Sun Ra was a big band performer and pioneer of Afrofuturist sounds who greatly influenced contemporary music including jazz, soul, and hip hop. His legacy lives on through the Sun Ra Arkestra, 14+ musicians who trained and toured with Sun Ra until his death, and continue to play his revolutionary music under the direction of alto-saxophonist and longtime Sun Ra collaborator, Marshall Allen.

This performance is presented on the occasion of the exhibition Never a Lovely So Real: Photography and Film in Chicago, 1950-1980, which features photographs taken by two of Sun Ra's collaborators, Alton Abraham and Aye Aton. Abraham's images document the Sun Ra Arkestra performing at two South Side venues, The Wonder Inn and Casino Moderno in 1961. Color photographs of murals painted by Aye Aton, which were made in South and West side homes, reflect the guidance and influence of Sun Ra's thematic interests and suggestions.