Hi all,
Nice to see a Sun Ra discussion. I have quite a lot of his work on CD and
some on LP that I bought before these CD days.
Since he died a few years ago most of his back catalogue has been re-issued
on CD including a lot of hard to find stuff (e.g. a live album of Sun Ra and
the Arkestra performing songs from Disney movies - I have this gem!). Many
of his original releases were fairly small editions(certainly early on)
especially the singles. He used to draw the covers and labels himself to
save money then get some records pressed and sell them at the live shows. I
believe he was hugely in debt through out his life, especially since he
insisted on maintaining a big band and taking them on the road way after
most big band had given up because of the expense of touring with so many
musicians. Also he maintained a house where all of his band, the Arkestra,
lived together - this way of making music is comparable to how Beefheart
made Trout Mask replica locking his whole band up together for six months.
Sun Ra however used this method of working for much longer, communal living
and strict rehearsals.
Sun Ra is a fantastic artist. Myke mentioned him saying he was from another
planet. Yes, he claimed he was from Saturn. This wasn't serious however but
rather he used this as a metaphor for the black man's alienation in a white
society.
Anyway, I'd love to talk about Sun Ra all day but I've a tonne of work to
do. I'd recommend that you all read.
Space Is the Place : The Lives and Times of Sun Ra
by John F. Szwed
Da Capo Press; ISBN: 0306808552
This is a wonderful biography, carefully researched and giving a lot of
detail on Sun Ra's musical influences. Who would have thought he was
influenced by Scriabin for example?
Reed, "Space is the place" is both the title of a song and the title of a
film Sun Ra made which I believe is now available on video but I've not seen
a copy.
Sun Ra was a pioneer of the black avant-garde. His blend of big band jazz
science fiction and mysticism influenced many later artists, most notably
George Clinton who also adopted a Sun Ra style of dress and had spaceships
land on stage during Parliament concerts.
Sun Ra's music however is in a class of it's own. Apparently Sun Ra was once
asked to stop playing by the owner of a venue who accused him of playing the
music that only God was allowed to play. That says it all.
Anyway, read the biography and buy every CD you find you won't be
disappointed.
cheers,
Sol.
