I have a bit of music by Sun Ra, on CD and mp3. But not much. I’ve seen a couple of documentaries about him, as well. Rather like Frank Zappa, he’s someone I find captivatingly interesting, whilst not quite knowing or liking all (or even very much?) of his recorded musical legacy.
One of the many things I love about both Zappa and Sun Ra is their ornery charisma. They were who they were. End of… The World had better take note!
I’ve tended to feel I must hide away, to survive being ‘different’. I admire these artists for their, ‘fuck y’all… I’m taking my brand of madness to the world!’ That makes it sound aggressive and negative. And there are times when those notes dominate with both Zappa and Ra.
But I think their love of music, artistic freedom, and exploration, are all much more powerful and attractive aspects of their fecund creativity. And in these respects, what they do – not always easy or ‘beautiful’ (and certainly not commercial!) – reminds me of Picasso, in terms of untrammelled and volcanic artistic energy.
I must and will acquire both this fabulous looking book, and at the very least, listen to and explore a lot more of Sun Ra’s fascinating musical universe.
And to that end, I just ordered the above, on CD.