The Sun Ra Arkestra in the Bush of Ghosts
By Bob Pomeroy
There is a strange phenomenon in the jazz world. When a big band leader dies,
the band continues to tour. Like Flying Dutchman of nautical lore, these ghost
bands continue to travel the highways of America like flies caught in musical
amber. The ghost bands play the book of their namesake, as their connection to
that character becomes more and more remote. The Glen Miller Band still tours
more than 50 years after their leader's death. You can still see the Tommy
Dorsey Orchestra and Guy Lumbardo's Royal Canadians. In ball rooms all over the
country, ghosts are regularly seen on the bandstand.
Sun Ra (also known by his earth name, Herman Sonny Blount) lead one of the most
innovative, versatile and dangerous big bands to ever tread a stage. Sonny
Blount got his start as pianist/arranger for Fletcher Henderson in the 1950's
before starting his Arkestra. He became Sun Ra; composer, philosopher and spiritual leader. He traveled the spaceways bridging R&B and free jazz, science fiction and Egyptian
mythology. He was a masterful pianist and a pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards. His songs spelled out his extraterrestrial obsession; Rocket Number Nine, Space is the Place, Intersteller Low Ways; In performance, the Arkestra wore flamboyant costumes with singers and dancers adding to the other worldly presence. P-Funk may have landed the Mothership, but
Sun Ra pointed the way home.
Sun Ra claimed to be from Saturn, but lived with many of his musicians in their communal
house on Morton Street in Philadelphia. Many of those musicians still live there and still play in the Arkestra.
Sun Ra left this plane of existence in 1992. Interest in Sun Ra's work remains
at an all time high. Many old Saturn label Sun Ra's recordings have been reissued in recent years
after decades out of print. Even the stray singles have found a home on a two
CD set. The Arkestra continued to perform under the direction of John Gilmore.
When Gilmore died in 1993, Marshall Allen, who has played with the Arkestra since the late 50's, assumed direction of the group.
A series of events over the past year changed the course of the Arkestra, bringing them out of the bush of ghosts and into the land of the living.
Marshall Allen found that his group no longer had the legal right to call
themselves the Sun Ra Arkestra for a brief period about a year ago. The Blount family had assigned the rights to the Arkestra name to Ahmed Abdullah. Abdullah had approached the family with a business plan and festival dates. What Abdullah failed to tell the family was that Marshall Allen, who was supposed to be musical director and arranger had never agreed to work with this group.
For several months Allen and the other veterans of the Arkestra were sidelined. The crisis had its beneficial effects. Trombonist Tyrone Hill recorded a quartet album called Out of the Box for CIMP. Bandleader, Marshall Allen also helmed a session for CIMP with Mark Whitecage. The sessions came out as two CD's: Mark-n-Marshall: Monday and Mark-n-Marshall: Tuesday. Each disc documents the entire recording session for each of the two days the group recorded. The session also featured Dominic Duval on bass and Ra veteran, Luqman Ali on drums. The sessions are loose and spirited. In his nearly half century career, Allen has rarely taken the spotlight. The Quartet run through sets that range from swinging bebop to inspired free blowing.
While it has been great hearing the strong individual voices of the Sun Ra Arkestra stepping out of the shadows, the biggest development is the release of A Song for the Sun. This disc, released on the groups own El Ra imprint, is the first Sun Ra Arkestra disc recorded since their titular leader died. Allen purposely took the band back to their dance band roots with this collection of swinging numbers. The set includes an arrangement of the master's "Blue Set," but seven of the ten tunes are Marshall Allen originals. Familiar themes are explored in "Cosmic Hop" and "Galactic Voyage." The title track, "Song for the Sun" is a loving tribute to Ra with a strong vocal by Art Jenkins. Perhaps the best summation of Allen's extension of Sun Ra's philosophy is summed up by "Better Music (Will Create a Better World)." Allen is a fine songwriter. Song of the Sun honors the legacy of Sun Ra by giving voice to the creative energies of his closest disciples.
When the Sun Ra Arkestra under the Direction of Marshall Allen came to Skipper's Smokehouse on December 12th, it was the real deal. The band mixed material from their recent CD with Sun Ra classics. It wasn't the same Sun Ra Arkestra I saw in the late 1980's. The master is gone and so are many of his men. The Marshall Allen led Sun Ra Arkestra are keeping the faith and spirit alive. The music has a depth of emotion that goes beyond the norm. By the end of the evening, the musicians and audience were dancing together under the Live Oaks that are the Skipperdome. The Sun Ra Arkestra cast a spell over their audience leaving them recharged and revitalized. The Spirit is still strong!