The Arkestra

Leaders of the Arkestra: Marshall Allen, Sun Ra

The Sun Ra Arkestra didn't cease to exist after its leader Sun Ra died in 1993. John Gilmore took over as leader in 1993 followed by Marshall Allen in 1995. Marshall Allen joined the Arkestra in 1958 and now, 64 years(!) later, at age 98, still leads the Arkestra. I've painted all three, Sun Ra, Gilmore, and Allen as at least three recordings (and maybe more) will be listed in the top 100 this year. Sun Ra is coupled with Allen, while drummer Clifford Jarvis accompanies tenor sax player John Gilmore on a second painting. A third features three women who were part of the Arkestra. The singers June Tyson, who performed with Sun Ra, and Tara Middleton, the singer of the current incarnation of the Arkestra, and dancer Ife Toyo, who performed with the Arkestra in the early seventies.

John Gilmore/Clifford Jarvis

I've always liked the music of Sun Ra but only recently I feel like I've come to understand his music a little better. I watched the film Space Is the Place, which in and of itself is not a great movie, it's like a B- or Blaxploitation movie, but it does show Ra's intentions and the Arkestra in concert. I never thought of Sun Ra in the context of the Civil Rights Movement, but the movie surely directs you in that direction. Of course, Sun Ra was right there in the midst of it. I've read that Sun Ra was at odds with the Black Panther movement over the issue of how to fight for equal right and against discrimination. The objectives are the same, beautifully laid out in the famous Martin Luther King "I have a dream" speech. Sun Ra's objective was to move African Americans to a different planet. The new planet must be taken metaphorically although Sun Ra took space very seriously. The method to move the people to outer space was music. Hence the name of his band: Arkestra. To create a better world he visualized a better world. The key, I think, of Sun Ra's music is visualization. If it can be visualized it can be a reality. The idea of visualization is closely linked to the practice of (neo) shamanism. Sun Ra was certainly a shamanic figure. (Some years ago I wrote about Rahsaan Roland Kirk as a modern shaman. It's perhaps odd to think of Kirk in terms of visualization, but I have no doubt blind people visualize in the same manner, or better, and non-blind people.)

June Tyson/Tara Middleton/Ife Toyo of the Arkestra

The three songs of inclusion are Space Is the Place, Heliocentric, and a solo improvisation without title by Sun Ra on keyboards. Retrospective and another untitled improvisation by the full Arkestra from 1981, are two other possible tracks included in this year's list. All recordings are from before 1993, when Sun Ra was still leading the Arkestra. Other tracks that scored points this year include two by the Arkestra after 1993, in Sun Ra's name but led by Marshall Allen.

All smiles: CRASS members Joy de Vivre, Eve Libertine, and Gee Vaucher

At the same time I painted the triple portraits of Arkestra members I also painted one of members of the British punk band CRASS. I chose the female band members this time: Joy de Vivre, Eve Libertine, and Gee Vaucher. The song in the Top 100 2022 is the same as in 2021: The medley Step Aside/Rocky Eyes/Mouthing the Words from the album Penis Envy.