Back cover photo of Sun Ra's LP Live At Praxis'84, 1984, Soundwave Limited Flickr hide caption
Sun Ra Sun Ra artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
Sun Ra
Irreversible Entanglements Bob Sweeney/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
WILLOW's
Swirling is the first album in over 20 years from the Sun Ra Arkestra, now led by 96-year-old saxophonist Marshall Allen. Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
On 'Swirling,' Marshall Allen Keeps The Sun Ra Arkestra Soaring Through Space
Tiny Desk Concert with Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. Julia Reihs/NPR hide caption
Bjork is one of many artists inspired by the dwarf planet the spacecraft New Horizons is exploring. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Marshall Allen and the Sun Ra Arkestra perform at the Tiny Desk. Claire Eggers/NPR hide caption
Sun Ra's music sounds like it was intercepted from another world. Baron Wolman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
"In my music I speak of unknown things, impossible things, ancient things, potential things," Sun Ra said in a 1980 documentary. May 22, 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the composer and bandleader's birth. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption
From solo piano to languid big band, straight-up disco to full-on bananas "disco," Sun Ra had a wide 1970s output. House of Traps/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Charles Mingus getting cozy with a Verdi Imperial Stout. (And, yes, this is an "unauthorized" copy of Mexican Moods. Sorry, Sue Mingus, it was a gift.) Lars Gotrich/NPR hide caption