Sun Ra
- Type: Classic Bandleader
- Country: United States
- Born: May 22, 1914 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States
- Died: May 30, 1993 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States
- Active: 1914 - 1993
Biography
A composer, bandleader, and keyboardist who shaped a singular cosmology, Sun Ra directed his Arkestra through a dynamic repertoire that spanned the history of jazz. He was a primary architect of Afrofuturism, merging Egyptian iconography and space-age philosophy with his musical explorations. One of the first jazz musicians to extensively use electronic keyboards, including the Minimoog, he pioneered new sonic textures, moving from structured big-band arrangements to expansive collective improvisations. Releasing a vast catalog on his own #El Saturn Records# label, with key albums like 'The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra' and 'Space Is the Place', his work dissolved conventional boundaries, creating a unique musical language that has remained influential for its innovation and theatricality.
Genres
Sun Ra Discography
- Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1 (1957) - Album - rated 3.51/5
- Jazz in Silhouette (1959) - Album - rated 5/5
- The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (1962) - Album - rated 3.76/5
- Angels and Demons at Play (1965) - Album - rated 4/5
- Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow (1965) - Album - rated 3.27/5
- Fate in a Pleasant Mood (1965) - Album - rated 3.9/5
- Secrets of the Sun (1965) - Album - rated 4.14/5
- The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra (1965) - Album - rated 3.93/5
- The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume One (1965) - Album - rated 4.42/5
- Other Planes of There (1966) - Album - rated 3.96/5
- Rocket Number Nine (1966) - Album - rated 3.99/5
- The Lady With the Golden Stockings (1966) - Album - rated 3.87/5
- The Magic City (1966) - Album - rated 3.83/5
- The Nubians of Plutonia (1966) - Album - rated 4.01/5
- Visits Planet Earth (1966) - Album - rated 3.73/5
- When Angels Speak of Love (1966) - Album - rated 3.85/5
- Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy (1967) - Album - rated 4.03/5
- Strange Strings (1967) - Album - rated 3.78/5
- We Travel the Space Ways (1967) - Album - rated 3.56/5
- Monorails and Satellites (1968) - Album - rated 3.3/5
- Atlantis (1969) - Album - rated 4.29/5
- Continuation (1969) - Album - rated 3.28/5
- My Brother the Wind (1970) - Album - rated 3.32/5
- Nothing Is... (1970) - Album - rated 3.93/5
- The Solar-Myth Approach Volume 1 (1971) - Album - rated 3.84/5
- The Solar-Myth Approach Volume 2 (1971) - Album - rated 3.82/5
- The Wind Speaks: My Brother the Wind, Vol. II (1971) - Album - rated 3.83/5
- Discipline 27-II (1972) - Album - rated 3.89/5
- "The Night of the Purple Moon" (1972) - Album - rated 3.53/5
- Astro Black (1973) - Album - rated 3.56/5
- Space Is the Place (1973) - Album - rated 4.55/5
- Monorails and Satellites Vol. II (1974) - Album - rated 3.1/5
- Space Probe (1974) - Album - rated 3.42/5
- The Invisible Shield (1974) - Album - rated 3.61/5
- Pathways to Unknown Worlds (1975) - Album - rated 3.5/5
- Cosmos (1976) - Album - rated 3.9/5
- Solo Piano, Vol. 1 (1977) - Album - rated 3.28/5
- Lanquidity (1978) - Album - rated 4.52/5
- Disco 3000 (1978) - Album - rated 3.99/5
- New Steps (1978) - Album - rated 3.89/5
- Other Voices, Other Blues (1978) - Album - rated 3.52/5
- On Jupiter (1979) - Album - rated 3.97/5
- God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be (1979) - Album - rated 4.05/5
- Omniverse (1979) - Album - rated 3.52/5
- Sleeping Beauty (1979) - Album - rated 5/5
- The Other Side of the Sun (1979) - Album - rated 3.22/5
- Strange Celestial Road (1980) - Album - rated 4.17/5
- Aurora Borealis (1981) - Album - rated 3.48/5
- A Fireside Chat With Lucifer (1983) - Album - rated 3.85/5
- Celestial Love (1984) - Album - rated 3.23/5
- Blue Delight (1989) - Album - rated 3.42/5
- Purple Night (1990) - Album - rated 3.72/5
- Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy and Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow (1992) - Compilation - rated 4.25/5
- Somewhere Else (1993) - Album - rated 3.77/5
- Calling Planet Earth (1998) - Album
- Janus (1999) - Compilation - rated 3.38/5
- Greatest Hits: Easy Listening for Intergalactic Travel (2000) - Compilation - rated 4/5
- The Solar-Myth Approach Volume 1 & 2 (2001) - Compilation - rated 3.84/5
- Marshall Allen presents Sun Ra and His Arkestra: In the Orbit of Ra (2014) - Compilation - rated 4.15/5
- East Two + 7 (2026) - Album - rated 3.89/5
Members
- Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra - Member
- Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra - Member
- John Gilmore - Member
- Pat Patrick - Member
- Marshall Allen - Member
- Ronnie Boykins - Member
- Sun Ra - Member
- Sun Ra and His Astro Infinity Arkestra - Member
- drum - Member
- slit drum - Member
- voice - Member
- Clifford Jarvis - Member
- Art Jenkins - Member
- keyboards - Member
- organ - Member
- composed by - Member
- arranged by - Member
- harp - Member
- drums - Member
- gong - Member
- alto saxophone - Member
- performer - Member
- baritone saxophone - Member
- tenor saxophone - Member
- Danny Davis - Member
- James Jacson - Member
- Alton Abraham - Member
- Ihnfinity Inc. - Member
- Jerry Gordon - Member
- Robert Cummings - Member
- Ali Hassan - Member
- C. Scoby Stroman - Member
- Manny Smith - Member
- Clifford Thornton - Member
- John Ore - Member
- Sun Ra and His Arkestra - Member
- Danny Ray Thompson - Member
- Julian Pressley - Member
- Steve Clarke - Member
- Luqman Ali - Member