"We play African music, outer space music, joyous music..."
The Sun Ra Arkestra was founded in mid-1950s Chicago by the jazz composer, musician, bandleader, philosopher, Afro-Futurist, mystic (and also graphic designer, poet, activist, and self-proclaimed Saturnian) Sun Ra (1914–1993). In 1968, Sun Ra brought the Arkestra to Philadelphia, its home for the next four decades. The group still performs here today under the leadership of composer and multi-instrumentalist Marshall Allen, an Arkestra member since 1958.
In August 2010, Matthew Feldman and John Pettit spoke to Allen and Arkestra musicians Danny Thompson, Michael Ray, Dave Davis, and Wayne Smith, Jr. about the group’s past, present, and future. Click the play audio link below to listen.
On September 12, the Arkestra will perform as part of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival’s Bang on a Can marathon. For more details:
http://livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=12728
For more about the Arkestra: http://www.elrarecords.com/1-index.html
This interview was commissioned by the Philadelphia Music Project and conducted/recorded/edited by Matthew Feldman and John Pettit. Music performed by Marshall Allen.
***
Matthew Feldman (aka "Feldie") is a supporter and promoter of all things jazz-related in Philadelphia. He presents a monthly concert series at center city's Moonstone Arts Center called Lucky Old Souls @ Moonstone, hosts the weekly Lucky Old Souls internet radio program on http://gtownradio.com, and publishes Feldie's Philly Jazz Calendar, an online listing of jazz performances in Philadelphia. You can learn more about all of Matthew's activities at luckyoldsouls.com.
John Pettit works as a media archivist at Temple University Libraries, Urban Archives. Additionally, he is a media maker and musician who works with Termite TV, G-Town Radio and Scribe Video Center.
