The enduring legacy of jazz visionary and legendary eccentric Sun Ra is celebrated by this ensemble made up of Arkestra veterans and a younger generation of exploratory musicians led by saxophonist Marshall Allen – a fixture of Sun Ra’s bands since 1958. Sun Ra created an entire universe of expression, integrating Ellington-influenced big band swing with free jazz, the blues, electronics, and African musical traditions while establishing a singular visual style that combined futuristic concepts with ancient Egyptian iconography. The Arkestra's music is described by The Guardian as "essentially an extended jam session – swings between jazz, honky tonk, soul, ragtime and blues, among a dozen other genres, frequently underlined by sci-fi noise effects". Few bands have influenced the evolution of music across so many genres than Sun Ra's Arkestra. 

Sun Ra Arkestra perform an untitled improvised song at last year's Pitchfork Music Festival. Pitchfork described Sun Ra Arkestra's live performances "like watching a light show produced by the supernova (the late Sun Ra)". The Chicago-based publication further states, "After all, in the year following the passing of star-children Maurice White and David Bowie, the Arkestra’s sonic happenings might represent a ticket-buyer’s last chance to be a part of the utopian musical “equation” that influenced both the pop world and the counterculture in the 1970s". Watch the cosmic-jazz pioneers perform an excerpt from their highly-praised 2016 performance.