Sun Ra
Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. But despite all of the trappings, Sun Ra was a major innovator, starting off playing advanced bop, but early on was open to the influences of other cultures, experimenting with primitive electric keyboards, and playing free long before the avant-garde got established.
Of all the jazz musicians, Sun Ra was probably the most controversial. He did not make it easy for people to take him seriously, for he surrounded his adventurous music with costumes and mythology that both looked backward toward ancient Egypt and forward into science fiction. But despite all of the trappings, Sun Ra was a major innovator, starting off playing advanced bop, but early on was open to the influences of other cultures, experimenting with primitive electric keyboards, and playing free long before the avant-garde got established.
Best Of....
"Best of..." (catalog number ART54) is a limited edition compilation LP by the legendary jazz innovator Sun Ra, released on white vinyl in 2024. This collection brings together 14 early tracks that showcase Sun Ra’s multifaceted genius as a bandleade…
Jazz In Silhouette
Jazz in Silhouette is Sun Ra’s third album, hailed as an early masterpiece blending jazz tradition with innovation. Featuring original compositions, it marks a transitional phase before his avant-garde explorations, showcasing Ra’s talents as compose…
Lights On A Satellite: Live At The Left Bank
Available for the very first time, the intergalactic icon Sun Ra and his Arkestra’s Lights On A Satellite: Live at the Left Bank was recorded on July 23, 1978 at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore, Maryland by the Left Bank Jazz Society. The limited-ed…
Sleeping Beauty
Strut proudly presents a new edition of one of Sun Ra's most celebrated albums, Sleeping Beauty, reissued in its original artwork for the first time. Originally released in 1979 on his independent Saturn label, Sleeping Beauty captures Sun Ra and his…
On Jupiter
On Jupiter by Sun Ra blends deep funk, avant-garde jazz, and cosmic soundscapes, capturing the Arkestra’s 1979 creative peak. Remastered by Technology Works, this reissue features original sleeve art and new liner notes.
Nuits De La Fondation Maeght
4CD Set "Originally released across two edited volumes by Shandar in 1971, the concerts are now being reissued by Strut in a stunning 4CD set, Limited Edition 4CD Set. Features a 36-page booklet featuring liner notes by by Daniel Caux, Jacqueline Cau…
Stray Voltage
These tracks capture Ra's electronic peregrinations during the 1970s and '80s. The Arkestra occasionally makes a cameo appearance but Ra commands the spotlight, not so much composing music as painting soundscapes with electronic keyboards. In the col…
The Magic City
According to many enthusiasts and scholars, this album is among Sun Ra's most definitive studio recordings. The Magic City contains just four tracks, with the title- theme taking up the whole of the A side at a little over 27 minutes. Then on the B s…
Music is a Message From Space
Yet another triumph from the legendary multi-instrumentalist, Joe McPhee, Corbett Vs. Dempsey drops "The Mystery J", their first ever full-length vinyl release, issued in a limited edition of 500 copies. Recorded in 2014 with violist Jen Clare Paulso…
My Words Are Music: A Celebration Of Sun Ra's Poetry
Sun Ra is better known to most as a musician than a poet, but he identified equally as both. My Words Are Music provides direct access to the sentiments of a poet who never called Earth home. The spoken word album hosts an inspired array of artists w…
Outer Spaceways Incorporated
Sun Ra’s Arkestra was at its most radical during this period, alternating simple chants with very outside playing and dense ensembles. Although no precise date is given, these five cuts are thought to have been documented circa 1967-1968 by Sun Ra (p…
Sound of Joy
This is the first Sun Ra 1957 work that Delmark released to the world after it was unreleased on Trungeon. A treasured early recording with a rough but beautiful big band sound!
Sun Song
Sun Ra's debut album, released in 1956, catapulted Sun Ra from the Chicago jazz scene to become a darling of the underground scene. This important album featured star players such as John Gilmour!
When Angels Speak of Love
When Angels Speak of Love, released in 1966 on Sun Ra's Saturn label, is a rarity, with limited pressings (150 copies, by one estimate), which were sold thru the mail and at concerts and club dates. The tracks were taped in New York during two 1963 s…
Pink Elephants On Parade
When you wish upon a star… that turns out to be Saturn!
Pathways To Unknown Worlds + Friendly Love
This package combines two LPs on one CD. Pathways was originally released on vinyl in the mid-70s at the very end of Sun Ra's relationship with Impulse and remained in print for less than one year. Evidence has remixed the original four track tapes a…
Continuation
Recorded at the Choreographers’ Workshop in New York, 1963, Waaghals Records presents two songs from Sun Ra’s Continuation sessions on vinyl for the first time. Known for its lo-fi recording quality coupled with heavy use of echo and reverberation, t…
Berkeley Lecture, 1971
One for the ages here. Unearthed from the ESS archives and officially released for the first time ever, a previously unknown half-hour from cosmic mythologist and sound scientist Sun Ra's 1971 U.C. Berkeley course "The Black Man in the Cosmos." Ra's…
Lanquidity
Strut proudly presents a special edition, deluxe repress of Sun Ra’s classic ‘Lanquidity’, for the 25th anniversary of the label. Housed in a tip-on sleeve with OBI strip, this new special editions features an A2 poster including a rare Veryl Oaklan…