The outlandish persona Sun Ra created and maintained for himself over the years may sometimes distract from the adventurous intent of the music he made. Yet it is testament to his vigorous loyalty to ...

Sun Ra was many things. As a pianist, composer, inventor, bandleader, philosopher and a revolutionary, Ra’s creation knew no bounds; even still, three decades after his ascent to the stars, his ...

Embark on a cosmic odyssey with Sun Ra and his Arkestra as they unveil At the Showcase Live in Chicago 1976-1977, a celestial offering dripping with mystique and intrigue. This transcendent collection ...

PBS will soon highlight a pioneering musician whose band is still based in a Germantown rowhome. Sun Ra, the late bandleader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, is the subject of an episode of "American Masters" ...

Bandleader Knoell Scott leads the Sun Ra Arkestra, performing at SFJazz on July 31, 2025. Photo by Frankie Solinsky Duryea. The Sun Ra Arkestra began the first of four San Francisco shows at SFJazz’s ...

Discover the extraordinary life of poet, philosopher and music visionary Sun Ra. With his ever-evolving collective, the Sun Ra Arkestra, he self-produced more than 200 albums, stretching the ...

For the 45 years he was on the music scene, the keyboardist, composer, and bandleader known as Sun Ra (1914-93) was one of the most original and iconoclastic Black artists of the 20th century. And if ...

Questlove, Dawn Richard and a range of other musicians, writers and critics share their favorites from the experimental pianist, organist and bandleader’s wide-ranging catalog. By Marcus J. Moore ...

Philadelphia holds Sun Ra near and dear to its heart. Despite the nickname “death’s headquarters,” bestowed on Philly by Sun Ra himself, the prolific jazz musician and forefather to the Afrofuturist ...