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Sun Ra Arkestra

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

The Sun Ra Arkestra is an American jazz group that arose in the mid-1950s as the ensemble accompanying the keyboard player and composer Sun Ra. Sun Ra led the group until his death in 1993. He and the orchestra are regarded as pioneers of Afrofuturism. The group has its headquarters in a row house in the Germantown district of Philadelphia. The saxophonist Marshall Allen, a member since 1958, has lived and worked there since 1968 and has led the orchestra since 1995, after John Gilmore. There are usually more than twelve members.

Music and breakthrough

The Arkestra draws on swing, rock 'n' roll, Chicago blues, improvisation and electronics. The musicians perform in colourful costumes with capes and headdresses, in an Afrofuturist style. The singer June Tyson, who joined in 1968, shaped the sound with her singing and spoken word and contributed to the costumes and choreography. The long list of albums includes Super-Sonic Jazz from 1957, Jazz in Silhouette from 1958, Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow from 1965, The Magic City from 1966 and Atlantis from 1969.

Influence

After Sun Ra's death Allen released new albums again under the name Sun Ra Arkestra, beginning with A Song for the Sun in 1999. In 2017 the group was the opening act for Solange. The album Swirling from 2020 contains the first studio recording of Sun Ra's Darkness. Lights on a Satellite from 2024 received a Grammy nomination in 2026 for best large jazz ensemble album. In 2009 the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia devoted an exhibition to the group.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording from the 1960s, for example from The Magic City. Notice the changing, sometimes rough sounds of saxophones and percussion, and how a composition suddenly turns into free improvisation.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists