Sun Ra Archive

The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen will be featured in celebrations coast to coast across the United States during the upcoming months. These festivities will recognize Marshall Allen’s 89th birthday and initiate the Sun Ra Centennial events during 2014, which will honor the 100th birthday of Sun Ra (or the 100th anniversary of Sun Ra’s arrival on Planet Earth, as Sun Ra would put it).

May 25, 2013 will find the Sun Ra Arkestra landing its spaceship at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate Arkestra leader Marshall Allen’s 89th birthday and to open the Arkestra’s 2014 World Tour. August 4, 2013 will find the Arkestra at the internationally famous Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California as part of the KCRW World Festival. On October 5, 2013, the Arkestra will make its debut appearance at The Allen Room in New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln Center venue for two sets that will initiate the upcoming Sun Ra Centennial. The intinerary is as follows:

May 25, 2013 – Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA. Doors at 8:00 pm with Arkestra set at 9:30 pm. Tickets are $15. More info here.

August 4, 2013 – Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA. More info here.

October 5, 2013 – The Allen Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Time Warner Building, Columbus Circle, Broadway & 60th Street, NY, NY. Sets at 7:00 & 9:30 pm. More info here.

For additional information about the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen please visit www.thesunraarkestra.com.

The 2012 World Tour of the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen continues with visits to the Czech Republic, England, Germany, and The Netherlands. Details on the tour are below.

Sep. 26, 2012 – Prague, Czech Republic – Akropolis Theatre
Sep. 29, 2012 – London, UK – Barbican
Oct. 1, 2012 – Kassel, Germany – Theaterstuebchen
Oct. 4, 2012 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – North Sea Jazz Club

For additional information about the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, including Tourdates, CD Releases, Arkestra Member Bios, Multimedia (including a new 62 minute video of the Arkestra recorded live in concert on October 15, 2009 in France at the Nancy Jazz Pulsations), Weblinks, and Arkestra Booking Information, please visit www.thesunraarkestra.com.

The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen will be involved in a unique program at the Uncool Festival in Poschiavo, Switzerland on June 22 – 23, 2012. A 20 piece Sun Ra Arkestra (including a string section) will be enhanced by guest performers on harp, viola, violine, and dance to form a 25 piece ensemble providing music for two unique world premiere musical theater programs that are titled “Oedipus” and “Akhenaten”. The concept and text for these theater programs is the creation of the Uncool Festival Director Cornelia Mueller. The original music for the title songs on this project is composed and arranged by Marshall Allen, the Musical Director of the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen. Marshall Allen will add the kora to his standard instrumentation of alto saxophone, flute, clarinet, and EVI for this event. This will be the first time in over 25 years that Marshall Allen has performed on the kora within the Sun Ra Arkestra.

There have only been two other occasions in the Sun Ra Arkestra’s 56 year history where a string section and guest performers have played a major role in an Arkestra performance. The first instance was the October 27, 1990 performance of the Sun Ra Arkestra with a Symphony Orchestra in Paris, France – which was recorded on the “Pleiades” CD release (Leo Records). The second manifestation was the “Space is the Place Spectacular” on December 31, 2000, which was a concert at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia, PA following a month long residency of 10 Philadelphia based string musicians with the Sun Ra Arkestra.

The 2012 Uncool Festival will co-reside with the 17th Sun Ra Convention by Hartmut Geerken. The 2012 Uncool Festival is dedicated to Sun Ra Arkestra trumpeter Michael Ray, who will conclude the festival with a solo trumpet concert on Sunday, June 24, 2012. The “Oedipus” and “Akhenaten” performance schedule involving the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen is:

Friday, June 22, 2012 at 10:00 pm – “Oedipus” – Piazza Cumun, Poschiavo, Switzerland
Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 10:00 pm – “Akhenaten” – Piazza Cumun, Poschiavo, Switzerland

More details about this Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen appearance can be found at www.uncool.ch/2012/program.php.

The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen will start its 2012 World Tour with a rare Philadelphia, PA club appearance on Saturday, January 21, 2012 at The Blockley, 38th & Chestnut at 9:00 pm. Tickets are $15 and available at the Blockley Box Office by phoning 215-222-1234 or online at www.theblockley.com.

This manifestation of the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen at its Earth base of Philadelphia will be supported by a live radio interview of Marshall Allen and Danny Ray Thompson at 10:00 pm EST on Friday, January 20, 2012 conducted by J. Michael Harrison, host of “The Bridge” on WRTI (Philadelphia’s jazz radio station at 90.1 FM) which will stream live on the Internet at www.wrti.org.

For additional information about the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, please visit www.thesunraarkestra.com.

The Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen will conclude its 2011 World Tour with appearances in Israel and England. Details about this exciting manifestation of the Arkestra, which includes the 4th residency of the Sun Ra Arkestra at the Cafe Oto, are below:

- December 3 – Barbie Club, Tel Aviv, Israel
- December 6, 7, & 8 – Cafe Oto, London, England [December 8 is sold out]
- December 10 – Band on the Wall, Manchester, England
- December 11 – Butlin’s Holiday Resort, Somerset, England

A very interesting interview with current Sun Ra Arkestra member Knoell Scott regarding his experiences with Sun Ra can be found here.

For additional information about the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, please visit www.thesunraarkestra.com.