SUN RA Sun Song (2009 issue UK 11-track vinyl LP - This recording initiated a much larger audience to the multifarious and otherwise logical post-bop rhythms of one of jazz's most notorious and equally respected figures. Ra's highly arithmetical approach to bop was initially discounted by noted jazz critic Nat Hentoff as 'repetitious' with phrases which were 'built merely on riffs with little development.' In retrospect, however, it is obvious there is much more going on here. Among the musical innovations woven into compositions, such as the up-tempo 'Brainville' and 'Transition,' are advanced time signatures coupled with harmonic scales based on Ra's mathematical equations. The intricate harmonies and complicated arrangements on 'Possession' and 'Sun Song' are inspiring in their deceptive simplicity!)