Sun Ra - Xiongyue Yu Journal Entry 14
Sun Ra - Brother from Another Planet - A Joyful Noise The two documentaries, by their names, seem to introduce two different aspects of Sun Ra's musical charm and style, and of course, his own spiritual thoughts and artistic pursuits. The name Brother from Another Planet seems to sum up the life of Sun Ra, the avant-garde jazz musician who chose his stage name from the ancient Egyptian god of the sun and transformed the power of his music into a sun-like energy that shines on the world. In people's minds, Sun Ra is like an outsider from far away, looking down on the earth and creating his own artistic record of the world and life as he sees it. What Sun Ra seems to bring to the table is not just music, but an idea, a deeper insight that comes from beyond humanity and reality. Some would call this style of his art cosmopolitanism, as Sun Ra himself says: music that one does not have in harmony with the spirit there, and therefore out of step with the universe." It is a...