King Britt, Kate Watson-Wallace and more celebrate a century of Sun Ra

SPACE CADET: King Britt’s mom was friends with Sun Ra.
Photo courtesy of King Britt

One hundred years ago (give or take a couple of weeks), one of two events took place, depending on which version of the cosmic reality one chooses to reside in. Either Herman Poole Blount was born in Birmingham, Ala., or Sun Ra arrived on the planet Earth from his home in the vicinity of Saturn. In either case, the century that followed would see space/time significantly warped by the music of the Arkestra leader, who arrived in our world in one form or another in May 1914.

That legacy will be celebrated in many ways over the course of the year in Philadelphia, which Sun Ra called home for 25 years (and famously also called “the worst spot on Earth” and “death’s headquarters,” but he meant it affectionately). This weekend, King Britt and Kate Watson-Wallace will present a tribute performance inspired by Ra’s Afrofuturist innovations at FringeArts, incorporating improvised music, live video and dance. 

The show will feature guitarist Vernon Reid of Living Colour, percussionist Tendai Maraire of Shabazz Palaces, vocalist Imani Uzuri, keyboardist Marlo Reynolds and bassist Anthony Tidd, with Britt manipulating the live audio as well as “micro-samples” of Sun Ra’s music. Video artist Jason Senk will incorporate footage of the Arkestra into his live visuals, with dance by Watson-Wallace’s partner in the anonymous bodies art collective, Jaamil Kosoko.

“Me and Sunny go way back,” said Britt, wincing at the pain from a pinched nerve in his shoulder at One Shot Café on Memorial Day afternoon. “My mom was friends with Sun Ra and would go to his house for rehearsals once a month or so. As a kid I thought it was too much, but I did look at those guys as superheroes. There was something going on that I didn’t understand, but it stuck with me and now it’s part of all the music that I do, regardless of genre. With this collaboration I wanted to take it to the next level, so I thought about who we could invite that has been really influenced by Sun Ra and grasps the idea that futurism embraces science fiction.”

The first name that came to mind, naturally, was saxophonist Marshall Allen, a key member of the Arkestra for most of its history who has led the ensemble for nearly two decades. But Allen, only a decade short of his own centennial, is on tour in Europe with the Arkestra, so Britt decided to steer the tribute in a more radical direction, eschewing jazz instrumentation for electronic sounds. That led him to think of Reid, whose own multifarious influences are legendary; Shabazz Palaces, who Britt referred to as “like Sun Ra’s sons;” and Uzuri, who he likened to longtime Arkestra vocalist June Tyson.

Watson-Wallace says that she has long been familiar with Sun Ra, but her knowledge of his work and influence have increased exponentially since she and Britt became a couple a little over two years ago. “I’m interested in the Afrofuturist connection, the idea that he didn’t even think he was from this planet,” she said. “I don’t come out of his lineage at all, but a lot of the way he made work was actually how me and my creative partners are making work, in a really non-linear improvisation-based way.”

The Beautiful Noise: A Special Tribute to Sun Ra will be the couple’s first collaboration in what they intend to be a series of multidisciplinary works. It also serves to introduce Britt as the third member of a reimagined anonymous bodies, which Watson-Wallace hopes will help transform the perception of the collective from an experimental dance company to a more expansive artistic umbrella.

“There’s a little bit of segregation in Philadelphia in terms of all these amazing art communities that don’t always overlap,” she explained. “This evening and some of the events we’ll do in the future come from a long-standing desire to cross-pollinate and get all these amazing improvisers in a room together.”

Britt summed up the idea more succinctly: “It’s like Voltron.”

Long known as a DJ and producer, Britt hopes anonymous bodies will feed his experimental side. “Improvisation is where the magic happens,” Britt said. 

The collective’s expansion also provides each member a safety net that encourages them to venture further out, Watson-Wallace said — similar to the role of the Arkestra. “It gives you permission and support to go into artistic realms which you don’t have a lot of experience in. I think to be a good artist you always have to go into the unknown and be totally uncomfortable, be really bad at what you’re doing and stumble around in the dark until something arises. I feel like Sun Ra did that a lot.” 

The Beautiful Noise: Special Tribute to Sun Ra, Fri., June 6, 8 p.m., $15-$20, FringeArts, 140 N. Columbus Blvd., 215-413-1318, fringearts.com.