Sun Ra Arkestra

Sun Ra was a highly influential jazz pianist and composer who had a long career that saw a few stylistic changes over the years, going from old school swing and bebop to hard bop and free jazz and so on. He also adopted space related themes, his so-called "cosmic jazz" that branched into Afrofuturism, adding ancient Egyptian esthetics into the mix as well. After his passing in 1993, a member of his band The Arkestra, saxophonist Marshall Allen, took up the mantle as the new bandleader, renamed it Sun Ra Arkestra (or The Sun Ra Arkestra) to carry on his legacy. Their work draws from the same sources as before, and continues in the same eclectic vein, mostly staying close to that psychedelic and free jazz boundary. Their music has a distinctly classic feel, which is not surprising given that many members of the band are long time veterans.