RIP, Sun Ra (1914-1993)

Jazz composer, bandleader, and pianist Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount) died on May 30, 1993, in Birmingham, Alabama, just 8 days after his 79th birthday. His death was attributed to stroke and pneumonia. He was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.

Jazz critic Scott Yanow said that "Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial," primarily because of Sun Ra's eclectic music, unorthodox lifestyle, and claims that he was of the "Angel Race" and that he was from Saturn. Ra himself said, "I write about whatever I hear, whenever the spirit hits me to write.""

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons describes Sun Ra's Arkestra as "a band of high contrast in which driving riffs, free soloing, sensuous orchestration, and atonal collective blowing spin like the vanes of a pinwheel."

Sun Ra and His Arkestra play "Paradise" from their Sound of Joy album here:

Lyons recommends Sun Ra's album, Live at Montreux (Inner City). The album is available on CD from Amazon.com.

Robert
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Happy Birthday, Benny Goodman

Clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman was born on May 30, 1909, in Chicago, Illinois. Goodman was, as critic William Ruhlmann says, "the first celebrated bandleader of the Swing Era ..."

Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America, and his January 1938 concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's 'coming out' party to the world of 'respectable' music." Goodman's bands also launched the careers of many major names in jazz, including Chrlie Christian, Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, and Lionel Hampton. During the age of segregation, Goodman also led one of the first well-known racially-integrated jazz groups.

Goodman's band can be heard playing "Sing Sing Sing" from that Carnegie Hall concert here:

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Goodman's Carnegie Hall Concert - 1938 (Columbia), which, according to Lyons, "catches the band at its peak." The album is available on CD from Amazon.com.

Robert
http://www.facebook.com/corejazz?sk=wall

Recent Links :: 28 May 2013

• Louis Armstrong: Ricky Riccardi discusses a YouTube video featuring footage of Louis and the All Stars in Indiana in 1961 at The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong.
• Miles Davis: On May 26, his birthday, Miles Davis was Jazz Musician of the Day at All About Jazz.
• Coleman Hawkins: An excerpt from Clifford Thompson's story "For Bean," about Coleman Hawkins, appears at All About Jazz. (The story is available in the book, Love for Sale and Other Essays, which can be purchased from Amazon.com.)
• Woody Herman: David Brent Johnson discusses the bands of Woody Herman in the 1940s in an episode of "Night Lights" at Indiana Public Media.
• Jelly Roll Morton: According to Brilliant Corners, the Duplex Mystery Jazz Hour at WZBC 90.3 is starting a new series, "I Know the Name, But Why Should I Care?," the first episode of which features Jelly Roll Morton.
• Sarah Vaughan: Kevin Whitehead reviews the new Sarah Vaughan box set, Divine: The Jazz Albums 1954-1958, on Fresh Air from WHYY. (Purchase the album from Amazon.com.)

Robert
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