Sun Ra and his Arkestra then (1992) and now (2022)
When the 2022 Afrofuturism series was announced by Carnegie Hall, I scrolled eagerly through the rather eclectic line-up of the festival. I was hoping it would reconnect me to the past, specifically, the summer of 1992 when I first saw the Sun Ra Arkestra. I knew from my first experience, that watching the Arkestra in concert was a chance to watch a sprawling Big Band play jazz that is so different than practically any other ensemble around. Though Sun Ra himself is no longer with us (regretfully he passed away in May of 1993) the concert at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall on Thursday, February 17th did not disappoint.
Holding to the Arkestra’s traditional performance, this was not your typical jazz, folk or any other musical performance genre. At times, the pace of the music was busy and clashing. At other points, it almost tender and soulful, then again, other segments were reduced to frantic minimalism.
The bustling energy at SummerStage’s Festival concert (1992)
The first time I saw the Sun Ra and his Arkestra was on July 4th, 1992, during a SummerStage Festival concert in Manhattan’s Central Park when they opened for the rock group Sonic Youth. (Now I know why I’ve been keeping diaries all these years.) At that time, I didn’t know much about his music except for one album, a vinyl copy of “Space Is the Place“. I had taken it from my aunt’s house because of the graphically intriguing cover.
I enjoyed listening to Sun Ra and his Arkestra — it was freeform, bustling jazz and full of energy. My clearest memory of that show was watching how each of the many musicians, one after another, found their way into the music performance universe. I remember that some of the pieces had a more traditional jazz feel to them, while others resembled controlled chaos. The musicians of the Arkestra surrounded Sun Ra while he sat in a wheelchair at the keyboard absorbed, throughout the show, in his music.
I enjoyed this performance, but many of the other concert goers were confused, or talking to their friends, and some even asked, “When are Sonic Youth playing?” Many of the people at this show were more interested in the rock ‘n roll headliner, Sonic Youth, a quartet that had its heyday in the late 1980s to mid 1990s. I was embarrassed by their attitudes. And I realized that the noisy rock music of Sonic Youth owed at least a partial debt to Sun Ra and his busy jazz stylings.
Arkestra at Carnegie Hall’s festival dedicated to Afrofuturism (2022)
Although the Zankel Hall concert didn’t evoke distinct memories, it allowed me to experience a deeper exploration of the Arkestra’s music. There were eighteen musicians on stage plus a lead vocalist, Tara Middleton; a second vocalist sang for a few numbers and then played a cello (special guest Kelsey Lu); a narrator (special guest Moor Mother); and a dancer. Marshall Allen is the eldest and senior member of the Arkestra, as well as the director. He and a few other members are multi-instrumentalists.
I don’t know how others in the audience viewed the happenings on the stage, but once again, I was looking from one performer to another. Then all of a sudden during one number, a gray-bearded musician, Knoel Scott, did a set of somersaults, cartwheels and other gymnastic moves (his “space dance”).
My favorite piece from the show was “Seductive Fantasy,” an upbeat tune which is based around a repetitive three-note pattern in E flat major. The musicians jammed around that, and it was a joyful noise.
The concert was one of the many offerings of Carnegie Hall’s festival dedicated to Afrofuturism, “the thriving aesthetic and cultural movement that looks to the future through a Black cultural lens” and bringing together not just art, music and science fiction but also politics and technology. Sun Ra is THE jazz musician often cited as one of the pioneers of Afrofuturism.
Afrofuturism Pioneers
Sun Ra’s jazz compositions and arrangements, as well as his poetic writings touched upon the past, present and hopes for the future. His jazz, often complicated and avant garde in the tradition, was enhanced by spacey outfits and accessories he and his band (and it was quite often a very large band) wore. One of his most famous albums is “Space Is the Place” — a phrase repeated over and over in the album’s title song, and that very record that I had listened to many years ago.
Look at the ensemble’s website, and while perusing the band member listing, you’ll see their instruments and also the year when they joined. Some of the band members, aside from Mr. Allen, have been with the Arkestra since the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Certainly I saw these musicians at the July 1992 Central Park show.
Though deeply satisfying, I do have questions about the concert. As a casual fan, not hardcore, I couldn’t always figure out the names of their pieces. And a question to be directed to the gentleman who sat to my right: How on earth did you keep nodding during this raucous, other worldly show?
The Sun Ra Arkestra are a legendary, long-lived American band, a proud African-American musical outfit, and an intriguing musical force.
Carnegie Hall Photos by Lawrence Sumulong