Sound Advice

Of all the saxophones, it is our opinion that the one with the most distinctive sound, warmth and range that can reach into that of other saxophones, is the baritone sax. As composer, bandleader, and full-time member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Pat Patrick was a visionary musician whose singular contribution to the jazz tradition has not yet been fully recognized. As well as holding down the baritone spot in the Arkestra for 35 years, Patrick played flute and alto, composed in both jazz and popular idioms, and was a widely respected musician, playing with Duke Ellington, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane, with whom he appeared on Africa/Brass (1961). But he is best known for his crucial contributions to key Sun Ra recordings including Angels and Demons at Play (1967), Jazz in Silhouette (1959), and The Nubians of Plutonia (1967), among dozens of others. But as a bandleader, Patrick only released one LP - the almost-mythical Sound Advice, recorded with his Baritone Saxophone Retinue, a unique gathering of baritone saxophone masters including Charles Davis and Rene McLean. First issued in 1977 on Sun Ra's legendary Saturn Records imprint, Sound Advice is a deep-hued exploration of this special instrument, a lost masterpiece of Arkestrally-minded Ellingtonia on which higher adepts of the lower cosmic tones are heard in rare conference. Unissued since original release, this unique jazz masterpiece now returns to the limelight. Released in collaboration with the Pat Patrick estate. Remastered and restored sound. Liner notes by scholar and musician Bill Banfield.