Sun Ra: Calling Planet Earth

The cosmic jazz legend, Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount), is an enigmatic force embedded in technicolor myth. He has said himself to have descended to these lands from Saturn. Aliens from a distant rock disclosed to Sun Ra the power of music and soulful vibration. In other dimensions, music can wash clothes, heal diseases, free enslaved peoples. Galactic myth builds, saturates, transforms, and unravels before us.

In a series of interviews, films, and live events Sun Ra called without a touch of irony for the isotope teleportation of black people to another planet where self-affirmation, love, and community may reign. For Sun Ra, "Black" is no simple color term, but designates all persons oppressed or systematically frustrated, all living beings seeking spiritual rejuvenation and emphatic liberation.

In 1971, Sun Ra was given the chance to call planet earth through the role of an academic. He expounded his afro-arkestra philosophy to a UC Berkeley classroom in the African American studies department. My dear friend Edgar from World with Words has graciously researched the syllabus and found the list of books required for the class study. One might not have better luck actually finding these luminous scrolls on earthly soil. Nonetheless, thanks to Edgar, the music syllabus still circulates.

Sun Ra expounds, calls, and descends. For your consideration, a triplet of videos in tribute to the Sun Ra dynasty.