{"id":1715,"date":"2014-09-11T16:03:11","date_gmt":"2014-09-11T20:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/?p=1715"},"modified":"2014-09-11T17:26:30","modified_gmt":"2014-09-11T21:26:30","slug":"guelphs-jazz-festcolloquium-of-cosmic-improvisation-deutsch-pix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/jazzbeyondjazz\/2014\/09\/guelphs-jazz-festcolloquium-of-cosmic-improvisation-deutsch-pix.html","title":{"rendered":"Guelph’s jazz fest\/colloquium of cosmic improvisation, Deutsch pix"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Guelph Jazz Festival<\/a> last week (Sept 3 through 7), held in a mostly placid river-run university town about 60 miles west of Toronto, climaxed with a blast-off to other worlds fueled by the Sun Ra Arkestra<\/a> (led by saxophonist Marshall Allen) and Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie dance troupe. Photographer Lauren Deutsch<\/strong><\/a> captured the ecstasy of concert-goers joining musicians and movers onstage, more eager\u00c2\u00a0than Richard Dreyfus\u00c2\u00a0in Close Encounters of the Third Kind<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0to clamber aboard\u00c2\u00a0the aliens’ spaceship.<\/p>\n

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Saxophonist Marshall Allen led the Sun Ra Arkestra at the Guelph Jazz Festival, collaborating with Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie dancers. Photo (c) Lauren Deutsch<\/p><\/div>\n

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Panorama of Sun Ra Arkestra with Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie and audience at Guelph Jazz Festival. Photo (c) Lauren Deutsch<\/p><\/div>\n

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Audience members rushed onstage at urging of the Sun Ra Arkestra and Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie dance troupe, at the Guelph Jazz Festival — even those still in seats traveled the spaceways. Photo (c) Lauren Deutsch<\/p><\/div>\n

Attendees at that penultimate concert (it was followed by a intensely propulsive performance by master drummer Milford Graves with tenor saxophonist Kidd Jordan and pianist DD Jackson) had been prepared. The 100th anniversary year of Sun Ra’s arrival on Earth (May 24, 1914; his parents called him Herman Blount) occasioned keynote speeches, scholarly presentations and a panel of journalists (including yours truly) at the Guelph Jazz Colloquium<\/a>. There was much interesting if sometimes esoteric\u00c2\u00a0discussion of ideas\u00c2\u00a0and speculations inspired at least in part by Ra, the visionary and prophetic\u00c2\u00a0composer\/arranger\/keyboardist\/conceptualist\/pamphleteer who experienced his own lift off\u00c2\u00a0May 30, 1993. I’m compelled to include this ancient video clip of Sun Ra in Sardinia and at the pyramids:<\/p>\n