It’s only the 13th of December, but it felt like Christmas came early when I stumbled upon this Bandcamp guide to the Sun Ra selections that are available on the site. I had no idea there were so many Sun Ra albums available to stream and download through the independent music hub that many of my peers and I use to make our own music available to our listeners. I discovered Sun Ra in the late 1980′s when I saw Sun and his Arkestra playing on the late great Night Music show hosted by saxophonist David Sanborn. Of course, I was completely blown away and I’ve been a mark for everything Ra ever since. Here’s a bit about the offerings on the Bandcamp site from the guide…
The thing about being an alien from outer space, sent to spread enlightenment and happiness through sound, is that some of the things you set out to do can’t be accomplished on Earth. “Everything that’s possible’s been done by man,” the composer, pianist, and bandleader Sun Ra told interviewer John Corbett in 1986. “I have to deal with the impossible. And when I deal with the impossible and am successful, it makes me feel good, because I know that I’m not bullshittin’.”
The late Sun Ra enjoyed the paradox of accomplishing the impossible, a feat that extends to his very career path. It’s rare enough for any Black artist having enough time, energy, and money to run a large jazz ensemble for 40-odd years, but Sun Ra did it while also operating a record label, which boasted countless releases tracking his band’s transformation into a collectively-improvising “cosmo-drama” troupe he called the Arkestra. He did all of this while presenting himself as a costumed, Egyptology-citing, completely serious court jester from the planet Saturn. His work was informed by, and influential within, the greater jazz community, and yet somehow also stood apart from it—adjacent, outside, and beyond.
“He’s not just some crazy guy, and he’s not just some brilliant musician,” says Irwin Chusid, the radio host and music writer who has become administrator of Sun Ra LLC. “He is an institution. He is a cosmic force. He is a genius. He’s one of the great neglected composer-musicians of the 20th century. There’s no question what this man created is singular. There’s no one like Sun Ra.”
Amen.
Check out the rest of the guide and Sun Ra’s Bandcamp selections at the link above. In the meantime, here’s Ra’s early doo-wop project The Qualities singing “It’s Christmas Time” from 1960…
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