Celestial Love LP

Forget the cosmic sax-blowout version of Sun Ra for a minute; "Celestial Love" catches the Arkestra in a soul jazz mood, organ heavy and loose, like a Saturn label session that wandered into a barroom organ trio by mistake. John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, Danny Ray Thompson, Walter Miller, and vocalist June Tyson are all here, running through originals alongside a reading of "Sophisticated Lady." Modern Harmonic dug up this early 1980s date, and it's a long way from Ra's free jazz extremes.