Jazz Articles about Sun Ra

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Sun Ra: Concert for the Comet Kohoutek

by Henry Smith
February 25, 2009

Composer, keyboardist and bandleader Sun Ra's intimate connection with the cosmos is well documented, but it was rare that Ra was given cause for real celestial celebration. That opportunity did come in 1973 however, when Ra and his orchestra played a show in celebration of Kohoutek, a comet whose sighting was billed as the “Comet of the Century." Though the comet was ultimately a visual disappointment, the concert was an aural success; the Arkestra is in a loose and comfortable ...

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Sun Ra: Secrets of the Sun

by Troy Collins
October 10, 2008

Another recently unearthed rarity in a seemingly endless discography, Secrets of the Sun documents a fruitful yet somewhat under-represented period in the storied career of iconic keyboardist and bandleader Sun Ra. Recorded in New York in 1962 at jazz workshop sessions, only Blast First's 1996 compilation Out There a Minute contains comparable material.

Originally based in Chicago, Sun Ra's Arkestra underwent a gradual conceptual evolution upon moving to New York City in 1961. Marking a transition in its ...

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Sun Ra in the '70s: Disco and Some Blues

by Clifford Allen
February 3, 2008

Sun Ra Disco 3000: The Complete Milan Concert Art Yard 2007 Sun Ra Some Blues But Not the Kind That's Blue Atavistic 2008

The free innovations of the '60s brought Sun Ra to New York and into contact with composer/ improvisers like Bill Dixon, Alan Silva and Michael Mantler, a scene ...

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Sun Ra: Springtime in Chicago & Concert for the Comet Kohoutek

by Francis Lo Kee
November 3, 2007

Sun Ra Concert for the Comet Kohoutek ESP-Disk 2007 Sun Ra Springtime in Chicago Leo 2007

The great composer/bandleader Sun Ra would urge his musicians, “play what you don't know to become “tone scientists . Hence, Sun Ra Arkestra concerts would vary greatly in detail and feeling from one night to ...

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Sun Ra: The Night Of The Purple Moon

by Troy Collins
August 15, 2007

One of a rare handful of small group sessions, The Night Of The Purple Moon is one of bandleader Sun Ra's most accessible and enjoyable albums. Similar in scope to side one of Atlantis (Evidence, 1967), Cymbals (Evidence, 1973), New Steps (Horo, 1978) and Other Voices, Other Blues (Horo, 1978); this stripped-down studio session is a unique example of Ra's wide-ranging artistry. Dominated by the sound of the Rocksichord (or, in Saturnian parlance, Roksichord) Ra plays the newly ...

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Sun Ra: Toward The Stars

by Nic Jones
June 7, 2007

The bandleader, keyboard player and composer christened Herman Blount made his reputation under the name of Sun Ra, and this compilation of pieces from the early years of his career could almost be an exercise in confounding expectations at the same time as it amounts to a strong case for Ra and his recorded legacy.

In later years his band became a whole lot more than a band; never was the notion that the band that plays together stays together ...

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Sun Ra: Strange Strings

by Troy Collins
May 31, 2007

Emblematic of its title, this is one of the most unusual albums in the vast discography of visionary bandleader Sun Ra. In league with such classics as Heliocentric Worlds (ESP, 1965), The Magic City (Evidence, 1965) and Atlantis (Evidence, 1967), this obscure session focuses on similarly intense long-form improvisations. Originally recorded in 1966, Strange Strings is the culmination of Ra's most otherworldly experiments.

Pre-dating the comprovisations of Butch Morris and the game pieces of John Zorn, this is ...