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All very good and valid points regarding the increased popularity of Sun Ra. I think that the major factor in Sun Ra's increased "popularity" has been the increased availability of his music on CDs and records. 30 years ago it was extremely hard, with a few exceptions, to find any Sun Ra records or CDs. But, beginning with the Evidence CD reissues in the 1990s, a slow trickle of Sun Ra releases has turned into an avalanche whereby presently almost his prodigious output is readily available in one form or another. And in much improved sound quality, thanks to improved technology.  Of course, availability of music does not always equal sales and popularity. But, in Sun Ra's case, the increased availability of his music has resulted in a kind of Sun Ra renaissance in the past 10 years due to some of the factors noted by Rabshakeh. However, I am not sure I would put any of Sun Ra's music in the "spiritual jazz" category and tie the increased interest in his music to an increased interest in spiritual jazz. Sun Ra's more "mainstream" albums, like Liquidity, will always have a bigger mass appeal than his more cacophonic "out there" albums. That will always be the case since avant garde jazz in general appeals to a much smaller demographic. I think that, in Sun Ra's case, people who were curious about Sun Ra's mystique and aura, were finally able to listen to the music due to its ready availability and they liked what they heard.  I always say that there is not one Sun Ra but many Sun Ras. Part of his genius was the ability to always move forward and transform his music. There are as many Sun Ra styles as Sun Ra albums. And it only makes sese that more people will be attracted to his more "mainstream' style. But I do not relate those albums to spiritual jazz and do not think that his increased popularity is a result of the spiritual jazz crowd suddenly "discovering" Sun Ra. I may be wrong of course, but it is a very interesting conversation to have about the Sun Ra "phenomena" of the past decade.    

Novak String Quartet No.1, Op.22  - Novak Quartet Novak String Quartet No.2, Op.35 - Janacek Quartet

#1 reminded me of Sonny Cox on Argo but at first sight there's no 6 minute track on those albums... Still, I hear Chicago/Argo, not Europe