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1914
Possibly born
in Birmingham, Alabama, although he claimed
to have arrived from the planet Saturn. His real name
is now thought to be Herman Lee, but he was also known for a while
as Herman 'Sonny' Blount; he claimed that his parents' name was
Arman.
1950s
Blount forms
a rehearsal band with John Gilmore and Pat Patrick (saxaphones),
who both become long-time associates. He renames himself Sun Ra,
and calls his band the Arkestra.
1958
Forms Saturn Records (aka Thoth) to document his work. The Arkestra
is recorded under many different names: Blue Universe Arkestra,
Infinity Arkestra, and so on.
1964-65
Sun Ra becomes involved in the Jazz Composers' Guild.
1970s
The band gains
international repute, and frequent tours of Europe ensue.
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1934
Sun Ra's early
years are shrouded in mystery. We know he worked as a
band player and, for a short while, band leader. He settled in Chicago
and worked as a pianist with Fess Wheatley and Oliver Bibb. Thereafter
his career is undocumented until 1946, when he became an occasional
pianist and arranger for Fletcher Henderson.
1956
Sun Ra's Arkestra
begin to record (Sun Song) and relocates briefly to Montreal,
then New York (1961), then Philadelphia (1968).
1960s
Sun Ra takes
part in the black cultural movements of the decade and
proclaims the African origins of jazz.
1968
Because of the
Arkestra's momentum, Sun Ra is able to increase its size for a short
while in the late 1960s.
1993
Sun Ra's stay on planet Earth ends back in Birmingham, Alabama. |
"Some
call me Mr Ra, some call me Mr Re. You can call me Mr Majesty."
- Sun Ra's declaration
to concert-goers
COMPOSER
The hard
bop of the mid-1950s Arkestra had given way to a more percussive,
impressionistic style by the late-1950s, when composed
themes became of secondary importance to the creation of a 'mood'
through solo and group improvisation. In the 1970s Sun
Ra consciously incorporated in to his repertoire performances of classics
by Morton, Henderson
& Ellington, all band leaders and
composers, as his assumed place in the jazz
hierarchy became more portentous. Even in the 1950s Sun
Ra was a pioneer of the electric keyboards and used early synthezisers,
and he employed two bassists. |
BAND
LEADER
Some worked
briefly with Sun Ra and then moved on, but the band's longevity allowed
for faithful acolytes such as Gilmore and Marshall Allen. He had a
communal house (the 'Ra jail') and was an all-embracing disciplinarian,
forbidding drugs and alcohol, and occasionally calling rehearsals
in the middle of the night. His more illustrious sidemen included
Ahmed Abdullah, Billy Higgins, Julian Priester, Pharoah Sanders, James
Spalding and Frank Lowe. A self-styled mystic, penning volumes of
poetry and philosophy, he was often dismissed as a cheap charlatan.
But however exotic the presentation of his shows, often using mixed
media techniques with light shows, dance and mime, Sun
Ra had a strong sense of history. The extragavant costume
and choreography drew on his experience of Cotton Club-type presentations
and even his name had precedence in the blues tradition of acquiring
a new name. |