Just after the arranged time of 19.00 on Saturday, July 17 2022, the members of the Sun Ra Arkestra burst on to the stage of the Royal Festival Hall with a migraine-inducing explosion of glittery space garb and raucous sound. Even on the first number I could appreciate interesting sonic textures coming from the welter, intriguing combinations emitting from the wide range of instruments – saxes of the tenor, alto, soprano, baritone varieties, flute, trombone, trumpet, French horn, bowed double bass, theremin, drums, percussion, guitar and vocals.
At the start of the second number, my brain was beginning to adjust to the mélange because I immediately recognised the tune. Borodin meets free jazz. (As a chemist, Borodin is known best for his work concerning organic synthesis.) I have the Borodin string quartet version of this melody which Borodin also included as the “Gliding Dance of the Maidens”, from the Polovtsian Dances in the opera Prince Igor. It was adapted for the 1953 musical Kismet by Robert Wright and George Forrest under the name A Stranger in Paradise and has been performed by countless artists including Neil Young, of all people. I have the Tony Bennett version.
Part way through the third number a tentative figure in an elegant cream linen suit appeared in the wings. The band members beckoned this man with long white hair to centre stage and respectfully seated him and adjusted a microphone for him. They tapped him on the elbow whenever they wanted to invite him to take a solo. His tenor solos were strong, fluid and innovative. This was Gary Bartz whom I had last seen on this stage in 1971 when he was in Miles Davis’s band (along with Keith Jarrett).
The 82-year old Bartz acquitted himself excellently. A lot of fuss was made about Paul McCartney headlining Glastonbury at 80. I recently saw a slim and athletic John McLaughlin dancing about the Barbican stage like a young ‘un. He is embarking another world tour with Shakti. I have tickets to see 80-year-old John Cale and 81-year-old Bob Dylan. The leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Marshall Belford Allen was born on May 25, 1924. He is 98!
Marshall Allen performed with Don Byas and James Moody before enrolling in the Paris Conservatory of Music. When he returned to Chicago he became a pupil of Sun Ra. He joined the Arkestra in 1958 and was the leader of the formidable reed section (the name I remember from those days is John Gilmore, also sadly ascended) for the next 40 years. As a member of the Arkestra, Allen pioneered the Free Jazz movement of the early sixties, having remarkable influence on the leading voices in the avant-garde. He is featured on over 200 Sun Ra recordings and also worked with Sonic Youth and Phish.
I was not sure what to expect from a band that was still working under the name of a man who died (or returned to Saturn) in 1993. Was it just a tribute band? Herman Poole Blount came to this earth on May 22, 1914. Born and raised in Alabama, Blount became involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. He changed his name to Sun Ra (after Ra, the Egyptian god of the Sun). Claiming to be an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, he developed a mythical persona and an idiosyncratic credo. The music he produced was exciting and innovative, if somewhat inchoate. It incorporated ragtime, early New Orleans hot jazz, swing, bebop, free jazz and fusion. His compositions ranged from keyboard solos to works for 30-strong big bands, along with electronics, songs, chants, percussion pieces, and anthems. Sun Ra has been credited with being one of the first jazz leaders to use two double basses, to employ the electric bass, to play electronic keyboards, to use extensive percussion and polyrhythms, to explore modal music and to pioneer solo and group freeform improvisations. A number of familiar jazz names passed through the Arkestra in Sun Ra’s lifetime including John Gilmore, James Spaulding. Don Cherry, Billy Higgins, Wayne Kramer, Julian Priester, Pharoah Sanders, Talvin Singh. Detroit’s MC5 played a handful of shows with Sun Ra and were immensely influenced by his works. One of the songs from their premiere album Kick Out the Jams (1969) featured a track called Starship, which was based on a poem by Ra.
Allen became Arkestra Musical Director in 1995 and continues to be committed to the study, research, and development of Sun Ra’s musical ideas. He writes fresh arrangements of Sun Ra’s music and composes new music for the Arkestra. The current iteration of the Arkestra continues the MO of the founder. It is not a tribute band; it is a living developing organic entity. When I saw them, there were up to 14 people performing on stage at any one time. A couple of them put down their instruments for a while to dance, moves incorporating cartwheels and somersaults.
Because no introductions were made, I would be hard-pressed to give an authoritative listing of who was on stage, but I have checked out a number of people who have been in the band in recent times. Tara Middleton was an imposing presence with a strong, powerful, loud voice doing call and response duets with Marshall Allen’s vigorous, rasping Shepp-like sax.
I am pretty sure that the man doing the cartwheels and a lot of impressive heavy lifting on baritone sax was Knoel Scott. He is a youngster of 66. He attended Queens College and State University of New York College at Old Westbury, graduating in 1979. One of his mentors was Dr. Ken ‘Makanda’ McIntyre, a jazz education pioneer steeped in composition and performance of the African-American tradition, who recorded with Eric Dolphy. Scott was advised By Miles Davis to adopt a straight tone and set aside the mannerisms of Charlie Parker. He learnt his dancing from Babs Gonzales. He also plays flute, bass clarinet and contra-alto clarinet and has worked with NRBQ and Zydeco legend Boozoo Chavez.
Scott was introduced to the Arkestra by trombonist Craig Harris, who has also worked with Abdullah Ibrahim, David Murray, Lester Bowie, Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Charlie Haden. Harris was also taught by Ken McIntyre. He has added didgeridoo to the collection of instruments he plays. Trumpeter Michael Ray joined the Arkestra in 1978, designated by Sun Ra as “Intergalactic Research Tone Scientist.” He has also worked with Patti LaBelle, The Delfonics and the Stylistics.
Trumpeter Michael Ray joined the Arkestra in 1978, designated by Sun Ra as “Intergalactic Research Tone Scientist.” He has also worked with Patti LaBelle, The Delfonics, Kool and the Gang and the Stylistics.
French hornist Vincent Chancey grew up in Chicago, and after graduating from the Southern Illinois University School of Music, moved to New York where he won a National Endowment for the Arts grant to study with Julius Watkins. After several years under Watkins’s instruction Chancey joined the Sun Ra Arkestra as a regular member. After recording a number of albums with the ensemble, Chancey joined the Carla Bley Band and later joined Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy ensemble. Chancey is also featured on five albums with the David Murray Big Band (perhaps I saw him at Cheltenham Town Hall in the 80s) and several albums with Muhal Richard Abrams. He has worked with Rufus Reid, Dave Douglas, Chick Corea, Cassandra Wilson, Carmen McRae, Shirley Horn, Mose Alison, Randy Weston & African Rhythms, the Gil Evans Orchestra, the Mingus Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra the Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra and the Diana Krall Orchestra, Melba Moore, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin, the Staple Singers, Freddy Jackson, David Byrne, Elvis Costello. In 2000, he performed at Pope John Paul II’s 80th birthday concert. He has done work in the classical music field – trios, quartets, sextets, and two operas performed with the Netherlands Opera. He has also performed with the Pan American Symphony, the Harlem Symphony; the Brooklyn Philharmonic; and the Zephyr Woodwind Quintet.
All the band members put a great deal of energy and skill into the evening. They have been doing this for years and doing vast numbers of live performances. Incredible stamina for a 98-year-old.
Meself 