Welcome to Philadelphia Jazz Project
Happy Birthday Sun Ra!!
May 22, 2016
May 22, 2016 - May 30, 1993
102 years ago today, stars fell on Alabama and out of the debris emerged a brown baby boy, who would be named Herman Poole Blount. We knew him as the intergalactic traveler, philosopher and master musician, Sun Ra.
To celebrate his birthday, we share PJP Mixtape Series - Sun Ra Edition Vol 3, featuring music by Sandra Turner-Barnes, Bushmeat, Bert Harris, Michael Andrews & Alfie Pollitt, HAL 2016, Kim Pedro, Terry Lawson, Dmani Lopez, Raymond A. King, Samarai Celestial, Ram Riches, Tyrone Hill, Bobby Zankel and others. In the fall of 2014, Philadelphia Jazz Project developed a unique challenge for DJs, producers, electronic musicians, turntablists, singers, poets, and/or rappers, as well as solos by instrumentalists to honor the immeasurable imaginative genius of the late Philadelphia, visionary musician, philosopher, composer and band leader, Sun Ra [1914 to 1993].
Sun Ra passed away in 1993, yet his influence and the audience for his work, as well as the work of the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, continue to grow. Sun Ra was a prolific composer and arranger, as well as a commanding bandleader, who managed to keep a big band and a record company together for decades. He utilized sophisticated, costuming, theatrics and cinematic techniques in his performances, 20 years before they became commonplace in popular music.
Sun Ra also pioneered the use of synthesizers and electronic instruments long before they became fashionable. His musical palette was broad enough to include the swing of Fletcher Henderson, to the minimalism of Post-WWII avant-garde composers, like John Cage. If you think Sun Ra was all about bright lights and pretty colors, you are in for a wild ride. Just listening to any of his compositions is a unique experience and examining his catalogue is an invaluable, “one of a kind “musical education.
PJP's Sun Ra Mixtape Series features some of the most progressive and visionary artists in the region.
Participating artists include;
▪ Poet/Rapper - Lamont Dixon
▪ Interdisciplinary Artist - Sherman Fleming
▪ Interdisciplinary Artist - Prof. Thomas Stanley
▪ Sun Ra Arkestra member and saxophonist - Terry Lawson
▪ Pianist & Vocalist - V. Shayne Frederick
▪ Pianist - Alfie Pollitt
▪ Choreographer/Rapper/Producer - Raphael Xavier
▪ Vocalist - Ella Gahnt
▪ and many others
To DOWNLOAD this birthday present and/or learn more about this series, CLICK HERE.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUN RA!!!
Philadelphia Jazz Project is a sponsored project of the CultureWorks | Greater Philadelphia, with funding provided by The Wyncote Foundation
