Sun Ra said he came from Saturn. Known on earth for his inventive music and extravagant stage shows; he pioneered free-form improvisation in an ensemble setting with the devoted band he called the ldquo;Arkestra.rdquo; Sun Ra took jazz from the inner city to outer space; infusing traditional swing with far-out harmonies; rhythms; and sounds. Described as the father of Afrofuturism; Sun Ra created ldquo;space musicrdquo; as a means of building a better future for American blacks here on earth.A Pure Solar World: Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism offers a spirited introduction to the life and work of this legendary but underappreciated musician; composer; and poet. Paul Youngquist explores and assesses Sun Rarsquo;s wide-ranging creative outputmdash;music; public preaching; graphic design; film and stage performance; and poetrymdash;and connects his diverse undertakings to the culture and politics of his times; including the space race; the rise of technocracy; the civil rights movement; and even space-age bachelor-pad music. By thoroughly examining the astro-black mythology that Sun Ra espoused; Youngquist masterfully demonstrates that he offered both a holistic response to a planet desperately in need of new visions and vibrations and a new kind of political activism that used popular culture to advance social change. In a nation obsessed with space and confused about race; Sun Ra aimed not just at assimilation for the socially disfranchised but even more at a wholesale transformation of American society and a more creative; egalitarian world.
#1559506 in eBooks 2016-03-04 2016-03-04File Name: B01DTH3RW8
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