Boykins is best known for his work with pianist/bandleader
Sun Ra, although he had played with such disparate musicians as
Muddy Waters,
Johnny Griffin, and
Jimmy Witherspoon prior to joining
Sun Ra's Arkestra. He was a regular member of
Sun Ra's band from 1958 until 1966, and occasionally thereafter. His percussive bass style inspired and formed the foundation of many Ra compositions. Like his fellow
Sun Ra bandmates,
John Gilmore and
Pat Patrick,
Boykins attended Chicago's DuSable High School and studied under its famed music teacher "Captain" Walter Dyett. He also studied with
Ernie Shepard, who would later work with
Duke Ellington. Before joining
Ra,
Boykins had joined with a trombonist friend to open a private club -- The House of Culture -- with the intent of promoting Black culture.
Boykins' arco solo on
Sun Ra's "Rocket No. 9 Take Off for Planet Venus" from 1959 may be the first recorded example of the bass being played in a horn-like manner within a relatively free context, predating similar work by
Alan Silva and
David Izenzon.
Boykins worked with both free and straight-ahead musicians. In 1962, he recorded with the hard bop tenor saxophonist
Bill Barron and, the next year, with pianist
Elmo Hope.
Boykins worked with tenor saxophonist
Archie Shepp's
New York Contemporary Five in 1964.
Boykins left
Ra in 1966, ostensibly to pursue more lucrative opportunities;
Ra had a difficult time finding a replacement, at times settling for playing his own bass lines on keyboard. In 1967,
Boykins played on
Rahsaan Roland Kirk's Rip, Rig and Panic LP. In the late '60s, he formed his own group, the Free Jazz Society, which included the pianist
John Hicks. In the '70s,
Boykins played with the Melodic Art-tet, a cooperative free jazz ensemble that also included drummer
Roger Blank, saxophonist
Charles Brackeen, and trumpeter
Ahmed Abdullah. In 1975, the bassist led a session for ESP Disk that produced the self-titled LP, Ronnie Boykins. In the course of his career,
Boykins also worked with
Mary Lou Williams,
Marion Brown, and
Sarah Vaughan, among others. ~ Chris Kelsey