From The Hamilton Spectator:
Born 100 years ago in Birmingham, Ala., Herman Poole Blount was gifted with a keen ear for music. He cut his teeth playing piano in burlesque joints in the mid-1930s. By 1947, he’d completed a stint as pianist and staff arranger for the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. In the mid-1950s, he changed his name to Le Sony’r Ra, and established his band which appeared under various names, the constant there being Arkestra. With their Afro-Egyptian outfits, colourful robes, capes and headgear, the band certainly stood out from the pack.
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