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

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 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 Abdullah's tutelage under composer and long-time Archie Shepp collaborator Cal Massey. Along the way, it covers the author's spiritual development, battles with addiction, tribulations as a father, and working life as an educator and taxi driver.

• | Author: Ahmed Abdullah
• | Publisher: Blank Forms Editions
• | Publication Date: Oct 03, 2023
• | Number of Pages: 536 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1953691161
• | ISBN-13: 9781953691163