Sun Ra - Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow [CD]

Sun Ra (who was born Herman Blount) was undoubtedly one of the most arcane musicians of the 20th century. He was an American Jazz composer, band leader, piano and synthesiser player, poet and philosopher, but his formal education came to an abrupt end. Sun Ra soon left college because, he claimed, he had a visionary experience as a college student that had a major, long-term influence on him. In 1936 or 1937, in the midst of deep religious concentration, Sun Ra claimed that a bright light appeared around him, and, as he later said: My whole body changed into something else. I could see through myself. And I went up... I wasn't in human form... I landed on a planet that I identified as Saturn... they teleported me and I was down on stage with them. They wanted to talk with me. They had one little antenna on each ear. A little antenna over each eye. They talked to me. They told me to stop because there was going to be great trouble in schools... The world was going into complete chaos... I would speak, and the world would listen. That's what they told me. This album originally appeared in 1962 and includes some remarkable technical advances. While testing the tape recorder while the musicians were tuning up one day, the band's drummer and engineer, Tommy Hunter, realised that by manipulating the tape recorder in unconventional fashion, he could create sounds that nobody had ever heard before. Unless you have already booked your summer holiday on Saturn, I suggest that you buy this record to see what you are missing.