I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: September 29, 2019] Sun Ra Arkestra

I had intended to run upstairs to check out Foxtrot & The Get Down, but their set had already started and the Sun Ra Arkestra was supposed to begin before Foxtrot ended so I decided to hang around downstairs, look at merch and then get pretty close to the stage for the interstellar Arkestra.

So just what is the Sun Ra Arkestra?

Sun Ra was an experimental jazz composer and bandleader. He was a pioneer of Afrofuturism.  He was an early adopter of synths and free jazz. He also released a ton of music.  Quite literally.  He released over 100 albums in his lifetime.  At some point in his life (records are unclear), Sun Ra (born Herman Blount), traveled to Saturn, which obviously changed his outlook:

My whole body changed into something else. I could see through myself. And I went up… I wasn’t in human form… I landed on a planet that I identified as Saturn… they teleported me and I was down on [a] stage with them. They wanted to talk with me. They had one little antenna on each ear. A little antenna over each eye. They talked to me. They told me to stop [attending college] because there was going to be great trouble in schools… the world was going into complete chaos… I would speak [through music], and the world would listen. That’s what they told me.

In 1952 he legally changed his name to Sun Ra and started building the Arkestra, which had an ever evolving cast of (some very famous) jazz musicians who would come and go and then return.

In 1968, Sun Ra moved his operation to Philadelphia, because…

In order to save the Earth, I had to go to the worst spot on the planet, and that was Philadelphia, which was death’s headquarters.

That’s why the Arkestra is at Philly Music Fest, because they have been based out of Philly for the last fifty or so years.

When he died in 1993, his Arkestra continued on.

Since 1995, it has been under the direction of alto saxophonist Marshall Allen (who is currently, amazingly, 95 years old!).  That’s him in the red cape.

For Philly Music Fest, the Arkestra arrived and set up their (tons of) gear.  There were saxophones and a french horn and drums and bongos and a bass and a guitar and so much more.  Soon enough some of the Arkestra came out in resplendent capes and headgear.  Including trumpeters Michael Ray (who wore the King Tut headgear) and Fred Adams.

After a few moments of tuning up and settling down, they started playing and singer Tara Middleton started calling “Come in Earth.”

And then they started playing some wild and exciting jazz.  There were trumpet showdowns, there were some amazing solos from the saxophonists like this wild one from  James Stewart.

But it wasn’t all wild instrumentals, Middleton sang a big band song (which I can’t get the name of) with Knoel Scott.  In fact, the Arkestra would occasionally settle down in somewhat conventional and  really lovely big band jazz.  My parents loved big bands and that’s what I grew up listening to.  So it was really fun to hear it live.

Soon enough they were playing a fairly conventional version of “Strangers in Paradise,” which started with some great baritone sax work from Danny Ray Thompson.  And while Knoel Scott took a turn soloing he threw in a little melody of “If I Only Had a Brain.”

One of the things I’ve always found intriguing about the Arkestra is that even when things seem to be conventional, they always want to throw in something unexpected like this alto sax solo from Marshall Allen.  Which is pretty much the nutshell of free jazz.

I’m pretty sure everyone got to take a solo.  I know there was a drum solo and an upright bass solo.  I didn’t record everyone, but here’s Dave Davis with a muted trombone solo.

At some point I heard a guitar and couldn’t imagine where it came from.  Turns out there were so many people on stage I couldn’t even see the guy on guitar on the far side of the stage.

According to their official website, the official band member list is:

Marshall Allen; Michael Ray;  Fred Adams;  Knoel Scott;  Vincent Chancey; Cecil Brooks; Danny Ray Thompson; Abshalom Ben Shlomo; Rey Scott; Dave Davis; Elson Nascimento; D. Hotep; Yahya Abdul-Majid; Kash Killion; Bill Davis; Tyler Mitchell; Juini Booth; Farid Abdul-Bari Barron; James Stewart; Craig Harris; Wayne Anthony Smith Jr. and Tara Middleton

I have no idea if they were all out there tonight.

There was a lot of dancing, both in the audience and on stage.  Like when 63 year old Knoel Scott put down his sax and did this.

It was never entirely clear to me what pieces were songs and what pieces were improvisations.  Was there a setlist?  Some of the songs certainly stopped before others started, but really I have no idea what was being played.  I see that a common vocal refrain is “Free Your Mind.  Be Yourself.  Watch the sun shine.”  Is that part of a song or just an impulsive directive?  Does it matter?  Nope.  Not if you free your mind.

A fascinating thing is that the keyboard trio Bitchin Bajas played a Sun Ra song, “Angels and Demons at Play” during their set just two nights earlier (it’s also on their album).

I can’t be certain that the Arkestra played the song for us, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it made an appearance, at least briefly.

Man Man was scheduled to go on after them.  The Man Man set was supposed to start at 10:35 and Sun ra was supposed to end around 10:15.  Well, 10:15 came and they were mid song, and they kept going.  And then they started another one.  And after that they had to play one more closing song which I think was “Space is the Place.”  But again. who knows.

As I understand it, most Sun Ra Arkestra shows  are two sets long and come in around 2 hours.  They also seem to have an elaborate stage set.

While I feel like I experienced the full Arkestra, it seems very likely that I need to visit them again to be fully transported.  Good thing they are always on tour somewhere in the galaxy.