Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise (1980)
3.7 of 5 from 46 ratings
1h 0min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Decades ahead of his time, composer, keyboard player, bandleader, poet, and philosopher Sun Ra coupled sci-fi images of outer space with those of ancient Egypt, acoustic instruments with electronic ones, and modern American musical genres (jazz, soul, gospel, blues, swing) with the sounds of Africa and the Caribbean. He also combined his music with dance, poetry, colorful costumes and backdrops, and pure theatricality, influencing other innovative musical ensembles as diverse as the Art Ensemble of Chicago, George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic, and Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, and he was among the first musicians to use electronic keyboards and portable synthesizers in public performance. For his 60-minute documentary, 'Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise', filmmaker Robert Mugge and his crew spent two years (1978 to 1980) shooting Sun Ra and members of his distinctive jazz Arkestra at various locations in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Songs performed in the film include such Sun Ra classics as "Astro Black", "Mister Mystery", "We Travel the Spaceways", "Along Came Ra / The Living Myth", "Spaceship Earth (Destination Unknown), "Requiem for Trevor Johnson", and many more. - Actors:
- Sun Ra, George Clinton, Frank Zappa
- Directors:
- Robert Mugge
- Studio:
- MVD Visual
- Genres:
- Documentary, Music & Musicals, Performing Arts, Special Interest
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Unknown
- Run Time:
- 60 minutes
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