Sun Ra, Arkestra

The interplanetary jazz travelers of Sun Ra's Arkestra reached transcendent heights over the many decades their free music spanned. Live in Nickelsdorf 1984 finds a particularly spirited lineup of the Arkestra simmering through an almost three-hour set at an Austrian jazz festival. The band, featuring key Arkestra players John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, Rollo Radford, Don Mumford, and of course Ra himself, runs through brilliant versions of almost 30 tunes. The set is heavy on improvisation and also includes standards like "Space Is the Place" and "Fate in a Pleasant Mood" as well as the cautionary groove of "Nuclear War."