Sun Ra, a.k.a. Herman Poole "Sonny" Blount (19141993), has been hailed as "one of the great big-band leaders, pianists, and surrealists of jazz" (N...
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May 21, 2008
Eddie
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What a fascinating and inspiring guy Sun Ra was, and this book gives a fairly detailed view into how he managed to keep a marginal big band jazz outfit alive and thriving for forty years or more. It also provides lots of information on his particular philosophy and how he developed it.
Sun Ra was kind of like an alien Duke Ellington in tinsel who managed to be right there in the thick of developments in jazz while so many major developments were happening, but who did it on absolutely More...
Sun Ra was kind of like an alien Duke Ellington in tinsel who managed to be right there in the thick of developments in jazz while so many major developments were happening, but who did it on absolutely More...
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Jan 29, 2008
tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE
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I grew up in Baltimore. Sun Ra was based in Philly during alotof of my adult yrs there. He played in Baltimore fairly often. There was a club on N Charles St called the Famous Ballroom. Sun Ra & the Arkestra played there. It was dark, w/ one of those "disco balls" - those multi-faceted things that spin & have light reflecting off them. It wasn't a big place but the stage cd manage to hold the Arkestra. I have a very fond memory (that must be around 30+ yrs old by now) of sitting
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Aug 20, 2008
Andy
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I don't know if this book de-mystifies Sun Ra or confirms his weirdness, but one thing's for certain: this is a great book that entertains like only the best jazz can. Many members of his big band remained loyal to him for over thirty years, and its easy to see why.
Sun Ra started out emulating Duke Ellington until he got hooked into the Martin Denny lounge groove while constantly experimenting with (then)new keyboards and exotic arrangements ; his movie "Space Is The Place" was More...
Sun Ra started out emulating Duke Ellington until he got hooked into the Martin Denny lounge groove while constantly experimenting with (then)new keyboards and exotic arrangements ; his movie "Space Is The Place" was More...
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Dec 14, 2009
Cwn_annwn_13
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I always found Sun Ra's music and off the wall worldview/persona interesting. I thought it was more or less a put on but from what I get out of this book apparently it wasn't. He was a fanatical reader who cobbled together Afrocentricism/Black Nationalism with a mish mash of UFology, numerology, science fiction, Egyptian Paganism, Kabbalism, Freemasonry and various other odd influences. What he believed was total non sense but he was the type of guy that would have made a greatly entertaining
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Mar 27, 2011
Devin
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John F. Szwed's superbly researched biography of Sun Ra brings a sense of chronological order to the ears and mind long fascinated by the persona and massive recorded output of the man from Saturn. Szwed manages to add another dimension of insight into this already colorful character.
The evolutionary development of Ra was particularly interesting. I hadn't realized that his house rehearsal habits had already begun before he'd left Birmingham. The experiences that shaped him on his c More...
The evolutionary development of Ra was particularly interesting. I hadn't realized that his house rehearsal habits had already begun before he'd left Birmingham. The experiences that shaped him on his c More...
Dec 10, 2008
Zack
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Great subject exhaustive book, exhausting book, I can usually power through these for the parts about recording sessions or crazy shows, but it seemed like this book covered every musician who'd ever been in the same room with him and every book, pamphlet, or tract that he'd read. This may be the one I'd say to skip the book and watch the movie of the same name, low budget brilliance in which Mr. Ra blows up a saloon by playing dissonant stride piano so he can play the devil in a chess game, in
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Jun 25, 2007
Kp
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I am, unfortunately, still not finished with this tome, despite having picked it up three different times and saying to myself, "Alright, now I finish it."
It must have been among the hardest biographies to write of nearly any character in barely-popular culture, but, unfortunately, it kind of shows. Herman Blount was a man who had a "creative" view of telling stories and giving quotes to reporters, so almost nothing the man said could be taken at face value.
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It must have been among the hardest biographies to write of nearly any character in barely-popular culture, but, unfortunately, it kind of shows. Herman Blount was a man who had a "creative" view of telling stories and giving quotes to reporters, so almost nothing the man said could be taken at face value.
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Jan 18, 2008
Wes
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Certainly the best biography of an unbiographiable person, maybe the best biography of a musician ever. Telling the story of a man who spent his adulthood trying to outdistance his own humanity is a tall order. The most concrete things Swzed has to go on are government documents, Ra's notebooks (the parsing of same requiring at the very least a slide rule, etymological dictionary and a library of pre-Civil Rights era books on Black Nationalism), and offhanded comments from the man that might hin
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Oct 20, 2010
Naeem
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The definitive book on Sun Ra -- if there is any justice at all the world will be recognized as one of the great artists of our time. Szwed does a wonderful job of honoring him with the concrete details of his life and music.
Jul 30, 2009
Djll
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John Szwed does it again! But how can you go wrong with such a fascinating, enigmatic, and colorful subject?
Jan 23, 2008
Scott
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The most inspiring book I've read while unemployed and feeling completely uncreative. Very glad somebody with a background in Afro-American cultural studies wrote a book about Le'Sony Ra. Instead of exoticizing Herman P. Blount like most of the musical world has, Szwed contextualizes Sun Ra in a continuum of Black American occult and futurist philosophers, authors, musicians, and artists.
Feb 17, 2008
Phil
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Quite a bio. Szwed has the task of taking a musician who was certifiably half genius and half lunatic and portraying him with understanding and dignity, not to mention illuminating him. Plus, it serves as an underground history of African-American 20th century consciousness and puts Ra's messy discography in order.
Jun 30, 2009
Andy
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Story of a great American (Saturnian?) musical innovator -- which I got a taste of in "Blutopia". Another great biography, by a good writer/historian with a deep knowledge and love of subject -- reaffirming my general avoidance of modern long fiction when there are so many compelling "real" stories not to be missed!
Apr 25, 2008
Steve
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Sun Ra lived and made music on his own terms. He dreamt of a planet where African Americans could get away from white people. His music is startlingly original and his life is a paragon of ingenious eccentricity. Read! Listen!
Dec 16, 2009
C_gibson
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I had no idea just how complicated and exciting Sun-Ra's life was until I read this book. It tought me a lot about him, his music, his band and music in general. He was hardcore DIY 20 or 30 years before the term even existed.
Sep 08, 2009
Mlindsey
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I really admire him for heroically bearing down on the mess that is creative mythology. What the world needs now is a big Space Chord.
Sep 06, 2008
April
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This is a good one for hard core fans of Sun Ra and jazz history. I skipped around a bit instead of reading it straight through.
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