“But recently I began to feel that maybe I wouldn't be able to do what I want to do and need to do with American musicians, who are imprisoned behind these bars; music's got these bars and measures you know.” ~ Sun Ra

Because he insisted that he was a Saturnian, and developed an elaborate cosmology and myth-system with considerable spiritual and political implications, Sun Ra was often dismissed as a clown. For some listeners it was enough to see him decked out in his extraterrestrial regalia to call him a con man and move on. Even the most cursory hearing of the music demonstrates that such dismissals were and are patently unfair. Behind Ra's mythology were a good number of sound and sensible ideas; more importantly, he was a master musician who left a magnificent body of work. His influence as an arranger and a leader cannot be underestimated, and is ignored by musicians only at their peril. ~ All about Jazz: Sun Ra ~ retrieved June 20, 2013 © All About Jazz