Ra is also shown in a boat called the barque of ages, sailing across the sky. Saturns contribution to jazz fusion, the unpeggably eclectic bandleadercomposer wowed audiences from the 1940s until his death. The sun played a very important role in ancient egyptian life. While attending alabama agricultural and mechanical university, he had an outofbody experience during which he was transported into outer space. Lesony ra herman sonny blount herman poole blount pianist, organist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer, arranger, record company founder. However, by the fifth dynasty he was a powerful god who was closely associated with the pharaoh.
Ras glory came to an end during the time when the romans conquered egypt in 30bc. Sun ra also made a name for himself with his cosmic philosophy, which curious fans everywhere can now read thanks to the wisdom of sunra. Ra is also closely associated with the tree of life myth, the benben stone and the bennu bird myths. Because of the life giving qualities of the sun the egyptians worshiped the sun as a god. This book collects a bunch of early dispatches directly from the uniquely racially and numericallyobsessed mind of one of the true greats of modern music. For a man who claimed citizenship on the planet saturn, sun ra traveled galaxies away from his alabama roots where he was born herman sonny blount. The other worlds of sun ra features writer and activist amiri baraka, who collaborated with ra in the new york underground of the 1960s. Ra states that itthey are a sixthdensity social memory complex that formed on venus about 2. Sun ras book of sciencefiction poetry this planet is doomed was a big jumpoff point for the song. The life and times of sun ra by matthew wuethrich, published on january 24, 2003 at all about jazz.
Since the 1970s, close relationships to sun ra and his works, setting up the worlds most comprehensive waitawhile sun ra archive sigrid hauff studied oriental languages and arts, philosophy, and romance studies at the universities of tubingen and istanbul. Afrofuturism has been a really cool lens for me, just thinking about what it means that so. Jun 15, 2014 sun ra was born herman blount in 1914 in birmingham, alabama at that time perhaps the most segregated city in the world. Sun ra book of information online geld verdienen casino. A talented pianist and composer in his own right, sun ra 1914 1993 founded and conducted one of jazzs last great big bands from the 1950s until he left planet earth. Learn more about robert mugges documentary on sun ra at the new yorker. Nona hendryx and disciples of sun ra in the temple the. The space to the west is depicting the book of night with five points stars inside of nut and a black background representing the night. The two gods were combined into one, amunra, in the time of the new kingdom, between the 16th and 11th centuries bce. The law of one material is a series of 106 conversations, called sessions, between don elkins, a professor of physics and ufo investigator, and ra, speaking through carla rueckert. Work needs to be done on the later years in philadelphia, but that will have to wait for future handslets hope not for long.
The first edition of the earthly recordings of sun ra, published in 1994 by cadence jazz books, was a 247page paperback book listing around 520 sessions. In 1972, sun ra recorded an album called space is the place, as well as an experimental science fiction movie of the same name. The book of day holds names and epithets of rameses the sixth. Ra was also known by different names representing the various positions of the sun in the sky. An extraordinary documentary about the art of sun ra the. Visions of the future and revisions of the past in the work of sun ra, duke ellington, and anthony braxton 1999. Jul 01, 2014 sun ra would have turned 100 this year. It also provides lots of information on his particular philosophy and how he developed it. For much of his career, ra led the arkestra, an ensemble with an everchanging name and flexible lineup. The mystical side of sun ras science was most evident in the group sun ra was part of in chicago, called thmei research, which was interested science, technology, and the future, but on the other hand, also in numerology, things mystical and paranormal, as well as highly original readings of the bible corbett, sun ra in. Sun ra was fascinating and inspiring and more than a little weird, though not as weird as his persona might proclaim, which is to say for all his cosmic outthereness he was grounded, and this book gives a nicely detailed view into how he managed to keep a marginal big band jazz outfit alive and thriving for forty years or more.
Charting the whole of sun ra s life and career, szwed outlines how after years in chicago as a blues and swing band pianist, sun ra set out in the 1950s to impart his views. Egypt and greece the egyptian peoples honored ra, the sun god. It included an album index, an index of musicians, an index of tune titles with composers, and a filmvideo index. Szwed details a tour tale from turkey in 1990 where sun ra was approached by a group of mystics who gave him. A book on sun ra and his explosive music should eschew too tidy a linearity. This is a dimension only hinted at in his song lyrics. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Amunras boat traveled across the sky by day, and through the world of the dead by night. Sun ra was truly a unique individual, and john szweds book is as unique as its. Mugges documentary isnt a biography for that, id highly recommend john f. Re, also spelled ra or pra, in ancient egyptian religion, god of the sun and creator god. Sun ra believed the avantgarde could use a sense of humor he was right, and though a. The first of three books that will comprise the prophetika trilogy, a lost trove of unpublished endtimes poetry and prose hardedged predictions and prognostications to mankind from the doomsday pen of visionary genius sun ra.
Ra was an ancient god, but not the oldest of the gods. Explanatory information about the knowledge bookthe alpha channelthe golden age dear friends, our planet. The album, led by the 21minute title track, was released in 1973, and endures as one of his most popular and influential works. He was believed to travel across the sky in his solar bark and, during the night, to make his passage in another bark through the underworld, where, in order to be born again for the new day, he had to vanquish the evil serpent apopis apepi.
And if you decide you need your own education in sun ra 171, see the full reading list from his berkeley course below, courtesy of the blog new day. The sun, central sun and greater central sun, the liquid light transmission of dna. Sun ra biography, albums, streaming links allmusic. From the mid1950s until his death, ra led the musical. Ra was the god of the sun and light, who travelled across the sky every day in a burning boat. Immeasurable equation was published by phaelos books in november 2005. To book classes museums comedy dance city guide neighborhoods. Jul 11, 2019 in his 1997 biography space is the place.
The sun disk on the head of this sun god had a cobra around it. It was natural then, given the vital functions of the sun, that a. Jim macnies notes for blue delight 1989 could only state that sun ra was believed to be about 75 years old. A pioneer of afrofuturism, bandleader sun ra emerged from a traditional swing scene in alabama, touring the country in his teens as a member of his high school biology teachers big band. Sun ra, or herman poole blount as he was named at birth, was a very interesting individual. Although perceived as a potentially destructive force, it was also inscribed on walls or amulets for protection. The creator of the universe and the giver of life, the sun or ra represented life, warmth and growth. The sun and his myth science arkestra paved the way of the black arts movement in harlem in the 1960s and carried thousands of. Robert langdon, in the novel the lost symbol, explained to his students at harvard university how he prayed to ra during full moon nights with others who believed in this mystical egyptian king, who many advised was a being of another world. It also provides lots of information on his particular. The book also presents a thorough exposition of sun ras life philosophy, one that was informed by works stretching back thousands of years.
Ra was the god of the sun and light, who traveled across the sky every day in a burning boat. At the end of the day, he was believed to be traveling in another boat through the underworld. But szwed was able to uncover a wealth of information about his early life and confirmed a birth date of may 22, 1914. Ra is the sun god or creator god in ancient egyptian religion. It was represented through a sun disc encircled by two uraeus cobras. A pioneer of afrofuturism, bandleader sun ra emerged from a traditional. With the help of british sun ra expert chris trent, i have completed an expanded and updated second edition of. He was the most powerful and most worshiped of all egyptian gods. May 21, 2014 in the first of our sun ra features this week in celebration of the music and legacy of the great jazz pianist and universal mystic for what would have been his 100th birthday, the vinyl factorys chris may goes deep into sun ras extraordinary back catalogue of handpainted and often privately pressed records to select. Sun ras collected poetry and prose is available as a book, published may 2005, entitled sun ra, the immeasurable equation.
The pharaoh was already seen as the embodiment of horus and so the two gods became linked, sometimes as the composite deity rahorakhty ra is horus of the. Sun ra was so disciplined and principled, he served time and suffered contempt from the community and his family for being a conscientious objector during the second world war. Le sonyr ra better known as sun ra, was an american jazz composer, bandleader, piano and. Feb 02, 2015 ra was all powerful and his power came from his secret name. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Charting the whole of sun ras life and career, szwed outlines how after years in chicago as a blues and swing band pianist, sun ra set out in the 1950s to impart his views. This picture book biography is a great blending of music, art, and facts about an imaginative and creative man. Book of the heavenly cow ancient history encyclopedia. One of sun ra s more experimental sets and thats saying something, 1970s the solarmyth approach, vol. Space is the place we travel the space ways saturn. Jazz musician sun ra 19141993 always said that he came from saturn.
This one shares with most others, even szweds, a preoccupation with sun ras formative years in chicago. Le sonyr ra born herman poole blount, may 22, 1914 may 30, 1993, better known as sun ra, was an american jazz composer, bandleader, piano, synthesizer player, and poet. Caldecott medalist chris raschka shares his love of jazz great sun ra, just in time to mark the centennial of. Sun ra, byname of le sonyr ra, original name herman blount,byname sonny, born may 22, 1914, birmingham, ala. Sun ra, american jazz composer and keyboard player who led a free jazz big band known for its innovative instrumentation and the theatricality of its performances, which included dancers and fantastical costumes inspired by ancient egyptian attire and the space age. Ra, or better know as amun ra, gained popularity and fame from dan browns novel the lost symbol and da divanci code. In the sun ra canon it feels like an artefact fallen from outer space, a slab of evidence pressed in wax that life on saturn is not too dissimilar to our own, where the music is both familiar and uncannily other. Space is still the place for marshall allen and the sun ra. Being that he was a freejazz pioneer, sun ra was also naturally a deepspace thinker. The sun is a star, an enormous sphere of extremely hot. The book of thoth is believed to be a book containing all the knowledge possessed by gods, lying at the bottom of the nile, locked in a series of boxes guarded by serpents. The book is about the second sun doorway of the new earth and the ra, ra light, transmuting your holograms, ra ar awakening of the creator goddessgod within. Ra states that itthey are a sixthdensity social memory complex that. Where it came from, where its at, united states information agency.
For more of professor ras spaced out presentation, see the helsinki interview above, also from 1971. Apr 06, 2020 mugges documentary isnt a biography for that, id highly recommend john f. Lesonyra herman sonny blount herman poole blount pianist, organist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer, arranger, record company founder. Dedicated to preserving the legacy of the sun ra arkestra. Szwed was able to uncover a wealth of information about ras early life, including confirming a may 22, 1914 birthday.
Instead, he died in 1993 at the age of 79though it cant be said that the jazz icon didnt make good use of his time on earth. Secrets of amun ra revealed, amun ra and christ were not. May 10, 2019 sun ras book of sciencefiction poetry this planet is doomed was a big jumpoff point for the song. It is a book of endless revivification, it does not acknowledge the lifedeath binary the west obsesses over, but instead establishes that there is either sun or a limpid accursed sunlessness, enlightenment to the lifegiving force or a forest of terrors, and we must seek the sun, ra, re, that ravening arrow on the way to never, the saturnine. I do relate to it in terms of the spiritual inspiration and information by intuiting. Herman blount 19141993, who later became known as sun ra, was a birmingham native and visionary musician whose jazz styling and personal mythology left a lasting impression on modern music. Sun ra arkestra sun r sunrise in different di singles. Only a few years before his death, the date of sun ras birth remained a mystery. It is personified by several egyptian goddesses, such as wadjet, sekhmet, hathor, bastet and mut. The sun is the giver of life, controlling the ripening of crops which were worked by man. The sun, and therefore ra, represented life, warmth, and growth to ancient egyptians.
It is fullon cosmic weirdness to the highest degree. Jazz keyboardist, bandleader and composer sun ra recorded dozens of singles and over one hundred fulllength albums, comprising well over songs, and making him one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century. May 30, 2017 the sun is a star, an enormous sphere of extremely hot. You can never be certain with sun ra, but im betting hed have loved it. A fine student, he devoured books and could sightread music from an. Sun ras poetry leaves everything behind whats called contemporary, and flings out pictures of infinity into the outer space. A magazine titled sun ra research was published irregularly for many years, providing extensive documentation of sun ras perspectives on many issues.
Ra, abraham and others formed a sort of book club to trade ideas and discuss the offbeat topics that so. To summarize, book of ra is a classic video slot machine with 5 reels and 10 adjustable pay lines. Few only know that he also was a gifted thinker and poet. The strange story of sun ras lost doowop christmas hit. The time is right for a new book on ra, and thomas stanleys is the right book. A pure solar world sun ra and the birth of afrofuturism by. His eccentric persona, experimentation with electronic music and free jazz, and the often unusual makeup of his performances left indelible marks on the world of jazz.
Celebrating sun ra at 100 in my music i speak of unknown things, impossible things, ancient things, potential things, the influential and eccentric jazz musician once said. It is also one of the first slot machines that use the ancient egypt theme this slot was released in 2005, and believe it or not, it is 14 years old. This week i finally got to read the cosmobiography of sun ra by chris raschka. Myths, symbolism, and the history of the egyptian sun god, ra. John szweds space is the place is the definitive biography of this musical polymath, who was one of the twentieth centurys greatest avantgarde artists and intellectuals. Ra was all powerful and his power came from his secret name. Sun ra simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Horns squeal, drums thump, the bass growls, and the piano piles chord on chord. The sun ra discography is one of the largest discographies in music history. This gave him the power to create a thing just by calling its name. Amunras boat travelled across the sky by day, and through the world of the dead by night. The wisdom of sun ra is an invaluable compendium of writings by one of the most intriguing and influential jazz figures of the century. He said i am khepera at the dawn, ra at noon and tum in the evening.
Anderson, gives an insiders perspective of playing with ra and his arkestra. Sun ra, also known as herman poole sonny blount and le sonyr ra born may 22, 1914 in birmingham. He was so important that he earned the status of king of the gods, with the egyptian kings. The work has been compared with the mesopotamian atrahasis.