Sun Ra _ Marvel of Intervals-Galactic

 Sun Ra _ Marvel of Intervals-Galactic

 

When asked in 1989 on a television show where his influences came from, Sun Ra says space, nature and all music and musicians, no matter what genre. Dressed in glittering cape like gown, that even today, seems quite exceptional he very calmly says the next songs are about the “potential of humanity and eternal things”.  A man of peace and patience in his search for another way of thinking and being. 

 

He did not want to be on this planet.  It was his decade long mission to get away from the oppression of black people within the white man’s world. Injustice, hatred, diseased violence of white supremacy since the slave trade of the 17^th century to today infiltrates the American culture where he was born.  His ambitions to leave earth formed his life. His dedication to music for over five decades was remarkably innovative and productive and extraterrestrial.  I have read that he had made over 100 albums.  Whether he was directly from Saturn or connected to its power, it undoubtedly in one way or another made him the Musician he was. Some of his early training was with big bands, such as Fletcher Hudson, in Chicago, who’s “King Porter Stomp” was a standard that Sun Ra’s Band Arkestra covered. Stomps is New Orleans style of music which every so often has a light off beat to make you jump. Arkestra is the free-jazz band which continually evolved through Sun Ra’s genius, as many of his musicians have expressed.  John Gilmore, a brilliant wind instrumentalist, playing clarinet, Sax, flute stayed long with Sun Ra because he was the “master of Intervals”..”more stretched out than Monk or Minges. 

Sun Ra listened to and incorporated all types of music in his compositions. Poetry from the Beat generation and later P-Rock was part of his works such as “Out There a Minute”. He made his own version of Sleeping beauty with jazz Singer June -Tyson who stayed with the band for several years.  She was a key vocalist at the North Sea Jazz fest in 1974 with Sun Ra as the whole band danced about on stage in colorful handmade fashions, singing about outer space probably to a very spaced-out crowd from the Hague. Chanting and stomping to “Space is the Place…Vast, endless and free”: Vast, endless and free is what Sun Ra created through his music and just one of the gifts he has left us along with his unbelievable keyboard omniverse-atility. “God is More Than Love Can Ever Be”, 1979 should be on all of our play lists, being piped at least once a day into every street and corner.  After all he said once he was not a politician, or cult, or minister, but from somewhere else. “I am a bird”. Maybe from Saturn. 

Thanks Mr. Ra, Mister Ri, Mister Mystery for continuing to lead us to new places.  

 

Celina Lunsford, March 2022