SUN RA’s LEGACY Sun Ra has been an influence on a myriad of musical artists and luminaries. These include pianist Lonnie Liston   Smith  but not just jazz artists alone: George Clinton ( Parliament, Funkadelic  et al), Afrika Bambaataa, Flying Lotus   and Sonic Youth  are just a few cited examples for whom Sun Ra’s music resonated, but Frank Zappa  also seems an obvious connecting point, consciously or not. John Sinclair , manager of the MC5  was a fan and brought the Arkestr

Born Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington, Ellington’s mother and father had a piano each and studied James P Johnson’s piano rolls when he was young. He worked his way up in the Washington dance band scene and eventually settled in Harlem, NewYork in the spring of 1923where he became leader of The Washingtonians. The recruitment of trumpeter James ‘Bubber’ Miley (his plunger mute would define what was called the ‘jungle sound’ in the Cotton Club days) helped to define the Duke’s

*****ALBUMS: 8) MILES DAVIS: MILES IN THE SKY (1967) “A brilliant transitional album.” MILES IN THE SKY was recorded in four sessions on 16 th  January, 1968 and 15th-17 th May, 1968 at Columbia Studio B, New York. MUSICIANS: Miles Davis, trumpet, cornet (on tracks 1 and 4), Wayne Shorter, tenor sax, Herbie Hancock, acoustic and electric piano (on 1), Ron Carter, upright bass and electric bass (on 1) and Tony Williams, drums with George Benson, electric guitar guesting on 2.