The Magic Sun
Format:
Music Concert
Distributed By:
Planet Blue Pictures US
Available Now:
About:
"Featuring rare & exclusive SUN RA footage, photos & audio" A film by PHILL NIBLOCK featuring SUN RA & HIS SOLAR ARKESTRA. Composer, photographer and filmmaker Phill Niblock's classic of experimental underground filmmaking with a sensational soundtrack.
Sun Ra was no ordinary musician. His "free" approach to jazz was more Thelonious Monk or Ornette Coleman than Glenn Miller or Benny Goodman. His sartorial style was more George Clinton than Miles Davis. Just as Space is the Place, his best known cinematic effort, was no ordinary feature film, Magic Sun is no ordinary performance film. Phill Niblock's 16-minute vision of the late keyboard player/bandleader and 12-piece Arkestra, including John Gilmore and Marshall Allen, is painted in expressionistic shades of black and white--heavy on the black. The pieces are "Celestial Fantasy," "Shadow World," and "Strange Strings." The effect is strange, otherworldly, and disorienting. Magic Sun is accompanied by a 15-minute collection of stills and recitations from the same New York-based period (1963-1967). For the uninitiated, it may not be the best place start, but for the faithful, this previously obscure document is sure to be of great interest.