JazzMatters: The Best New Jazz of January 2023
Will Layman rounds up the best new jazz albums and cocoons with jazz documentaries, Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues and Ron Carter: Finding the Right Notes.
sun ra
‘The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra’ Gets Its Most Crucial Reissue
The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra hearkens back to Sun Ra’s big band roots and his determination to create a genuine exploration of otherworldly space.
Cosmic Dust and Interstellar Grooves: An Interview with Nona Hendryx
As guest Artistic Director for 'The Cosmic Synthesis of Sun Ra and Afrofuturism' at Harlem Stage, funk rock icon Nona Hendryx brings audiences to other dimensions.
The 25 Best Space Disco Songs of 1976-1986
With Star Trek: Picard and Space Force in the news, it's time to revisit the best space disco of the original era. These 25 songs feature outer space on the dance floor, from the avant-garde to Star Wars commercialism and beyond.
David Bowie and Other ‘Strange Stars’
Jason Heller's Strange Stars, on David Bowie and sci-fi, is an exciting and loving look at a time when infinite wonder had a role in the pop music marketplace.
Sun Ra: Astro Black, Cosmic Dark
Youngquist brings considerable skills to the life and work of the legendary but underappreciated and often misunderstood composer, keyboardist, and poet Sun Ra.
Golden Dawn Arkestra: Stargazer
There's a Ra connection here in more than name. And there's a legend surrounding one of the key players and his relationship to the Great One. True or untrue, that story only adds to the mystery behind this good-time release.
‘Sun Ra: a Joyful Noise’ and the Joy of Ra’s Mythocracy
This film serves as an excellent way to try to begin to comprehend the enigma that was Sun Ra.
Sun Ra: Duke Ellington’s Sound of Space
Dear patrons in attendance at The Bottom Line on the night of February 17, 1987: shut up, won't you?
The Best Album Re-Issues of 2014
The music world saw reissues from all over the genre map, spanning classic rock titans to electronic music legends.
Jason Ajemian: Folklords
The spirit of Mingus is alive and well in Jason Ajemian's band recording for Delmark. Oh, and let's not forget about Monk and Sun Ra.
Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra
On In the Orbit of Ra Sun Ra collaborator and Arkestra member Marshall Allen presents a portrait of the jazz legend every bit as complicated and strange as a cross-section of his reality could possibly be.