# The influence of classical music on Sun Ra's jazz



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

In Wikipedia it mentions that " Often overlooked is the range of influences from classical music – Sun Ra cited Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Schoenberg and Shostakovich as his favorite composers for the piano."

Very interesting... I am curious if there any specific examples?


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Strange that his influences would all be composers from Earth. Did he not learn anything on Saturn?

I don't know if this is one of those things where you can point to specific examples. It might just be general influence.


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## Heliogabo (Dec 29, 2014)

I don't remember any specific example in this moment, but I think that is possible to hear that influences on his piano playing, sometimes at least. Did you know that he made music with John Cage?


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Heliogabo said:


> I don't remember any specific example in this moment, but I think that is possible to hear that influences on his piano playing, sometimes at least. Did you know that he made music with John Cage?


oooo nope  I need to hunt down that collaboration down then. Just perked up my interest now.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

Albert7 said:


> oooo nope  I need to hunt down that collaboration down then. Just perked up my interest now.


As a huge fan of Sun ra, I've listened more than hundred albums, and the quality is vastly uneven, absolutely brilliant things (more structured pieces and wild free improvisations) and a lot of things that are onestly crap...Stockhausen was puzzled too when he saw Sun Ra for exactly this reason. Anyway I remember the album with Cage as one of the worst. 
About the influence of those composers onestly I can't see it. I would say he was influenced by Ellington, Monk, the first free jazz experiments of Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, the electronic music, certainly he took a lot from many folk traditions but I don't remember any piece that reminded me even remotely of Chopin, Rachmaninov, or Shostakovich.
Maybe there are some impressionistic influences in pieces like this one:


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