Ofamfa Children of the Sun LP (1971) St. Louis - Black Artists Group

$

53

LP

Ofamfa

"Children of the Sun"

Universal Justice 29105/06

Private Pressing from St. Louis

Stereo

Made in U.S.A. 

Released in 1971

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ORIGINAL - NOT A REISSUE 

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From stljazznotes.blogspot.com

StLJN Audio Archive: Black Artists Group - Ofamfa: Children of the Sun

For this week's Audio Archive post, we delve into the history of St. Louis' Black Artists Group and revisit Ofamfa: Children of the Sun, BAG's first-ever LP release issued in 1971 on their own Universal Justice imprint.

Preserved online thanks to the music sharing blog Nothing Is II, Ofamfa largely features the poetry of BAG co-founder Bruce "Ajulé" Rutlin with musical accompaniment from an ensemble of musicians including such now-familiar names as saxophonist Oliver Lake, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and trumpeter Floyd Leflore. It was recorded live in 1970 as the audio component of a performance featuring dancers Carolyn Zachary, Etta Jackson, Johadi, and Sandra Weaver.

So what does it sound like? Well, as the proprietor of Nothing Is put it:
"Depending on your state of mind, it is either brilliant next-level sound art, or an incomprehensible and bumbling train wreck. Or both. I always think to myself, I could just listen to the amp hum from an anonymous location in St. Louis some 35 years ago and be content."

One thing is for sure, there’s a good reason nobody else would release this. It makes John Coltrane sound like “Get on the Good Foot.” R-A-W. Even Arista avoided it when they raided the catalog to re-release “Under the Sun” and “Whisper of Dharma.” Hence, this is another entry in this blog’s catalog of un-loved recordings that still haven’t seen a proper digital release."
And indeed, Ofamfa seems never to have made it to CD, which, considering the relatively small quantities of LPs pressed for its original issue, makes it a genuine collector's item as well as a key document of the evolution of BAG.

The complete personnel for the album (pictured) includes Raju Áten (conga, small instruments), Oliver Lake (soprano sax, alto sax, flute, poems, small instruments), Floyd LeFlore (trumpet, small instruments), Ishac Rajab (trumpet), Arzinia Richardson (bass, small instruments), Vincent Terrell (cello), Charles "Bobo" Shaw (drums, small instruments), and Bruce "Ajulé" Rutlin (poet, arrangements, small instruments, drums).

The tracks are "Sweet Street Song," "Uu-Twee," "After Jeremiah's Wed," "Sounds of Scorpio," "Trane Songs," "Rent Man," "A Little Tom is a Dangerous Thing" and "Echos (O Susanna)."

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Please see photo No. 2 for program information.

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COVER CONDITION 

Nice and clean.

Scattered wear on bottom edge.

2 paper ripples on back.

No seam splits, cutout hole, saw mark, cut corner, writing or any other cover defects.

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 RECORD CONDITION

Every record we offer for sale receives a very strict visual inspection under strong light.

Side One:

 No visual imperfections. 

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Side Two:

Important note: There is a 1/2 inch surface scratch on Track 1 ("Rent Man"). You can definitely feel it with your fingertips. 

We played this track to check how this scratch affects play. It plays through fine without any sticks or skips. However, you can hear a clicking sound for several minutes during the 11:10 track. But the music during this part is loud and intense and the clicking is not too distracting in our opinion. We are offering it in this condition due to the rarity of the LP. The rest of the LP looks fine.

If you like wild Avant-garde Jazz with spoken words and poetry thrown in, you will love this LP. (It is not recommended for family listening.)

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LABELS CONDITION

Very clean.

Spindle Hole on Side One ~ No marks or trails. 

Spindle Hole on Side Two ~  No marks or trails.

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INNER SLEEVE DESCRIPTION

Blank white.

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