BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Expand your consciousness at the Sun Ra Centennial Celebration, 8 p.m. May 24 at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.

Sun Ra, a jazz master and Birmingham native, would have been 100 this year, according to the terrestrial calendar. Of course, this visionary musician lived in a more celestial sphere, creating experimental works that earned him a place in music history.

Alumni from Sun Ra's Arkestra will join other performers at the Carver Theater, 1631 Fourth Ave. North, for a concert and jam session.

The agenda also includes a black-light installation, interactive art, a Sun Ra mural and craft beers from Cahaba Brewing Co. Tickets are $10, free for musicians who bring instruments for the jam session. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Need a primer on Sun Ra, before you head to the event on Saturday? Here's some information on his life and work, published as part of our Year of Alabama Music series in 2011.

When Sun Ra died, music friends and followers held an impromptu performance at his gravesite. (The Birmingham News file photo)

Birth name: Herman "Sonny" Blount (1914-1993).

What: Composer, bandleader, keyboard player, intergalactic philosopher.

Type of music: Jazz of many varieties, best known for experimental and avant-garde works.

Alabama roots: Birmingham native.

Also lived in: Chicago, New York and Philadelphia.

Prolific: Recorded more than 100 albums, catalog of more than 1,000 songs.

Cosmology: Claimed to be from Saturn, or transformed by visit to Saturn, and invested with power to transform the world through music. Preached peace, love and awareness. Blended concepts from the Bible, science fiction, numerology, Egyptian mythology and African culture.

Bandmates: A large, ever-changing ensemble of musicians and dancers known as the Arkestra. Trademark costumes included flowing robes and spectacular headdresses, inspired by ancient Egypt and alien fantasy.

Making book: Wrote poetry and prose throughout his life, elaborating on music ideas and spiritual beliefs. Compilations include "Sun Ra: Collected Works Vol. 1 — Immeasurable Equation" (2005) and "The Wisdom of Sun Ra: Sun Ra's Polemical Broadsheets and Streetcorner Leaflets" (2006)

Fascinating: Subject of biographies, essays and a fanzine, Sun Ra Research.

Screen gems: Documentaries include "Space is the Place" (1974), "Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise" (1980), "Mystery Mister Ra" (1984) and "Sun Ra — Brother From Another Planet" (2005).

Local milestones: Mentored by John T. "Fess" Whatley in high school, performed in Birmingham nightclubs during 1930s, appeared at first two City Stages festivals in 1989 and 1990.

Kudos: Influential and enduring figure in music world. Member of Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, achiever inAlabama Music Hall of Fame, won the latter hall's America's Music Award for Contemporary Achievement.

Quotable: "Music is a language, and I'm saying things that can reach people," he said in a 1988 interview with The Birmingham News. "I'm not a prophet. I'm a destiny-changer. It's all right to prophesy, but the best thing to do is change things, if you've got the power."

Pigrimage site: Buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Block 25. Flat gravestone makes site hard to find; look for Christu, Lindbergh and Moon headstones from roadside.

Download this: "Space is the Place," 1972 album.

On the Web: Official site for Sun Ra Arkestra, MySpace page, various fan sites, entries at Wikipedia, Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

The Sun Ra celebration is presented by the jazz hall and The Lost Child, a program hosted by Burgin Mathews on Birmingham Mountain Radio. Call 205-327-9424 for details.