The Kronos Quartet — founded in Seattle, now based in San Francisco — has shaped modern classical music for more than 50 years. Their 2024 album Outer Spaceways Incorporated reimagines the work of the trailblazing American jazz pianist, Sun Ra, featuring covers and collaborations with artists like Jlin, Armand Hammer, and others. In addition to recorded testimonials from Laraaji, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and longtime Arkestra leader Marshall Allen, KEXP’s Larry Mizell, Jr. spoke with one of the Kronos Quartet’s founding members, David Harrington. 
“The more I’ve learned of Sun Ra, the more I’ve realized we’re like brothers or something,” Harrington laughs in the interview. “The question I have been asking all these years is: What’s next? What can music be that it hasn’t been so far? How might I become a better musician? How might I learn more about the world through music, with music, because of music?” 
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photo via Impulse! Records and ABC/Dunhill Records

Support the show: kexp.org/deeper