To call Marshall Allen and Danny Ray Thompson key figures in the Sun Ra Arkestra would be something of an understatement. Allen, who turns 95 this month, has been a member since 1957, and musical director since 1995. Thompson, a mere whippersnapper at 72, has been on board since the mid-1960s. So, it's unsurprising that, across this entirely improvised triple-album set, recorded in upstate New York over three days in 2016, the eternal spirit of Ra looms large. The elders are in good company: Jamie Saft, Trevor Dunn and Balázs Pándi have already collaborated on an album of intense free-jazz, 2016's Strength & Power, alongside another icon of the New Thing, trombonist Roswell Rudd – who also appears here on one of his last dates before his death in 2017 Thrashing free-jazz maelstroms with raw alto and gusting trombone? Check. Cosmic tone poems with ethereal flute and trippy keyboard whooshes? Check. Huffing baritone sax hooks like camels plodding across the desert? Check. It's got everything a Sun Ra fanatic could ask for.

Jazzwise spoke to Marshall Allen and Jamie Saft: This date was one of Roswell Rudd's last recordings. He was active on the New York free jazz scene at the same time as the Arkestra were based there. Did your paths cross much?

MA: Yes, on gigs in upstate New York and Massachusetts with Alan Silva, and our paths crossed from time to time in the Lower East Side avant-garde community when Sun Ra was on 48 East 3rd Street.

This is a very free session – but there are some catchy hooks too. Was it 100 per cent improvised?

MA: It was totally improvised. No sheet music or nothing.

It seems like young musicians are always coming up who really understand the message and the energy of Sun Ra and the Arkestra. Do you think it's a universal thing that will just keep on going?

MA: Yes, of course. I play all over Europe and other countries with younger musicians – they like to play avant-garde music and the music of the future. We can teach them that and where it's going and where it came from. You can't have a future without a past.

Why haven't we made it to other planets yet?

MA: Probably we ain't playing the right music.

Albert Ayler said Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe. Do you think playing music is a good way of staying young?

MA: He was right. I play music for my well-being. It keeps me young.

How was it playing with these icons of the avant-garde?

JS: It's a great joy and a great pleasure to make records with such heroes of music. Marshall and Danny have both been battling for this great American musical art for decades and have traversed so many different styles and musical landscapes. There is always so much to learn from playing and talking with these soldiers.

What was the chemistry like between Marshall and Roswell Rudd, two free-jazz originators from old New York?

JS: Marshall, Roswell, and Danny are all friends from way back. Verna Gillis, who is Roswell Rudd's wife, has also known and worked with Marshall and Danny for many years. They all had incredible stories about Sun Ra, Soundscape (Verna's club and record label), and the entire history of modern improvised music. We are extremely proud to present this material. It shows the camaraderie and friendship between this whole unit. It takes trust and respect to make music like this.