In the debut edition of Sounds of Germantown we present this profile of the Sun Ra Arkestra. In addition to downloading this episode you can hear installments all December at 1 PM each weekday on G-town Radio (http://gtownradio.com).
The Sun Ra Arkestra was founded in mid-1950s Chicago by the jazz composer, musician, bandleader, philosopher, Afro-Futurist, mystic (and also graphic designer, poet, activist, and self-proclaimed Saturnian) Sun Ra (1914–1993). In 1968 Sun Ra brought the Arkestra to Philadelphia, its home for the next four decades. The group still performs here today under the leadership of composer and multi-instrumentalist Marshall Allen, an Arkestra member since 1958.
In August 2010, Matthew Feldman and John Pettit to spoke to Allen and Arkestra musicians Danny Thompson, Michael Ray, Dave Davis, and Wayne Smith, Jr. about the group’s past, present, and future.
This piece was commissioned by the Philadelphia Music Project. (http://www.pcah.us/music).
Matthew Feldman (aka "Feldie") produces the Lucky Old Souls @ Moonstone concert series, hosts the Lucky Old Souls radio program on G-town Radio, and publishes Feldie's Philly Jazz Calendar (http://feldiesphillyjazzcalendar.com). For more on Lucky Old Souls, visit www.luckyoldsouls.com.
John Pettit works as a media archivist at Temple University Libraries, Urban Archives. Additionally, he is a media maker and musician who works with Termite TV, G-Town Radio, and Scribe Video Center.