Herman Poole Blount (1914–1993), better known under the name Sun Ra, was an extraordinarily gifted pianist, a legendary big band leader and one of the most chatoyant and controversial personalities of his era. His compositions belong to the 20th Century’s musical canon without any doubt, although it seems to be impossible to take his music as a fixed constant. He did not hand down a monolithic opus but a puzzling variety – and his big band: The Sun Ra Arkestra. The Sun Ra Arkestra survived all the jazz tides. Under the direction of Marshall Allen it is still traveling the globe in Sun Ra’s mission – Noah’s Ark and avant-garde project in one, stem cell, root and sprout of jazz.
