Sun Ra
Also Known As: Herman Poole Blount, Le Sony'r Ra
Biography: Sun Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, legal name Le Sony'r Ra; May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993) was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his experimental music, "cosmic philosophy," prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led "The Arkestra", an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Birmingham, Alabama , U.S.
Adult: No
Birthday: May 22, 1914
Age: 111 years old
Gender: Male
Deathday: May 30, 1993
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Rebirth Is Necessary
Overview: Director Jenn Nkiru authors a personal and powerful exploration of blackness through piecing together dreamlike portraits with stunning archival footage that includes Afrofuturism pioneer Sun Ra and revolutionary organization the Black Panther Party.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2017-09-20
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Space Is the Place
Overview: Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra return to Earth after several years in space. Ra proclaims himself "the alter-destiny", meets with inner-city youths and battles with the devil himself to save the black race.
Genres: Science Fiction Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-11-01
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Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise
Overview: Robert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-10-01
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I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore: Film, Stories & Images from the Mississippi Records and Alan Lomax Archive
Overview: A film, music and aural presentation by Eric Isaacson of Mississippi Records, Portland, USA. Featuring archival film, images & stories spanning 1890 to the present day, illustrating Eric's own special history of underground music movements and bonafide individuals. The live footage performances are culled from rarely seen film shot during Alan Lomax's North American travels between 1978 to 1985 and Mississippi Record's own enormous library of folk blues, gospel, esoteric, international & punk music.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2013-07-20
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Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight
Overview: "Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight" covers renowned American artist Betye Saar’s large-scale work “Drifting Toward Twilight”— commissioned by The Huntington Library, Art Museum, & Botanical Gardens — a site-specific installation that features a 17-foot-long vintage wooden canoe and found objects, including birdcages, antlers, and natural materials harvested by Saar from The Huntington’s grounds. This film renders a portrait of Betye's process at 96 while also reflecting on her life, career, and memories of Pasadena.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2023-11-11
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The Magic Sun
Overview: Multi-faceted artist Phil Niblock captures a brief moment of an interstellar communication by the Arkestra in their prime. Black turns white in a so-called negative post-process, while Niblock's camera focuses on microscopic details of hands, bodies and instruments. A brilliant tribute to the Sun King by another brilliant supra-planetary sovereign. (Eye of Sound)
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1966-01-01
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John Cage Meets Sun Ra
Overview: The never-before-seen in its entirety, visual documentation proving this avant-garde collaboration of mythic proportions did indeed occur. Recorded at Sideshows by the Seashore along the Coney Island boardwalk on June 8th, 1986 as documented on VHS by John Polizzi under the commission of event producers Rick Russo and Bronwyn Rucker. It was long believed that Cage and Ra never performed together but as you’ll see,these two shared the stage the entire time. The VHS footage has been combined with the audio master (containing several silent sections and some mic issues that occurred during the production), which breathes new life into the tiny reels of tape. The silent passages illuminate new auras when presented with the previously unseen visual component, and now over thirty years since it was recorded, you can truly experience the full spectacle.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
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Spaceways
Overview: A music documentary made with Sun Ra.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-01-01
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Mystery Mister Ra
Overview: Sun Ra, Archie Shepp and company in concert in Paris, 1984. Documents performances and rehearsals in Paris, France, 1984. It includes the compositions "Love in Outer Space," "Nuclear War," and "1984" by Sun Ra and the standards "Tea for Two" and "Blue Lou," as well as interviews with Sun Ra and Archie Shepp.
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-07-04
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Sun Ra: Brother From Another Planet
Overview: Sun Ra was born on the planet Saturn some time ago. The best accounts agree that he emerged on Earth as Herman Blount, born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1914, although Sun Ra himself always denied that Blount was his surname. He returned to Saturn in 1993 after creating a stunningly variegated and beautiful assemblage of earthly and interplanetary music, most notably with his fervently loyal Arkestra. Sun Ra and his Arkestra were the subject of a few documentary films, notably Robert Mugge’s ‘A Joyful Noise’ (1980), which interspersed performances and rehearsals with Sun Ra’s commentary on various subjects ranging from today’s youth to his own place in the cosmos. This documentary reuses some of Mugge’s material and includes some additional interviews.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-01-01
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Jazz Evolution
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Genres: Music
Original Language: it
Release Date: 2008-08-12
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Sun Ra Arkestra: Live in West Berlin 1983
Overview: This video captures innovative jazz composer, bandleader and pianist/synthesizer player Sun Ra's two live concert performances in East Berlin in 1986. Claiming that he was of the "Angel Race" and not from Earth but rather Saturn, the eccentric Sun Ra developed a complicated persona embracing cosmic philosophies and composing lyrical poetry that preached peace and condemned racism (which he experienced firsthand while touring with the Arkestra).
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
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Sun Ra: Do the Impossible
Overview: A biographical, musical, illuminating journey into the work and vision of Sun Ra, exploring his jazz roots, endless innovations, and ceaseless artistic and social quests.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2025-06-10
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