UAB Artists Create Mural for Sun Ra Tribute Concert

On Thursday, April 10, people in the city will celebrate one of Birmingham’s beloved, and funky, sons: Sun Ra, born Herman Blount in 1914.

Ra, who died in 1993, was a musician, composer, bandleader, poet and philosopher whose work reflected nearly the entire history of jazz. Despite his claims that he was from Saturn, Birmingham still lays claim: He was inducted into Alabama’s Jazz Hall of Fame in 1979.

This week, while the Birmingham Seven perform Ra’s music for “Sun Ra: Musician, Philosopher, and Poet,” the audience will see a set created by University of Alabama at Birmingham students, faculty and staff. UAB Assistant Professor of Art Doug Baulos, MFA, and hisDepartment of Art and Art History art studio students created the stage backdrop mural in homage to Ra. The inspiration for the mural, completed in just one week, is the 100th anniversary of Ra’s birth. The working title is “Fate in a Pleasant Mood.”