ENDEIT
Sun Ra
Photo: Distributed by Impulse! Records and ABC/Dunhill Records…, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Pianists · 1914–1993

Sun Ra

American jazz composer and bandleader (1914–1993)

Born
22 May 1914
Birmingham
Died
30 May 1993
Birmingham
Country
United States
Active
1934–1993
Record labels
ESP-Disk, A&M Records, BYG Records, El Saturn Records
Discography
80 albums

Biography

Sun Ra was a jazz musician who played piano, organ, keyboard instrument and cello. Sun Ra was born on 22 May 1914 in Birmingham and died on 30 May 1993 in Birmingham. The music is usually filed under jazz, jazz fusion and swing. Record labels: ESP-Disk, A&M Records, BYG Records and El Saturn Records. The discography here lists 80 albums, from “Jazz by Sun Ra” (1957) to “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” (2026). Honours include NEA Jazz Masters.

Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led The Arkestra, an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up. Born and raised in Alabama, Ra became involved in the Chicago jazz scene during the late 1940s. He soon abandoned his birth name, taking the name Le Sony'r Ra, shortened to Sun Ra (after Ra, the Egyptian god of the Sun). Claiming to be an alien from Saturn on a mission to preach peace, he developed a mythical persona and an idiosyncratic credo that made him a pioneer of Afrofuturism.

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Discography

Studio and live albums

Jazz by Sun Ra 1957
The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra 1962
The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume 1 1965
Rocket Number Nine Take Off for the Planet Venus 1967
Monorails and Satellites, Volume 2 1969
Nothing Is… 1970
Astro Black 1972
Monorails and Satellites 1973
Space Is the Place 1973
The Antique Blacks 1974
What's New? 1975
Cosmos 1976
The Soul Vibrations of Man 1977
Lanquidity 1978
New Steps 1978
St. Louis Blues: Solo Piano 1978 · Live
Omniverse 1979
Of Mythic Worlds 1980
Aurora Borealis 1981
Oblique Parallax 1982
Strange Celestial Road 1982
Just Friends 1983
Ra to the Rescue 1983
Hiroshima 1985
Outer Reach Intensity-Energy 1985
When Spaceships Appear 1985
John Cage Meets Sun Ra 1987 · Live
Hidden Fire 1 1988
Hidden Fire 2 1988
Blue Delight 1989
Purple Night 1990
Solo Piano, Volume 1 1992
Concert for the Comet Kohoutek 1993 · Live
Somewhere Else 1998
Spaceways 1998
Janus 1999
Standards 2000
The Great Lost Sun Ra Albums 2000
Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Vol.1 2003
Nuits de la Fondation Maeght Vol.2 2003
Piano Recital: Teatro la Fenice 2003
Spaceship Lullaby 2003
Heliocentric Worlds, Volume 3: The Lost Tapes 2005
Intergalactic Research 2007 · Live
The Creator of the Universe 2007
The Shadows Took Shape 2007 · Live
Live At The Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto 1978 2008
Live in Cleveland 2009 · Live
Live in Rome 2010 · Live
The Road to Destiny 2010 · Live
Space Probe: A Tonal View of Times Tomorrow, Vol. 1 2011
Sign Of The Myth 2014
I Roam the Cosmos 2015
The Anthology Album 2015
In Some Far Place: Roma '77 2016 · Live
Crystal Spears 2018
Sun Ra with Pharoah Sanders and Black Harold 2018
The Cymbals / Symbols Sessions: New York City 1973 2018
“Of Abstract Dreams” 2018
Haverford College 1980 - Solo Rhodes Piano 2019 · Live
Solo Keyboards, Minnesota 1978 2019 · Live
Solo Piano at WKCR, 1977 2019
Sleeping Beauty 2021
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Beyond Saturn) 2021
Ellingtonia, Vol. 1 2022
At The Showcase: Live In Chicago 1976-1977 2024 · Live
Berkeley Lecture, 1971 2024
Excelsior Mill 2024 · Live
Inside The Light World: Sun Ra Meets The OVC 2024
Kingdom of Discipline 2024
Lights on a Satellite - Live at the Left Bank 2024 · Live
Pink Elephants on Parade 2024
Somewhere in Space 2024
Hidden Fire 2025
Nuits de la Fondation Maeght 2025 · Live
Stray Voltage 2025 · Live
Uncharted Passages 2025 · Live
Elliptical Orbits 2026 Somewhere Over The Rainbow 2026 · Strut
An Introduction (By Bo Diddley)

Awards

Books about Sun Ra

Listen on Spotify

Frequently asked questions

What instrument did Sun Ra play?

Sun Ra is known for playing piano, organ, keyboard instrument and cello.

When and where was Sun Ra born?

Sun Ra was born 22 May 1914 in Birmingham.

What are Sun Ra's best-known albums?

Albums in our database include Elliptical Orbits (2026), Somewhere Over The Rainbow (2026), Jazz by Sun Ra (1957), The Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra (1962) and The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Volume 1 (1965).

External links

Data compiled from open sources; see the source links below. Spotted an error? Let us know.