Sun Ra: Do The Impossible

Poet, Egyptologist, cosmologist, historian, activist, bandleader, musician… jazz pioneer Sun Ra was all of these. A complex man, born either in Alabama or on the planet Saturn. With his band Arkestra, he pushed the boundaries of free jazz.

He saw music as a form of higher communication, intended to elevate humanity, blending his own scientific explanations with the plight of Black people in America. Later this was called afro-futurism.

Arkestra was more than a band: its members lived together, rehearsed daily, and traveled the world in flamboyant robes and ritual performances.

Filmmaker Christine Turner elegantly combines the recollections of Arkestra’s dedicated, still awe-inspiring band members and dancers, commentary from historians, scholars, and other musicians, and Sun Ra’s own reflections with unforgettable performance footage. She thus paints an informative and sometimes astonishing portrait of a man who was as much a visionary as a musician.

Her documentary Sun Ra: Do the Impossible had its world premiere a few months ago at the Tribeca Festival in New York and is now having its Dutch premiere at the Music Film Festival.

After Sun Ra’s death in 1993, Arkestra continued, led by saxophonist Marshall Allen. In 2008, the band performed for five days at the Paradox jazz club in Tilburg as part of the Incubate festival, then called ZXZW. They were artists in residence at the time. The legendary orchestra gave a concert at Paradox every day between September 14 and 21, 2008, which was released on CD a year later: Sun Ra Arkestra Live at The Paradox.