On May 30th 2008 Sun Ra will have left this planet for 15 years. During his lifetime he created some astonishing textural jazz that should be more reveared than it is. On the fifth aneversary I compiled a radio show that was broadcast on 'Radio Oxygen' by my work companion and friend Dan. Here are the notes I supplyed for the show:

Five years ago tomorrow a bemusing jazz musician called Sun Ra was finally laid to rest in what he preferred to call his launching pad, in other words he died. His number was called after leading bands for nearly 60 years and making something like 125 LPs. In today's program we are going to take a look at a small part of the legacy he left behind and find out why he believes that he is now on his home planet, Saturn. He performed everything from 30s hotel-band schmaltz to synthesizer pieces that twittered and clunked like a demented Pac-man machine. This song was first performed in the late 50s but it wouldn't sound out of place on an early Pink Floyd album.

(1)-[Interplanetary music] {1960} on "We travel the space ways"

As you might have guest its called 'Interplanetary music' and can be found on "We travel the space ways" distributed on the Evidence label.

These next tracks are from his early album 'Sun Songs' recorded in 1957.

In a bid to help people understand his music the original album included much writing and poetry on how his music is to be viewed. Under the heading of 'instructions to the people of earth' he makes the fair comment that 'music paints pictures that only the mind's eye can see'. This next track is called 'Calling for all Demons' he wrote.: - "This is a spontaneous number came to me in a flash. I like to think of it as a Grecian thought, interspersed with the truth hidden in fairy tales and ancient mythology".

(2) -[Call for all Demons] {1957} on "Sun Songs"

Many years before UFO terrorised the imagination of Americans Sun Ra recounted a UFO- abduction story that he said took place in 1936. This was 16 years before the first main alien contact story by George Adamski, which sparked of the Air force investigations and the forming of 'SETI' (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence). Sun Ra clams that space men contacted him and offered him the opportunity to go into outer space using a transmoleculazation, and this is from a man that doesn't drink or take drugs. He recognised his destination as Saturn were he was told to stop his teacher training because their was going to be great trouble, instead he was to bring peace to the world through the healing power of his music. Back on planet earth he was told to go out and speak to the people. They pushed a reluctant Sun Ra through a curtain. His then recounts that the sky was purple and dark red and through that he could see thousands of space ships. Of the next song he says it is a reach for new sounds, a spacite picture of the Atonal tomorrow. This is one of the songs, which he said people would not understand.

(3) -[Sun song] {1957} on "Sun Songs"

In 1952, Sunny proclaimed his vocation: that he was a citizen of Saturn, not of Planet Earth; that he was not human, but rather of an angel race; that he was to serve as the Cosmic Communicator, bringing the Creator's message to benighted Earthlings. On October 20, 1952, he officially changed his name to Le Sony'r Ra -- Ra after the Egyptian sun god, Sony for reasons both heliocentric and mundane, and an extra r' to bring the total up to a lucky nine letters. This is the name that appears on his passport, he explained that he went through the legal rigmarole of registering his name as a company because "If Jesus had done that and gotten himself a business certificate, he'd have the right and he wouldn't have had to go up their on the cross ". Sun Ra was technically his stage name. A 'Street named hell' (the next song ) doesn't refer to a bad neighbourhood but in the ancient language Hell is the name of the sun so it could also be called 'street named sun' after hearing it though you might not be convinced.

(4) -[Street named Hell] {1957} on "Sun Songs"

Throughout most of his musical carrier he tried to hide his real upbringing and he nearly got away with it. He would say that he was never really named Herman Blount, that he had always used other names, that the name "didn't have no rhythm" anyhow.
Lullaby for Realville however dose have a cool swinging rhythm.

(5) -[Lullaby for Realville] {1957} on "Sun Songs"

John Gilmore joined the band in 1954 and became a key figure in the band for over the next 30 years. His main instrument was the tenor sax but at the drop of a hat he might end up playing the drums a clarinet or various percussion instruments. Sun Ra, often irritated his musicians by asking them to play instruments they where unfamiliar with. Randolph who plays the trumpet on the next song says, "We rehears one way on paper and then played another way at a gig. It was frustrating. When you complained, Sun Ra said, If you're a musician you will follow me.' He was obsessed with change. He wouldn't eat the same thing at a restaurant two times in a row, even coffee…he'd order water with sugar." On this next song John Gilmore plays the clarinet which leads to a chamber like quality in the piece. The piece is co-wrote with Marshall Allen who plays the flute.

(6) -[Kingdom of thunder] {1960} on "Fate in a pleasant mood"

Whether or not Sun Ra was serious about his beliefs all the time or not, his sense of humour was certainly key to understanding his ideas. He believed that words held a special power and considered his music as tone poems. One of his favourite quips on stage was:
"my name is Ra,
some call me Re
some call me Mister Ra
some call me MisterRe
But you can call me mister Mystery."
When he moved to Chicago he renamed his band the Arkestra. The name has overtones Egyptian imagery of the sun god Ra's sun boat the ark and also happens to include "Ra*" both forwards and backwards in the spelling.

(7) -[Search light blues] {1961} on "Bad & beautiful"

(8) -[Exotic two] {1961} on "Bad & beautiful"

(9) -[Brazilian sun] {1960} on "Fate in a pleasant mood"

(10) -[We travel the space ways] {1959 or 1960} on "We travel the space ways"

(11) -[Somewhere in space] {late 1960s} on "Out their a minute"

(12) -[When Angels speak of love] {late 1960s} on "Out their a minute"

(13) -[Cosmo enticement] {late 1960s} on "Out their a minute"

(14) -[Song of tree and forest] {late 1960s} on "Out their a minute"

(15) -[Somebody else's world] {1969 to 1970} on "My brother the wind II"

This next tune comes from the LP 'My brother the wind II' at the time he was the only black musician wandering into the Robert Moog laboratories and keeping up with the newly emerging technologies. To him the Moog represented space, it even looked like a space ship control panel. The next piece is about as self indulgent as music gets, but even so he is not playing Bach on the Moog like many of his contemporary's in the late 1960 his is attempting to find a new form. Having said that it is only fair to say that he did get better.

(16) -[The design - Cosmos II] {1969 to 1970} on "My brother the wind II"

Even in later years when Sun Ra and his Arkestra became well known they where always struck for cash. But somehow the Arkestra managed to outlive all the other big bands. Sun Ra had the loyalty of jazz greats like John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, they left the band every now and again for greater financial rewards but always returned for some reason. Even the distributors had a soft spot for the band. Like occasion when their was no records for the distributors 'Recommended' to collect, the Arkertra had urgently needed money and Recommended's money was their so they spent it Chris Cutler who ran the distributors said I could hardly be angry - Keeping the Arkestra afloat was a miracle at the best of times. Sun Ra gave Cosmo sun connection master tape in lieu of the unpressed records. Here's a track of this LP, the second half shows John Gilmore's mastery of the tenor sax in a way you probably have never heard it before. I particularly like the way at the end of the piece the sax appears to peal off and out of the human hearing range.

(17) -[Cosmonaut astronaut rendezvous] {1984} on "Cosmo sun connection"

Sun Ra was true to the end, even in the doctor's emergency room. When carrying out tests to establishing the nature of the injury and the degree of damage he was asked basic questions. A somewhat panicked doctor rushed for the Neurologist after much perplexed discussion a second doctor put his head around the door and said , "Oh, it's Sun Ra. He is from Satan. Even five years after the death of Sun Ra his band is still going strong even though many of the key members are no longer with us. Whether he was a crack pot or a genius, the skill and manipulation he achieved in the musical form has left a deeper impression than he is given credit for.