Space is the Place is an album by Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra. The music was recorded in early 1972 in San Francisco, California, for the film Space Is the Place. However, the music remained unreleased until Evidence Music issued a compact disc in 1993.

During the late-1960s and early-1970s, Sun Ra and his ensemble made several forays to California. In 1971, Sun Ra taught a course, "The Black Man in the Cosmos", at University of California, Berkeley. Over the course of these California visits, Sun Ra came to the attention of Jim Newman, who produced the film Space Is the Place starring Sun Ra and his Arkestra, and based, in part, on Sun Ra's Berkeley lectures. The soundtrack CD compiles 16 tracks that Sun Ra recorded for the film.

The soundtrack was reissued as an expanded edition in 2023 with an unreleased album titled The Mathematics of the Altered Destiny which was recorded during the same recording sessions.

Critical reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz describes the album as "a brisk montage of Arkestra music....[I]t works remarkably well and the playing is tight and enigmatic." The Penguin editors also note that "Mysterious Crystal" is of particular interest, with the track "combining a huge array of elements into something that simply cannot be characterized by reference to any other music." Ron Wynn of the All Music Guide to Jazz describes the tracks as being "among Sun Ra's most ambitious, unorthodox, and compelling compositions."

Track listing All compositions and arrangements by Sun Ra.

Personnel Sun Ra – piano, Minimoog, Farfisa organ, Clavinet, Rocksichord, declamation Kwame Hadi – trumpet, conga, vibraphone Wayne Harris – trumpet Marshall Allen – alto saxophone, flute, oboe, bassoon, kora, cowbell, percussion Danny Davis – alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet, percussion Larry Northington – alto saxophone, conga, percussion John Gilmore – tenor saxophone, drums, percussion, vocals Eloe Omoe – bass clarinet, bongos, percussion Danny Ray Thompson – baritone saxophone, percussion Lex Humphries – drums Ken Moshesh – conga June Tyson – vocals, bells

Release history Region Date Label Format Catalog Worldwide 1993 Evidence Music CD ECD 22070-2

References