Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2016
Sun Ra Arkestra @ Open
14/05/16
Yet again Norfolk & Norwich Festival offers us the opportunity to see something truly unique, a performance that we wouldn’t normally get the chance to see in Norwich. I’ve lost count of the number of brilliant events I’ve seen over the past few years and this year’s programme got off to a flying start with the mighty Sun Ra Arkestra.
This eleven piece jazz group have continued the work of their former leader who died/returned to Saturn in 1993, and are still led by 92 year Marshall Allen who has played with the Arkestra for almost sixty years. 92 years old; it’s almost impossible to imagine still having the desire and energy to keep performing at that age, but perform Marshall did. He was the beating heart of the group, cajoling his troops, aware of every note being played, whilst he himself played freeform saxophone or his trademark EVI, a type of electronic wind instrument.
The band were all decked out in their glittery costumes, and that touch of glamour and glitz just helped to give them the sense of the otherworldly. On record Sun Ra can be pretty challenging and I was expecting the same from the live show, but in actual fact it was incredibly musical and very easy to engage with. The music was extremely percussive and sinewy with a real elasticity to the pieces played. They managed to do something that I have rarely if ever experienced when watching live music; they juxtaposed loud and quiet, fierce and gentle, hard and soft, complex and simple, all during the course of the same song. It was genuinely remarkable. Having a band packed full of incredible musicians is the key of course, and every single member was a virtuoso. David Hotep’s guitar playing was amazing, weaving in and around the songs. The brass instruments provided the warmth and depth whilst also allowing the individual members the chance to fly during the solos. Tara Middleton added a touch of sass and sensuality with her brilliant vocals. It felt like the music was centuries old at times, evoking ancient African rhythms with call and response vocals. They played traditional jazz, they played smooth swing jazz, they played free avant-garde jazz and it was never less than astonishing.
Love In Outer Space left behind its restrained studio version and was transformed into a song of wonder. Watch The Sunrise perfectly evoked the sense of spirituality which ran through every song. The almost two hour set seemed to be over in an instant, I wish they could have played for hours more. Remarkably Marshall was still going strong, having barely sat down or paused for breath. This really was one of those once in a lifetime opportunities, and several people I spoke to after said it was the best concert they had ever seen. I’m still trying to take in everything I saw last night, hoping that I’m succeeding in conveying just how inspirational I found it.
After witnessing last night’s show it’s time to really immerse myself in the music of Sun Ra and his Arkestra, maybe invest in some space age Egyptian robes and start to truly explore my inner space.