Sun Ra
Play Radio
Listen to Sun Ra Radio,
featuring artists like Pharoah Sanders, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Ornette Coleman, Alice Coltrane and more…
-
Search on Spotify
Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more
2,272,993 plays (152,724 listeners)
Birmingham AL, United States (1914 – 1993)
Sun Ra (1914– 1993) was an innovative jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesiser player, who came to be known as much for his Cosmic Afro-futurist Philosophy as for his phenomenal musical compositions and performances. As both a black male and an independent producer, Sun Ra defied racist institutions and beliefs.
Born on 22nd May 1914 as Herman Poole Blount, in Birmingham, Alabama, he was nicknamed “Sonny” from his youth. Later, after his release from a detention camp for protesting against World War II, he took on the name and persona of Sun Ra (after the ancient Egyptian sun god). He claimed that he was of the “Angel Race”, not from Earth but from Saturn. Some of his most notable influences were African and African-American theatre, theosophy, and masonic Afro-futurism. His interest in these art forms and principles led to the development of a complicated but consistent set of cosmic philosophies and lyrical poetry, which preached spiritual awareness and peace.
Sun Ra could play many modern and classical works from memory and had worked in country and western bands before moving to Chicago. His personal music collection contained over 10,000 discs, and he was constantly reviewing and studying. Many of his improvisational and compositional innovations were extensions of ideas from twentieth-century European composers. He is responsible for having brought these ideas into jazz decades before many commercial artists popularised the same methods.
Born on 22nd May 1914 as Herman Poole Blount, in Birmingham, Alabama, he was nicknamed “Sonny” from his youth. Later, after his release from a detention camp for protesting against World War II, he took on the name and persona of Sun Ra (after the ancient Egyptian sun god). He claimed that he was of the “Angel Race”, not from Earth but from Saturn. Some of his most notable influences were African and African-American theatre, theosophy, and masonic Afro-futurism. His interest in these art forms and principles led to the development of a complicated but consistent set of cosmic philosophies and lyrical poetry, which preached spiritual awareness and peace.
Sun Ra could play many modern and classical works from memory and had worked in country and western bands before moving to Chicago. His personal music collection contained over 10,000 discs, and he was constantly reviewing and studying. Many of his improvisational and compositional innovations were extensions of ideas from twentieth-century European composers. He is responsible for having brought these ideas into jazz decades before many commercial artists popularised the same methods.
Shouts:
679 shouts
Top Albums
-
Jazz In Silhouette
Sun Ra
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $8.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $15.06
- eBay Search
-
Space Is The Place
Sun Ra Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital $9.99
- Juno $6.29
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $14.22
- eBay Search
-
The Futuristic Sounds Of Sun Ra
Sun Ra Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $11.75
- eBay Search
-
Nuclear War
Sun Ra Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $7.92
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Shoutbox
-
toztizokzndz wrote:
kema valiret smorka di elopiniew
-
Der_Fremde wrote:
Очередные гениальные комментарии от русскоязычных юзеров.
-
akzincke wrote:
I'm feeling lanquidity at the moment. sticky.
-
ColonelTheSlav wrote:
Perhaps.
-
Carlomarxist wrote:
yes
-
cjkisaragi wrote:
No
-
Droid_Sun wrote:
скучновато. на сэмплы порезать полезно
-
toztizokzndz wrote:
somebody else's world
-
lordinfamous wrote:
RA
-
blutos wrote:
That documentary was amazing.
-
ColonelTheSlav wrote:
Ah yes, it's at 30:12 in the documentary.
-
ColonelTheSlav wrote:
Oh yeah it's the documentary where Thurston Moore talks about his experience with meeting Sun Ra. I remember it being quite hilarious.
-
cjkisaragi wrote:
An entirely suitable title.
-
James_Hartley wrote:
Brother from Another Planet. What an awesome title.
-
RussellChap wrote:
All hail Ra
-
equinoxvox wrote:
Just watched BBC documentary "Sun Ra: Brother from Another Planet" on YouTube. It's definitely worth a watch if you're a Sun Ra fan or just curious about the music. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqZHzpAYVIk
-
cjkisaragi wrote:
I still haven't listened to The Eternal Myth. It's quite an imposing presence on my shelf.
-
lll__ wrote:
low? that was the last thing i expected to see here. now i'm happy.
-
cjkisaragi wrote:
Yes! The best mormon band ever. (Low I mean, not Yes. Though they might be mormons, I don't know)
-
bschw wrote:
yes. i'm actually aware of it @Pseud's corner.. anyway. now it's time to move on to the mormon's corner and put on the devout mormonic music of Low.
Videos
-
Play
Beyond The Purple Star Zone
-
Play
and his Arkestra - Spontaneous…
-
Play
When There Is No Sun by. Sun Ra
-
Play
Overtones of China - Sound of…
Events
-
Mar
16
Banlieues Bleues Festival
Banlieues Bleues Festival, Paris, France
6 going
Listening Now
Top Listeners
-
BananasABC
Top Listener
-
DamorK90
Top Listener
-
kmullin
Top Listener
-
Telaren
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
SlipknotAtreyu added Sun Ra to SlipknotAtreyu’s library. yesterday evening
-
Sooto tagged Sun Ra with avant-garde jazz and avant-garde. yesterday evening
-
JffEdwrds, LeEskimo, qbreck and 4 other people added Sun Ra to their libraries. yesterday evening
-
humorbot wrote about Sun Ra in Albums I Own.. Wednesday evening
-
humorbot wrote about Sun Ra – Atlantis in Albums I Own.. Wednesday evening
-
jahdam, hamersmith, combost and 6 other people added Sun Ra to their libraries. Wednesday afternoon
-
szymon_17 tagged Sun Ra with avant-garde jazz, experimental, avant-garde and one other tag. Monday afternoon
-
szymon_17, FarqyofFib, nonamesleftfuck and 20 other people added Sun Ra to their libraries. Monday afternoon
-
worldcapsized tagged Sun Ra with ‘jazz’. last week
-
QIiphothick added Sun Ra to QIiphothick’s library. last week
Related Journals
-
experimental music: characteristic artists + users (by comparing last.fm groups)
by Erkan-Yilmaz |
27 Dec 2011
-
experimental music: characteristic artists + users (by comparing last.fm groups)
by Erkan-Yilmaz |
27 Dec 2011
-
ABCs of 90s Jazz
by brianshazaaam |
14 Dec 2011
| 1 comment
Groups (259)
-
Come Sta, La Luna
71 members
-
Afro-Futurism
35 members
-
Spiritual Jazz
204 members
-
The Ecstatic
149 members
-
Avant Garde Experimentalists
211 members
More Information
- Links
- Labels
Email Newsletter
Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Sun Ra from Universal Music.
