Sun Ra

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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.
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  • Jazz In Silhouette
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  • Space Is The Place
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  • The Futuristic Sounds Of Sun Ra
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  • Nuclear War
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Top Tracks

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  • xVictimOfADownx

    Wow this is awesome.

    Monday evening
  • i_amnt

    They talkin' about nuclear war. Mutations, radiation. If they push that button, radiation makes mutations. They talkin' about nuclear war. Fire, melting buildings, people. If they push that button, its gonna blast you so high, up in the sky. You can kiss your ass goodbye, farewell. It's a motherfucker, don't you know? If they push that button... if they push it... you can kiss your ass goodbye.

    Monday morning
  • hohz

    www.lastfm.ru/music/%D0%90%D0%9D%D0%A0/%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF

    11 days ago
  • toztizokzndz

    Oh yeah, forgot about that one.

    21 days ago
  • ColonelTheSlav

    Strange Strings, I think.

    21 days ago
  • toztizokzndz

    Difficult to choose: Black Myth/Out in Space or The Magic City?

    22 days ago
  • hazebass7

    what is the most experimental album to check out?

    24 days ago
  • poisonivy81

    Ra is the best!

    last month
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