About this Event
Join us for an evening of art, film, and live improvisational jazz accompanied by the Lumonics light sculptures and projection.
Thanks to Denver Westword for this recommendation:
"Lumonics, the mind-blowing and therapeutic light art created by the late Dorothy and Mel Tanner, was custom-made to mesh with music, which adds a new sensory layer to the studio’s immersive light shows. The Immersive Jazz-Art Experience, The Sun Ra Project, a trio led by Colorado-based jazz star Hugh Ragin on trumpet, with Sean Winters on keyboards and electronics, and Janine Santana on percussion, pairs light art with the Afrofuturistic experimental jazz of Sun Ra. Admission is $20 in advance at Eventbrite or $25 at the door — a bargain to hear music created by a man who claimed to be from Saturn."
Thanks to Bret Saunders of the Denver Post for this article:
“Jazz: Colorado’s Hugh Ragin playing Sun Ra”
Here are a few excerpts:
Hugh Ragin, as brilliant a trumpeter as he is a dedicated educator, greeted me at Englewood’s Colorado Jazz Workshop on a Saturday afternoon in January. He had just finished a day’s worth of rehearsing three different bands, yet he was eager to speak with me on a subject with which we were mutually enthusiastic: the bandleader, pianist and cosmic traveler known as Sun Ra.
First, a bit of background on Ragin. He’s made Colorado his home for decades, but has frequently traveled the world, sharing the stage with luminaries as varied as Anthony Braxton and Maynard Ferguson. Even though he’s wholeheartedly local, he’s a member of one of the world’s most distinguished creative music groups, The Art Ensemble of Chicago. Listen to last year’s “The Sixth Decade: From Paris to Paris,” and get a profound sense of his sonic accomplishments. Ragin is also Dr. Ragin now, after recently obtaining his doctorate of musical arts from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Ragin, who performed with Sun Ra and his big band, known as the Arkestra, in New York decades ago, is still in awe of Ra’s sophisticated music and profound philosophies.
Ragin and friends will perform selections from Sun Ra’s expansive catalog at Denver’s Lumonics Light and Sound Gallery on Feb. 16 and March 15.“He had this presence, this consciousness; the whole ‘big picture’ consciousness he lays on you,” he says of Ra, who died in 1993.
“It will be a multimedia presentation,” Ragin said of the upcoming Lumonics Gallery shows. “We’re definitely fusing everything. There are some fascinating Sun Ra (video) clips.”
Ragin let out a joyful “Ooooooh!,” adding, “Sun Ra will nudge you out to the universe, but he also knows how to bring you home.”
Friday
7 pm to 9:30 pm
$20 advance
$25 at door
Sit on comfy couches or floor cushions.
Hugh Ragin and Friends present the Sun Ra Project
Hugh Ragin was the recipient of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Five Points Jazz Festival.
"Music is the spiritual language of Earth."
- Sun Ra
About Sun Ra (1914-1993):
Sun Ra was one of the most unusual musicians in the history of jazz, An outsider who linked the African-American experience with ancient Egyptian mythology and outer space, Sun Ra was years ahead of all other avant-garde musicians in his experimentation with sound and instruments, a pioneer in group improvisations and the use of electric instruments in jazz. He was best known for his "cosmic jazz".
In the 1950s, Sun Ra began issuing recordings of his unusual music on his Saturn label, becoming one of the first jazz musicians to record and sell his own albums. Sun Ra released more than a hundred albums of visionary jazz, comprising well over 1,000 songs, and making him one of the most prolific recording artists of the 20th century.
Sun Ra was among the first musicians to make extensive and pioneering use of synthesizers and other various electronic keyboards. In 1969, he was given a prototype Minimoog by its inventor, Robert Moog.
- various internet sources, including the National Endowment for the Humanities
Hugh Ragin - trumpet
Sean Winters - keyboards and electronics
Janine Santana - percussion
About Hugh Ragin:
Hugh Ragin is a lecturer of Jazz Studies at the College of Music at the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Hugh Ragin was raised in Houston, Texas, and began playing trumpet in his early teens, taking lessons in classical music; he was also a member of the Houston All-City High School Orchestra.
Ragin earned a degree in music education from the University of Houston and a degree in classical trumpet performance from Colorado State University. He continued his education in 1978 at the Creative Music Studio with Roscoe Mitchell. A year later, he performed with Mitchell, Wadada Leo Smith and the Creative Orchestra at the Moers Festival in Germany. He then toured with Anthony Braxton.
During the early 1980s, Ragin toured with jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. He began an association with David Murray, becoming a member of Murray’s band in the 1980s. Currently, Ragin is a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Ragin earned a DMA in jazz studies from the University of Colorado-Boulder and leads a variety of ensembles, master classes and workshops.
About Sean Winters:
Sean Winters teaches Sound & Music Technology as a Lecturer in the Department of Critical Media Practices at CU. Courses taught include Sonic Arts I & II, Sound for XR, Sonic Histories, Sound Practices, Intro to Music Technology, Performance Audio Recording, and Recording Design. Sean is a sonic artist, audiovisual performer, audio engineer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, and hacker/technologist.
About Janine Santana:
Janine Santana was born in Brooklyn, NY to a multi-cultural family in an ethnically diverse neighborhood. Her family is comprised of professional musicians, actors, dancers, world travelers as well as artists and engineers! The food, languages, music and arts that influenced her childhood and youth are of Puerto Rican, Lebanese, Finnish cultures in her own immediate family, Recording several Jazz records as side-player and one as a leader, she has played regionally and across the country with many national Jazz and Latin Jazz treasures.
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Janine Santana hosts the series. She is a jazz percussionist, bandleader, and radio personality. Janine Santana is the Artistic Director/Radio Personality at The Arts Validation Network and Leader/ Conguera at Janine Santana Latin Jazz. She was a popular on air host at KUVO Denver for many years. Janine hosts Afternoon Jazz Mondays through Fridays from 3-6 pm Mountain Time on TAVN-Jazz .
Join us for an evening of art, film, and live improvisational jazz accompanied by the Lumonics light sculptures/video. Janine will also be selecting a jazz film for each event. The evening will conclude with Lumonics Immersed, a transformative multi-sensory art experience.
"Janine Santana here...and I want to personally thank all who have attended our Jazz immersion events. The response has been absolutely heart-warming! Each event is unique, with a different film and an individualized light experience curated by Lumonics Gallery. A percentage of any profit goes to support The Arts Validation Network, too! "
***** (Google Review)
Really interesting, tucked away spot. I went for a jazz show with inspiration by Sun Ra and it fit the space well. They showed a short film and also gave a taste of the normal programming there which involves all of the light based art and visuals on screen synchronized to music. There’s comfy couches, floor cushions, and snacks included with the ticket price.
Steve K.
RTD Bus 7 stops right at our corner.
Free parking
more info:
https://lumonics.net/jazz
303.568.9406
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Lumonics Light & Sound Gallery, 800 E. 73 Avenue, #11, Denver, United States
USD 20.00
