The Sun Ra Arkestra's Maestro Hits One Hundred

It's excellent to see this on HN. Sun Ra and the Arkestra's genres transcend space and time, and their discography is massive, so it can be hard to tell people where to start listening, but "Jazz in Silhouette" (1959) is fine introduction to their more traditional style that won't startle you if you don't listen to much free jazz. In fact I just threw it on the ol turntable. If that tickles you, try "Space is the Place" (1973) on for something more experimental. In between, you cannot go wrong with the "Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra" albums (1965)

I saw Sun Ra back once back in the mid-70s in NYC. Easily the most memorable jazz concert I've ever seen. My recollection is not 100%, but what I do remember is the Arkestra lined up in a row of chairs facing the audience. There were 2 dancers female dressed in filmy clothes that were essentially circling the players and dancing around the stage. Sun Ra was basically directing the entire performance. I don't believe he was playing anything? (I could be mistaken there though. it was a long time ago) Maybe he played keys at one point?

The most amazing part were the solos. Sun Ra would point to each player in turn and each would stand and deliver the most blistering solo for about 5 minutes each, barely taking a breath. Then Sun Ra would motion to the next and this would continue until everyone had a turn.

The music was incredibly spacey and so good. "Space is the place"!

A friend once saw Run Ra in a small venue, sometime in the late 1980s. After the show, my friend saw that the man himself was arguing with the owner about getting paid.

My friend credits that as being the last straw for him pursuing his own professional music career. "If Sun Ra still has to argue about getting paid, at his level of fame, then this business ain't it."

Madlib called Sun Ra and Arkestra is one of his biggest inspiration artistically and he seems to bring him up every chance he gets in interviews. Which makes sense as he too is all about being music history/future obsessed multi instrumentalist with a tangent for the weird.

Sun Ra still lives on through music just like Prince and other strange experimentalists of that mark.

A funny anecdote from a concert a few years ago: Allen was playing a solo, holding a note and blowing as hard as he could on his little soprano sax. Next thing you his teeth fly out, and there's a general commotion on as the rest of the band goes searching for the denture on the stage.

Amazing to be alive at that age, to be touring and rocking it, that's another level.

The Arkestra is still touring, and if you can catch them you should. Without question the best live act I’ve ever seen.

Well worth checking out the series of shows on NTS radio - 110 Years of Sun Ra https://www.nts.live/shows/110-years-of-sun-ra

If you like Sun Ra, check out Phil Cohran, his trumpet player. Truly next level awesome stuff.

https://youtu.be/Mraf9s264EA?si=R0-hOJBw7fCpccFw

I don't know what this is doing on HN, but Sun Ra makes great music.

Not a huge fan, but their the source of my favorite song about nuclear war, if that were even a genre -

https://open.spotify.com/track/6Ys8eavDzCLC4CjwN8pAUP?si=1d5...

Here's a video w/ Marshall Allen from last year. Amazing what 99 can look like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw-zE7zGEkM

For all the words portraying Sun Ra’s visionary attitude, that might be something others have projected onto him, for his real views and self-importance were the opposite of some of the suggestions written here.

For example, he objected to the late, great, Carla Bley, being in the Guild because she was a woman!

“In one meeting, Sun Ra said aloud to all the members of the group that I would sink the ship because that’s what women do. I was furious. I got up and said, ‘You son of a…’ I really yelled at him.”

Space is the place!

finally jazz on the front page!!!