Friday, January 06, 2006
Sun Ra Lives!
Sun Ra Arkestra rings in the new
By Kevin L. Carter
For The Inquirer
The Sun Ra Arkestra, performing Saturday night at the Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square, sent the old year out and brought the new year in with savvy and insight.
For two hours, not including an intermission, the Arkestra served up its characteristic freewheeling jazz gumbo, eschewing the usual rituals that jazz bands require. Leader Marshall Allen, brandishing his alto and himself in a regal, Saturnian manner, moved the band through riffs, pieces of compositions, and improvised sections.
The Arkestra was full of New Year's cheer, with its members dressed in traditional bacchanalian Sun Ra regalia, and its horn players spent just as much time playing in the audience as on the stage. The big band, especially in the first half, overwhelmed the small, packed room with grand but intricate Ellingtonian horn figures and Pan-African polyrhythms from drummers Luqman Ali, Lamont Smith and Elson Nascimento....
More at:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/13531445.htm
By Kevin L. Carter
For The Inquirer
The Sun Ra Arkestra, performing Saturday night at the Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square, sent the old year out and brought the new year in with savvy and insight.
For two hours, not including an intermission, the Arkestra served up its characteristic freewheeling jazz gumbo, eschewing the usual rituals that jazz bands require. Leader Marshall Allen, brandishing his alto and himself in a regal, Saturnian manner, moved the band through riffs, pieces of compositions, and improvised sections.
The Arkestra was full of New Year's cheer, with its members dressed in traditional bacchanalian Sun Ra regalia, and its horn players spent just as much time playing in the audience as on the stage. The big band, especially in the first half, overwhelmed the small, packed room with grand but intricate Ellingtonian horn figures and Pan-African polyrhythms from drummers Luqman Ali, Lamont Smith and Elson Nascimento....
More at:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/13531445.htm
