A Strange Celestial Road: My Time in the Sun Ra Arkestra

by Ahmed Abdullah, Salim Washington (Foreword)

A thrilling account of life with Sun Ra’s Arkestra and New York’s avant-garde jazz scenes of the 1970s–90s In this memoir, Harlem-born trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah recounts decades of national and international touring with the Sun Ra Arkestra and charts the rise of the New York loft jazz scene, offering a fascinating portrait of advanced music in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan from the 1970s through the 1990s, including thrilling stories about the politically important Bed-Stuy venue The East and the author's tutelage under composer and long-time Archie Shepp collaborator Cal Massey. Along the way, Abdullah covers his spiritual development as a Buddhist, battles with addiction, tribulations as a father, lessons from Sun Ra and working life as an educator and cab driver.
Trumpeter and educator Ahmed Abdullah was born in Harlem in 1947. An important figure in the New York loft jazz movement, in 1972 he formed a group called Abdullah, two years before joining the Sun Ra Arkestra, with whom he played for more than 20 years. He is a founding member of the bands Melodic Art-Tet, The Group and NAM, and of the Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium. Abdullah is the music director at Sistas’ Place in Brooklyn, and teaches music at the New School for Social Research in Manhattan and an elementary school in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

Genres: Music

536 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2023

Reviews

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely frank autobiography by trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah about his experiences as a member of Sun Ra's Arkestra. The book is over 500 pages long, including 64 pages of photos. It's a chunky book with a lot of wonderful stories about Sun Ra and his Arkestra. The first 350 pages were especially interesting to me, an enthusiastic fan of the music starting in the late 80s. Several events and bands related in the book I was lucky to see firsthand. The insider's discussion of the Loft Scene in NYC was especially interesting. Unlike many Arkestra members, Abdullah led groups of his own and was not one of the members who lived communally with Ra. This led to many incidents of miscommunication and bad vibes. The book drags somewhat with blow-by-blow discussion of the confusion, conflict and mismanagement that occurred after Ra left the planet.

Highly recommended for fans of Sun Ra and other "outside" jazz. It could have been 100 pages shorter; Ahmed is very (too?) open about his relationships with women.

[Connor Strader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lengthy, sometimes meandering, but never boring account of Ahmed Abdullah's fascinating life playing as a part of Sun Ra's band, and beyond it with his various other projects. A very complex, layered, and brutally honest account of the history and mythos of this music. You come to understand the man behind the mysticism of Sun Ra a bit more, and there's some sobering realities brought to the surface. What I've taken away from this brilliant book is that the men and women who participated and shared in Sun Ra's vision completely gave themselves over to it. These were artists who were unwaveringly committed to their art and its creation. Through the creation of music, poetry, and speculative imaginings, these artists willed into being one of the most influential and groundbreaking music collectives to ever walk this galaxy. Sun Ra was a complicated, flawed, and endlessly profound being. Abdullah expertly captures him through his memories, alongside his own moving life experience and the history of this music we call Jazz. As a long-time fan of Sun Ra I found it to be an engaging and rewarding read. If you're interested in Jazz or progressive music of any kind, you'll be inclined to agree. I've been inspired by the conceptual and dramatic nature of Sun Ra and his music for years; and now I hold an enriched understanding of Jazz's history alongside that inspiration. Space truly is the place.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devotees of Sun Ra might not appreciate this unvarnished, though admiring, look at the bandleader -- a unique genius who followed his own spirit to say the least. Beyond being a welcome addition to writings about Sun Ra, Abdullah illuminates New York's "downtown" scene in its most fertile years and describes the struggles of talented musicians who play challenging, non-conformist music. As a biography it is candid and occasionally uncomfortable, with a spiritual aspect. Abdullah does not hide from his struggles -- as a man and a musician -- but asks the reader to share his journey toward excellence and self-realization.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant telling of Abdullah's version of the Sun Ra story. Several John Swed sideswipes. Brutally and radically honest for an autobiography - I found this to be refreshing. When he read 3 Toni Morrison and 2 Alice Walker books as re-educational penance for domestic violence it was like ????????

I found the spatial orientation of the text on the page to be a bit odd. Lots of space in the middle and the text almost to the edge

[Edward Flis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing account of joining the Sun Ra Arkestra, lots of knowledge dropped about 70s New York loft scene free jazz legends. The author is not without his faults but acknowledges and owns up to (most of) them and talks about how he grew from his mistakes.

[Kurt Gottschalk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review forthcoming in the November issue of the NYC Jazz Record

[Jackson Walsh]

Good for Sun Ra obsessives (like me)