Collection: Sun Ra

Bandleader, composer, arranger, keyboard player, poet, philosopher, and cosmonaut Sun Ra advanced jazz into the space age. Through his elaborate concerts, films, and countless recordings, he fused imagery and mythology related to ancient Egypt as well as science fiction, planting the seeds for what would eventually be referred to as Afrofuturism.

Ra's music encompassed nearly every style of jazz, with roots in ragtime and swing, bebop and avant-garde jazz. Initially active as a blues pianist, he worked with swing musicians such as during the 1940s, then established his own trajectory during the '50s, when he founded the ever-changing ensemble known as the Arkestra. Establishing their interstellar mystique, the group sported futuristic costumes during their outlandish performances, and recorded constantly, issuing records through Ra's independent label El Saturn Records, often with misleading or nonexistent liner notes.

During the 1960s, the Arkestra released landmark albums such as The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 1 (1965) and Atlantis (1969), groundbreaking in their shifting away from conventional melody and harmony, as well as their usage of synthesizers and electronic keyboards. Ra's surrealist sci-fi epic Space Is the Place, preceded by an unrelated album of the same title, was released in 1974, subsequently becoming a major cult classic film. Later concerts and recordings by Ra incorporated swing standards and even tunes from movies, but maintained a heavy degree of improvisation, and remained highly unpredictable. The Arkestra has continued to perform since Ra's passing in 1993, and he remains a crucial influence on all forms of creative, forward-thinking music. 

At Gymnocal, we try to carry as much as possible of the currently available reissues from Strut, Modern Harmonic and more. Space is the place!