Sol,
> 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.
Regarding Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) and the whole Trout Mask Replica
sessions thing. Recently, people have raised a question about Beefheart and his
treatment of his band. Some people think it was a cult and that he brainwashed
them. There's a book out on him assessing his whole career. Here's the blurb
from the Small Press Distribution Catalogue:
Bamberger, W.C. Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On The Arts of Don
Van Vliet
ISBN 0-917453-35-2 2;10pp. paperback Alap Editions 1999. $17.00.
For more than 17 years, Don Van Vliet made music under the name Captain
Beefheart. When he walked away from music, he turned to his other art and is
now an internationally known and collected abstract painter. This book looks at
the phases of Van Vliet's musical career through the lense of the new
ecological theories of mind which were emerging at the time Captain Beefheart &
the Magic Band were beginning to record. The result is a unique interpretation
of Van Vliet's music and motives- "Van Vliet as Gaia microcosm"- which looks at
both his genius and the darker side of his Captain Beefheart persona. The
author also offers a detailed analysis of Van Vliet's drawings and paintings
and suggests that art world acceptance has drastically changed his art- and
perhaps the artist himself. Illustr. of Van Vliet's paintings are not included.
I'm really not sure where I stand on the whole thing. I have always regarded
Beefheart as one of the geniuses of rock music, although I must admit I haven't
heard every one of his records. The records I have heard are some of my
favorite music though.
>
> 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.
>
I've always liked the song "One Nation Under A Groove" isn't it
Parliament/Funkadelic w/ George Clinton? You know "One nation under a groove,
getting down just for the funk of it"
>
> 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.
>
> That's a great story. I love it.
Thanks.
RA
