Daniel Fiskum is a divorce and family law attorney in Minnetonka, Minnesota. He is also a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Minnesota School of Music, where he is researching and writing about the life of Sun Ra (1914-1993). Sun Ra was a free jazz musician who first developed the idea of Afro Futurism (though the term was not coined until after Sun Ra’s death).

Dan will do a presentation on Sun Ra, his history, and his place in the jazz canon. The presentation will include some musical excerpts as well as a discussion of Tonal Gravity and the evolution of jazz melodic improvisation from 1899 through 1960.