Sun Ra Arkestra (1957-present} is a group of over 30 musicians that were the backing band behind Avant-Garde jazz guru, Sun Ra. The band had a revolving set of musicians, with Marshall Allen being the only original member to play with the band for the group’s sixty-year existence. The group’s music combines free jazz with experimental and complex cosmical dissonance. The band backed Sun Ra all the way to his death in 1993. The band continues to perform under leader and longtime member Marshall Allen.

The band was known for making very difficult music, with emphasis on innovation and experimentation. The band would dress in elaborate, futuristic costumes inspired by ancient Egyptian attire and the Space Age. The bulk of the band’s music and image was heavily influenced by space and time, mimicking Sun Ra’s belief that he was an alien brought from the planet Saturn to bring peace to the world. Despite over one hundred revolving members, the band continued to make eclectic, Avant-Garde records until the 1990s.

Sun Ra manages to create cosmical, spacey jams that sometimes last for over twenty minutes. They would create bizarre, noisy pieces, which Ra coined as “Supersonic Jazz”.