Bronzeville Arts Blog: Space Is the Place! Sun Ra's Arkestra at the Chicago JaZZ..Festival…Light year: Twenty Fourteen

We Traveled the Spaceways…

from Planet to Planet

2 Blast from the past ..Past Saturn N2 the Future..

with SUN RA's Arkestra!

So on my last day of my musical FUTURE FUNK…. before summer's end…I traveled the Spaceways to celebrate Sun Ra's 100th year…and the music that he left us on this Third Planet..

After the death of the luminous and cosmic Sun Ra at age 79… in 1993, …the Arkestra has been led by Alto saxophonist, Marshall Allen, who at age 90...has been in the band for over half a century..for 56 years.

We went 2 listen 2 Ra's Arkestra dressed in Cosmic colorful garments...play their interplanetary music!

The setting:

The Chicago Jazz Festival

in the Spaceship of the

Jay Pritzer Pavilion in Millennium ParK!

The XPERIENCE:

A playful Big Band romp of Interplanetary funkiness!

The SOUND:

A Blast from the Past…

ala Bandleader,Fletcher Henderson …

and Sun Ra's arrangements from that time

Fast Forward... 2 the 21st Century

Black 2 the AfroFuturistic..

Horns,vocals and implodes n2 a cacophony of rhythms and musical lines….

Mix that with the sound and spice of some exotic instruments

…possibly an urdu, thermion and percussion …

the sound morphs

N2 Ra's Arkestral Remix!

Sun Ra and his band from Outer Space…
have entertained you here!

Space Is the Place! Space Is the Place!
Space Is the Place! YEA! Space Is the Place!
Space Is the Place! Space Is the Place!

Space Is the Place! YEA! Space Is the Place

The pianist hailed ChicagO as the Home of Blues… and said "there's NO WAY that the Arkestra could come to ChicaGO and NOT play some Blues!"♫♪♬♫♫♪♬♫♫♪♫♪♬♫♫♪♬♫♫

Then he proceeded to break out into a funky..funky Blues that was very traditional with some swing and a lil bit of some stride piano…
and then he rolled out some down and dirty Blues figures that got right into the soul.
This Cosmic Blues also had some Neon colors and voicings….woven into the groove.

Space Is the Place! Space Is the Place!

Space Is the Place! Yea!

Space Is the Place!

There's No Limit! Take your First Step!

Way Outer Space!

Walk on Jupiter! Walk on Mars!

Tyler Mitchell is a well known touring Bassist who is originally from Chicago and now lives on the east coast….. was HOME!!

... and zooming on his upright bass!

Tyler has been traveling and performing with Sun Ra's Arkestra on tour for several years now. Tyler is also the son of Mural artist and painter, the late, Mitchell Katon.

Chicago bassist, Rollo was in a zone on stage…

Holding down the boom, boom,pow!…. in the Arkestra!

Pianist-Composer Aki Antonia

I could even feel RA's energies and flow in my own works…as a musician…because within a solo… I have been known 2 leave Earth for a minute and go "OUTSIDE" the straight harmonies while choosing 2 astral travel 2 another galaxy….4 a few bars….♬♫♪♬♬♫♪♬!!!!!!!

"The fun part is that when Tyler Mitchell lived in Chicago… I've the experience and fun of playing musical gigs with him and Rollo many moons ago."

Pianist-Composer Aki Antonia said "I fell in LOVE with energy and the theatrical and spiritually cosmic Sun Ra and his Arkestra from the first I saw him perform in Chicago.! The saxophonists were on stage rolling around while playing at the Chicago jazz fest one year… and the vocalist had lights on their bodies……..

Longtime… musical….colleagues,

Saxophonist, Mwata Bowden (and father of poet Khari B),

and couple, Pianist-Composer, Aki Antonia and Pianist,Theodis Rodgers

were listening…2 the Arkestra and enjoying the music .

As the Arkestra played the sounds resonated with me…

and thru me….. as a Chicago musician who grew up hearing all the music of my avant garde side…
the music I played in Niambi's Big band at Transition East Club back in the day….
For more see my blog post from 2010 on
"The Awakening of a Female Musical Pharaoh"
http://bronzevilleblogchicago.blogspot.com/2010/04/the-awakening-notes-from-female-musical.html

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In the 100th year of Sun Ra.. and his music….

I could hear the continuum of Sun Ra's musical influence

on ChicaGo's musical community..

Sun Ra

in the music of Kelan Phil Corahn...

who had played in Ra's band… but went on to develope his own systematic studies of music and metaphysical practices…

Kelean went on to form AACM, the Artistic Heritage Ensemble and The Affro Arts Theatre. In this theater, Cohran was able to incubate the genesis and the development of the Pharaohs, EWF, Chaka Khan, Darlene Blackburn' Dance troupe and more….