The Sun Ra Arkestra left their audience on a musical high at the Night Cat in Melbourne’s Fitzroy. This is no mean feat for a musical outfit launched almost 70 years ago, whose musicians include some long-term members now getting on in years.

There are a number of big bands and jazz orchestras that continue to perform the music of bandleaders long since passed (Ellington, Basie, et al.). Known as “legacy bands,” their performances can seem jaded. Not so the Arkestra, whose performance on the Melbourne leg of its tour could best be described as electric.

The Arkestra performs in shimmering robes that invoke the image of the sun in homage to the late Sun Ra’s philosophy that ancient Egyptian history could unlock a future human world “beyond the stars.” While the Arkestra’s stage presentation is theatrical, its playing is of the highest order.

The Sun Ra Arkestra. Photo WikiCommons

The features that stood out in the Arkestra’s performance were sheer musicianship, imaginative arrangements, and tight delivery under band conductor and saxophonist Knoel Scott.

Its music is known as Afrofuturistic Jazz. The repertoire consisted of the band’s originals, most of which were written...