12. Sun Ra And His Intergalactic Myth Science Solar ArkestraSleeping Beauty

I could have picked any Sun Ra record but this one has been played the most recently. I got into Sun Ra because it was always on the posters with MC5, and as a kid we all loved MC5 and The Stooges and so it all made sense. It was just like: this is what a band should be. It was a huge opening of doors to everything to do with free jazz. Sun Ra just seemed to open everything up. And also there’s that kind of thing with them where it’s like, ‘here’s another sharp turn, here’s another thing we’re going to do’. Also, just what an amazing band. It’s hard enough having a five piece band but having bands that go into 11 or 12 people where every contribution feels right, is astonishing.