Polish ensemble EABS releases brilliant cosmic jazz tribute to Sun Ra

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Polish ensemble EABS releases brilliant cosmic jazz tribute to Sun Ra

The Poland-based Electro Acoustic Beat Sessions collective, better known as EABS, has been one of the most forward-thinking jazz groups over the past few years, releasing a number incredible recordings including their 2017 debut Repetitions (Letters To Krzysztof Komeda), 2018’s 12″ single Kraksa / Svantetic with Tenderlonious, and last year’s full-length Slavic Spirits. The innovative sextet returns with arguably their best release to date with a six-track mind-blowing tribute to the legendary Afrofuturism pioneer Sun Ra, titled Discipline of Sun Ra.

This cosmic jazz gem, which came together by the group preparing for a pre-COVID-19 special concert celebrating the archive record from the first landing of the Arkestra in Poland being released, includes re-workings of compositions written by Sun Ra between 1957-1979. Taking the music in all kinds of directions, the recording brilliantly blends together adventurous jazz solos, spacey synths and electronics, beat machines, rhythmic grooves, and even spoken word excerpts from Sun Ra himself.

The session features members of the band playing multiple instruments including Marek “Latarnik” Pędziwiatr on piano, Fender Rhodes and synths, Marcin “Cancer G” Rak on drums, percussion and beat machine programming, Paweł “Wuja HZG” Stachowiak on both bass guitar and MOOG, saxophonist Olaf “Książę Saxonii” Węgier playing soprano, alto, and tenor, Jakub Kurek on trumpet, and Spisek Jednego on both percussion and sound effects.

Overall, as we desperately look for an escape from the current hardships of everyday life and all the challenges that we are dealing with in this moment, EABS have created a masterful escape that sonically transports you to new galaxies. Discipline of Sun Ra is absolutely one of the best Sun Ra tribute recordings you’ll ever hear, while providing a whole fresh take to the original compositions. It’s safe to say that the “Polish Space Program” has launched, and is now sonically orbiting Saturn.

I will leave you with this —

“We already passed one millennium, in fact, we passed the apocalypse: we are living in End Time, all right, but in the last daze. It’s after the end of the world. Don’t you know that yet?” — Sun Ra