MONDAY 19th April 2010
Times : 8pm
Tickets : SOLD OUT!
This has been a strange seven days at Café Oto!
Due to the volcanic ash from Iceland the Sun Ra Arkestra are still stranded in the UK. To help them we have agreed to organize a benefit concert tonight (Monday the 19th April) to help keep a roof over their heads. This will turn what was originally planned as a three-night residency into an epic five nighter!
The Arkestra remains a force of nature to rival any volcano. Their performances at Oto last week were extraordinary with the band delving deep into their back catalog and playing late into the night with incredible intensity.
This is an extremely rare chance to see one of the most influential big-bands of all time play in a small intimate setting for £10! On Friday afternoon we decided to put on an extra show later that evening we sold out in a few hours! We anticipate a similar demand tonight so act fast…
Sun Ra was one of the greatest and least known jazz artists of the last four decades, whose influence on diverse musicians is little known to the general public. A pianist and band leader, his style ranged from retro swing to avant free, and often in the same piece. His band could play a swinging Gershwin tune and almost imperceptibly soar into their free cosmic equational tones as if they possessed a single mind. Ra was a keyboard improviser of great originality, but his foremost talent was for inspiring and teaching creative musicians to improvise freely but together. This tension between freedom and coherence was something he explored with abundant energy and skill. Sun Ra died in 1993. The Arkestra performs today, under the direction of alto saxophonist Marshall Allen.
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