This workshop will engage with Sun Ra, philosopher of Afrofuturism and one of the most recognizable sonic architects of Afrofuturistic music and reflect on his legacy. It will also explore the history of jazz as a music of the spirit by looking at specific artists, male and female, from whose lives we can extract principles essential for creating music and thriving in the 21st century.

The workshop will be followed by a book talk, based on Ahmed Abdullah’s 2023 memoir of more than two decades as a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra. A Strange Celestial Road takes its title from an album recorded by Sun Ra and his Arkestra in New York in 1979.