40:14

| label = {{unbulleted list|Transition|Delmark}}

| producer = Tom Wilson

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Super-Sonic Jazz

| next_year = 1957

| misc = {{Extra album cover

| header = reissue cover

| type = studio

| cover = SunRaSunSongAlbumCover.jpeg

| border =

| alt =

| caption = Delmark reissue 1967, retitled Sun Song

}}

{{Music ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r151863|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]

| rev2 = DownBeat

| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}Down Beat: May 30, 1968 vol. 35, no. 11

| rev4 = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

| rev4Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite book

|editor-last=Swenson

|editor-first=J.

| author-link =

| year = 1985

| title = The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide

| publisher = Random House/Rolling Stone

| location = US

| isbn = 0-394-72643-X

| pages = 186

}}

|rev3 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings

|rev3score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |authorlink1=Richard Cook (journalist) |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |authorlink2=Brian Morton (Scottish writer) |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |year=2008 |edition=9th |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-141-03401-0 |page=1356}}

}}

Jazz By Sun Ra (later titled Sun Song) is the debut album by Sun Ra.[http://www.dpo.uab.edu/~moudry/disc_a.htm#2. Sun Ra Discography Items 1-25] The record label for the first pressing says "07-12-56", presumably when it was recorded.[http://www.discogs.com/release/517197 Sun Ra – Jazz By Sun Ra] The LP originally appeared on Tom Wilson's short-lived Transition Records. In the mid-1960s it was purchased (along with much of the Transition catalog) by Delmark Records owner Bob Koester, finally being reissued in 1967.

When originally released, it came with an extensive booklet featuring words and photos of Sun Ra and his Arkestra. The LP featured original compositions by Sun Ra along with one by Arkestral bassist Richard Evans. Another composition by Arkestra member Julian Priester has been included in reissues from the session, and additional unreleased tracks (all Ra originals) are known to survive. The single non-Arkestral composition was Possession, by Harry Revel, which had been written for Les Baxter's album Perfume Set to Music; Possession was arranged for the Arkestra by the Texan pianist and composer Prince Shell.

Earlier home recordings by Ra, including one dating from 1948 or 1949, were released with tracks from 1973 on the album Deep Purple.

Track listing

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Sun Ra except where noted

| headline = Side A

| title1 = Brainville

| length1 = 4:29

| title2 = Call For All Demons

| length2 = 4:30

| title3 = Transition

| length3 = 3:40

| title4 = Possession

| length4 = 5:00

| writer4 = Harry Revel

| title5 = Street Named Hell

| length5 = 3:55

| total_length = 21:34

}}{{Track listing

| headline = Side B

| title6 = Lullaby For Realville

| length6 = 4:40

| writer6 = Richard Evans

| title7 = Future

| length7 = 3:15

| title8 = New Horizons

| length8 = 3:05

| title9 = Fall Off The Log

| length9 = 4:00

| title10 = Sun Song

| length10 = 3:40

| total_length = 18:40

}}

When reissued on Compact Disc in 1991, "Swing a Little Taste" was added. This was originally released on the Transition sampler Jazz in Transition alongside tracks by artists such as Cecil Taylor, Donald Byrd and John Coltrane.