Sun Ra - Space is the place: the lives and times of Sun Ra

Copyright 1997 by John F. Szwed

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published and unpublished material: Jack Cooke: Excerpts from review of Sound of Joy by Jack Cooke (Jazz Monthly, May 1970). Reprinted by permission of the author. Eddy Determeyer: Excerpts from Sun Ra: Verleden, heden, toekomst by Eddy Determeyer (Jazz Nu, July 1982). Reprinted by permission of the author. The Estate of Sun Ra: Various material authored by Sun Ra. Reprinted by permission of the Estate of Sun Ra, Marie Holston, Administratrix, Birmingham, Alabama. Jazz Magazine: Excerpts from Il sera temps ddifier la maison notre Sun Ra by Philippe Carles (Jazz Magazine no. 217, 12/73). Excerpts from Limpossible libert and Un soir au Chatelet by Philippe Carles (Jazz Magazine no. 196, 1/72). Excerpts from LOpra Cosmique du Sun Ra by Philippe Carles (Jazz Magazine no. 159, 10/68). Excerpts from Visite au dieu Soleil by Jean-Louis Noames (Jazz Magazine no. 125, 12/65). Reprinted by permission of the editors of Jazz Magazine. National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors: Records of the National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors, Swarthmore College Peace Collection. Reprinted by permission of the National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors. The New York Times: Excerpts from Sun Ra: Im Talking About Cosmic Things by John S. Wilson (New York Times 4/7/68). Copyright 1968 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted by permission of The New York Times. Robert Rusch: Excerpts from Sun Ra: Interview by Robert Rusch (Cadence Jazz Magazine, June 1978). Copyright 1978 by Cadence Jazz Magazine. Reprinted by permission of the author. Phil Schaap: Excerpts from An Interview with Sun Ra by Phil Schaap, which appeared in WKCR 5, no. 5 (JanuaryFebruary 1989) and vol. 5, no. 6 (March 1989). Reprinted by permission of the author. Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.: Excerpts from Sun Ra by John Burks (Rolling Stone, 4/19/69). Copyright 1969 by Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. Bert Vuijsje: Excerpts from Sun Ra Spreekt by Bert Vuijsje, which appeared in Jazz Wereld (October 1968) and in Vuijsjes book De Nieuwe Jazz, 1978. Excerpts from Sun Ra: nar van de schepper (Haagse Post, 11/25/70). Reprinted by permission of the author.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Szwed, John F., 1936
Space is the place: the lives and times of Sun Ra / John F. Szwed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-82244-4
1. Sun Ra. 2. Jazz musiciansUnited StatesBiography.
I. Title.
ML410.S978S73 1997
781.65092dc21 [B] 96-40414

Random House Web Address: http://www.randomhouse.com

v3.1

TO SUE AND MATT

AND

TO THE MEMORY OF

ANN ELIZABETH ADAMS

(19521996)

Our music is a Secret Order.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG , 1954

Discography
by Robert L. Campbell

THE GENEROUS HELP I received from so many people in working on this book was overwhelming. My indebtedness to them has been a secret source of pride to me, and I take this opportunity to go public with it and to thank them all.

Since Sun Ra left the planet just as I was beginning work on this book, interviews with him which had been done in the past were especially critical. Fortunately, I was given access to dozens of tapes made by fans and journalists, many of whom also shared their notes and memories with me. And every musician, family member, or associate of Sun Ras that I approached spoke to me and treated me with such courtesy and kindness that my life has been enriched and even changed by the experience.

Let me first off thank Sun Ras family: his sister, Mary Jenkins, his nephew, Thomas Jenkins, Jr., and his nieces, Marie Holston and Lillie B. King. Among his associates and musicians from the Birmingham years I want to acknowledge Frank Adams, Melvin Caswell, Johnny Grimes, Jessie Larkins, J. L. Lowe, Walter Miller, and Fletcher Myett. From his time in Chicago and later there was Marshall Allen, Richard Berry, Phil Cohran, Vernon Davis, Alvin Fielder, John Gilmore, James Hernden, Art Hoyle, Tommy Hunter, Harold Ousley, Lucious Randolph, Eugene Wright, and of course Alton Abraham, the cofounder and force behind Saturn Records. From the New York years there was Ahmed Abdullah, Amiri Baraka, Paul Bley, Jothan Callins, Verta Mae Grosvenor, James Jacson, Wilber Morris, Olatunji, Pharoah Sanders, Danny Ray Thompson, and Richard Wilkerson; and from Philadelphia onward there was Rhoda Blount, Craig Haynes, Tyrone Hill, Michael Ray, Spencer Weston, and Dale Williams.

The return to my hometown of Birmingham was made easier by the graciousness and guidance of Ann Adams, L. Wade Black, John Cottrell, Jimmy Griffith of Charlemagne Record Exchange, George Mostoller, the staff of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, my Eutaw connection Davey Williams, and A. J. Wright.

For help with translations from French, Dutch, German, and Italian I counted on Amy Reid, Anti Bax, Dorothea Schulz, and Christina Lombardi.

Music critics, writers, and jazz historians were especially important, since they were often the only sources for locating Sun Ras work and whereabouts during various periods of his life. Bill Adler, Joseph Chonto, Hugo De Craen, John Diliberto, Hartmut Geerken, Gary Giddins, John Gray, Hans Kumpf, Art Lange, Howard Mandel, Francesco Martinelli, Robert Palmer, Lewis Porter, Paul Rubin, Bob Rusch, and Phil Schaap were my sources.

The Sun Ra cognoscentithose who were touched by the Arkestra early in their lives and stayed with the maestrowere critical sources for me: Ken Ashworth, Charles Blass, Tom Buck, Alan Chase, Gerry Clark, Byron Coley, Jules Epstein, Yale Evelev, Rev. Dwight Frizzell, Bruce Gallanter, Don Glasgo, John and Peter Hines, David Hight, Rick Iannacone, Ademola Johnson, Kidd Jordan, Alden Kimbrough, R. Andrew Lepley, Eliot Levin, Christine Lippmann, Robert Mugge, Alan Nahigian, Roy Nathanson, Jim Newman, Pat Padua, Ralph Plesher, Paul Sanoian, Thomas Stanley, Bernard Stollman, Rick R. Theis, Mark Webber, Russ Woessner, and Peter Wilf. Thanks, too, to the Saturn internet group, from which I learned much as an eavesdropper.

For a thousand other favors and insights, thanks to Ira Berger, Carol Blank, Dave Brubeck, Dave Castleman, Irwin Chusid, Selma Jean Cohen, Janet Coleman, Jeff Crompton, Margaret Davis, Jennifer Dirkes, Craig Dorsheimer, Leo Feigin, Harold Flaxon, Harold Gold (of Plastic Fantastic Records in Ardmore, PA), Jane Goldberg, Ernst Handlos, Gail Hawkins, Malcolm Jarvis, Kathy Kemp, Miles Kierson, Jorn Krumpelmann, Jan Lohmann, Judy McWillie, John J. Maimone, William Allaudin Mathieu, Jonas Mekas, Ivor Miller, Thurston Moore, Phil Niblock, Tosiyuki Nomoto, Robert J. Norell, the Hon. Deval J. Patrick, Bruce Perry, Gloria Powers, Robert Pruter, Ron Radano, Pat Reardon, Ishmael Reed, Bruce Ricker (of Rhapsody Films), Thomas Riedwelski, Michael Roberts (of Custom Photo Art, Birmingham), Robert Schoenholt, H. Sigurdsson, Jack Sutters, Archivist of the American Friends Service Committee, Allan Welsh, and L. William Yolton.