On Friday, February 20, PBS’ American Masters will release a new documentary about futurist, philosopher, poet, and musical wizard Sun Ra, entitled Sun Ra: Do The Impossible. A pioneer of free jazz and DIY art, Ra came from Saturn with a message intended to change peoples’ way of thinking: “The world was going into complete chaos,” he said of his outer space adventures in the 1930s, two decades before flying saucers and UFOS entered the public consciousness, “I would speak through music, and the world would listen.” Across more than 200 self-produced albums, which he often released on his own El Saturn label, Ra sketched out a vast cosmology and mythology. Two other Ra documentaries are on the horizon too—Sun Ra: Door to the Cosmos, and the 16mm film The Magic City: Birmingham According to Sun Ra. Taken together, these retrospectives should broaden the understanding of Ra’s galactic work. Sun Ra: Do The Impossible premieres nationwide Friday, February 20 on PBS see local listings), and can also be viewed at pbs.org/americanmasters and via the PBS app.
