Last edited by Voltaire's Bastard (2009-11-01 02:10:46)

Sun Ra, you can't say he was un-American because he was from Saturn, but the message in his music is holy, holy, Ellingtown swing, holy-jelly-roll American-negro-freedom-in-the-eternal-jazz-night.  His position was an effective counter-attack to the racial oppression and segregation of the day.  He was digged on the campus university scene as an underground jazz innovator and plays his walk on part in the Ivy pantheon both in vinyl and in his campus concerts. I only really like him when he moves into weird futurist Egyptian swing and doo wop, a lot of his music is too far out even for me and unfortunately very bady recorded, but there are significant gems.  Unlike Miles, he didn't take his style from the undergraduates though, he didn't dig Brooks, I don't know who is tailor was, but some say he was a Venusian.

My thanks to the Spycatcher for inspiring the stylish gathering above!