Sun Ra
Performer
1914–1993. American bandleader, pianist, composer in the Free Jazz / Afrofuturism tradition.
Sun Ra was a pioneering Afrofuturist bandleader whose cosmic philosophy and avant-garde jazz output made him a cult figure. His music blends free jazz, space themes, and experimental electronics.
63 products
Visions
SteepleChase
Vinyl
$45.99
Jun 27, 2025
Recorded in the summer of 1978 in Manhattan’s C. I. Recording Studio this rare encounter of jazz’s supreme instrumentalists and individualists Walt Dickerson (1928 – 2008) and Sun Ra (1914 – 1993) became an instant cult album among the followers of Avant Garde jazz of the 70s.
The author of the newly added liner notes Neil Tesser remarks, “Nearly a half-century after the fact, Visions now stands as a milestone of free improvisation
Almost half a century ago Trevor Tolley of Canadian jazz publication CODA enthused, “This is a tremendous record.... outstanding collaborations throughout this beautiful record, as well as some gloriously sustained solo passages.... it is the work of two masters in the full certainty of their powers.” 180g Audiophile Vinyl
MONORAILS & SATELITES: WORKS FOR SOLO PIANO V. 1-3
COSMIC MYTH RECORDS
CD
$15.49
Feb 01, 2019
I have always thought orchestra. I play that way, even when playing the piano. - Sun Ra Considering the monumental depth of Sun Ra's recorded oeuvre, there are surprisingly few solo piano albums. Monorails and Satellites Volumes 1 and 2 were the first commercial LPs of the artist's solo keyboard excursions. Recorded in 1966 and released on his Saturn imprint in 1968, Volume 1 featured seven idiosyncratic originals and one standard ("Easy Street") delivered in Sunny's singular manner. Volume 2 was released the following year, and contains five compositions, all originals. A third volume was prepped but shelved, and this deluxe edition marks it's premiere release. As with all Cosmic Myth releases these volumes are superbly mastered, and are available as a deluxe 2xCD or 3xLP tri-gatefold cover with copious liners notes by renown American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, and additional overviews by jazz historian Ben Young and producer Irwin Chusid.
AT THE SHOWCASE: LIVE IN CHICAGO 1976-1977
ANAGRAM MUSIC LLC
CD
$22.99
Apr 26, 2024
Two CDs. Sun Ra At The Showcase: Live In Chicago contains previously unissued live recordings of the legendary intergalactic composer/pianist Sun Ra captured live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL. Between 1976 and 1977. This is an official release on producer Zev Feldman's Jazz Detective record label, in partnership with Elemental Music, and in cooperation with the Sun Ra Trust. Researched and compiled by longtime Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson, and transferred from the original tape reels. Liner notes by James Corbett, and interviews and statements from photographer Hal Rammel, Michael Weiss, Marhall Allen, Thurston Moore, Jack DeJohnette, David Murray, Dave Burrell, Matthew Shipp, Amina Claudine Myers, and Reggie Workman.
CONCERT FOR THE COMET KOHOUTEK
ESP DISK LTD.
CD
$13.49
Jun 27, 2006
\'Released in the early \'90s, Concert for the Comet Kohoutek captures a typically inspired night by Sun Ra & the Intergalactic Space Research Arkestra. Recorded in late 1973, on this date the Arkestra is guided by a musical theme composed around the idea of the Comet Kohoutek, which was passing close to Earth at the time. Typically, the release vaults between cosmic vocal songs that speak of Truth and other such brashly capitalized affairs (such as \'Astro Black\'), almost straight-ahead big-band jazz arrangements (\'Variations of Kohoutek Themes\'), and frighteningly evil free explorations (\'Journey Through the Outer Darkness\').\'-Jesse Jarnow, AMG Digitally remastered by Joe Phillips with brief liner notes by ESP label founder Bernard Stollman.\' Recorded live at Town Hall, NYC, on December 22, 1973.
LIGHTS ON A SATELLITE: LIVE AT THE LEFT BANK
RESONANCE RECORDS
CD
$24.99
Dec 06, 2024
Two CDs. 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.
OUTER SPACEWAYS INCORPORATED - GOLD
ORG MUSIC
Vinyl
$32.99
Feb 16, 2024
Sun Ra's Arkestra was at it's 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 (piano) and his Arkestra in New York City, where the band was in residence at the time. First released for Record Store Day 2014, the title is now available on gold vinyl, pressed at Pallas Group in Germany.
JANUS
ORG MUSIC
Vinyl
$33.49
Jun 29, 2018
Us is a compilation of rare material from Sun Ra and his Arkestra, drawing from tapes recorded between 1963 and 1970, taken from both live and studio performances. The space-age jazz shaman conjures up a variety of styles and moods along the way. The album has been remastered, and pressed on audiophile-grade vinyl at Pallas in Germany.
SUN SONG
DELMARK
CD
$15.49
Sep 18, 1993
Also known as Jazz by Sun Ra, this 1956 LP was the first widely distributed album by this experimental-jazz trailblazer. It took many critics years to fully apprehend the harmonic and rhythmic inventions of Brainville; Transitions; Possession; a Call for All Demons; Street Named Hell, and more!
SPACE IS THE PLACE (VERVE BY REQUEST SERIES)
VERVE
Vinyl
$33.49
Sep 08, 2023
Vinyl LP pressing. Space Is The Place - highlighted by the rousing 21-minute title track - is both an essential album and a great onramp for new listeners to travel the spaceways of Sun Ra's other-worldly blend of avant-garde jazz, experimental rock, and Afrofuturism. The Verve By Request Series features 180-gram vinyl, pressed at Third Man in Detroit.
ART FORMS OF DIMENSIONS TOMORROW
GREYSCALE
CD
$16.99
Mar 16, 2018
CD reissue. Sun Ra (who was born Herman Blount) was undoubtedly one of the most arcane musicians of the 20th century. He was an American Jazz composer, band leader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher, but his formal education came to an abrupt end. Sun Ra soon left college because, he claimed, he had a visionary experience as a college student that had a major, long-term influence on him. In 1936 or 1937, in the midst of deep religious concentration, Sun Ra claimed that a bright light appeared around him, and, as he later said: My whole body changed into something else. I could see through myself. And I went up... I wasn't in human form... I landed on a planet that I identified as Saturn... they teleported me and I was down on stage with them. They wanted to talk with me. They had one little antenna on each ear. A little antenna over each eye. They talked to me. They told me to stop because there was going to be great trouble in schools... The world was going into complete chaos... I would speak, and the world would listen. That's what they told me. This album originally appeared in 1962 and includes some remarkable technical advances. While testing the tape recorder while the musicians were tuning up one day, the band's drummer and engineer, Tommy Hunter, realized that by manipulating the tape recorder in unconventional fashion, he could create sounds that nobody had ever heard before. Unless you have already booked your summer holiday on Saturn, I suggest that you buy this record to see what you are missing.
FUTURISTIC SOUNDS OF SUN RA
CRAFT RECORDINGS
Vinyl
$32.49
Sep 30, 2022
Vinyl LP pressing. Digitally remastered. This special 60th-anniversary reissue of groundbreaking jazz artist Sun Ra's iconic 1962 album, The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra, features all analog remastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. The package includes Tom Wilson's original liner notes, plus insightful new essays by jazz historian Ben Young and the journalist, radio personality and author Irwin Chusid.
LANQUIDITY
STRUT RECORDS
Vinyl
$40.99
Nov 15, 2024
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 Oakland photograph of Sun Ra in his home, as well as liner notes by Tom Buchler (Philly Jazz), Michael Ray and Danny Ray Thompson (Sun Ra Arkestra) and Bob Blank
ASTRO BLACK
MODERN HARMONIC
Vinyl
$32.99
Nov 15, 2024
One of a handful of albums Sun Ra released on the legendary Impulse! Label in the early '70s, Astro Black provides a comprehensive picture of where the Arkestra was around the time, drawing to the end of their ultra-free period and beginning to investigate more traditional jazz forms, and even the fringes of funk. Pressed on purple vinyl! 1. Astro Black 2. Discipline "99" 3. Hidden Spheres 4. The Cosmo-Fire