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John Szwed collection of Sun Ra research material

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
Ms. Coll. 1579
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Extent:
  • 4.25 linear feet (5 boxes)
  • 54.8 gigabyte(s)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
John Szwed collection of Sun Ra research material, 1935-2018, Ms. Coll. 1579, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.
Date:
1935-2018 (inclusive)
Creator:
Szwed, John F., 1936-
Form:
Musicians, Black, Research (documents), and DVDs
Abstract:
John Szwed (1396-) is an American anthropologist and jazz scholar who wrote a biography of Sun Ra. Sun Ra (1914-1993) was an American musician, jazz composer, and bandleader known for experimental music and theatrical performances. The John Szwed collection of Sun Ra material measures 4.25 linear feet and dates from 1935 to 2018. It includes material related to Szwed's biography of Sun Ra, Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra and research on Sun Ra documenting his life, band, and music.

John Szwed is an American anthropologist and jazz scholar born in 1936 in Eutaw, AL and raised in Birmingham, AL and Burlington, NJ.

He studied the trombone in high school, and later under the tutelage of Donald S. Rinehardt and Mervin Hutton, and went on to play professionally for ten years. He then earned a B.S. from Marietta College before earning his Ph.D. in anthropology from Ohio State University in 1965.

Szwed served as the Director of the Center for Urban Ethnography at the University of Pennsylvania from 1969 to 1974. He joined the faculty of Yale University in 1982, where he served as the John M. Musser Professor of Anthropology, African American Studies, and Film Studies; Director of Graduate Studies in Anthropology; and Acting Chair of African and African-American Studies. He was the Louis Armstrong Professor of Jazz Studies at Columbia University from 2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2007, and Professor of Music and Jazz Studies and Director of the Center for Jazz Studies from 2008 to 2014. As of 2024, he is Professor Emeritus at Columbia University.

Szwed published extensively, authoring or editing 19 books, and has specifically produced studies and biographies of numerous jazz musicians. His study of Sun Ra, Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra, was published in 1997.

He has received fellowships from the John M. Guggenheim Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation and won a Grammy Award for Doctor Jazz in 2005.

Le Sony'r Ra (1914-1993), known as Sun Ra, was an American musician, jazz composer, and bandleader known for his experimental music and theatrical performances. He is also considered a pioneer of the Afrofuturism movement.

Sun Ra claimed to have been born on the planet Saturn. Records show he was born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham, Alabama on May 22, 1914 to Ida and Cary Blount. He attended Birmingham's segregated Industrial High School (now A.H. Parker High School), which counts numerous notable artists and musicians as alumni. He then attended Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University).

In the 1930s, Sun Ra performed under the name Sonny Blount and formed the Sonny Blount Orchestra.

By the mid-1940s, Sun Ra was living in Chicago, IL. From 1946 to 1947, he was apprenticed to bandleader and arranger, Fletcher Henderson. Also in Chicago, he met Alton Abraham, who became his friend and business manager. Together, they founded an independent record label, El Saturn Records, which produced Sun Ra's Arkestra's music.

In 1942, Sun Ra was drafted into World War II, but declared himself a conscientious objector. His claim was rejected, but he was ultimately approved for alternate service. When he did not appear for his alternate service in December of 1942, he was arrested in Alabama.

In the 1950s, Sun Ra led his own band that played music he composed. This is also when he changed his name to Sun Ra, after the Egyptian sun god. Sun Ra's Arkestra is known as one of Chicago's early avant-garde jazz bands and was an early adopter of electric instruments in jazz.

In 1961, he moved to New York City and established Sun Palace, a communal home for musicians. In 1966, his band began a residency at Slug's nightclub on the Lower East Side. It was also in New York that he became involved with free jazz.

In 1968, Sun Ra and the Arkestra moved to Philadelphia, PA. By the 1970s, the Arkestra had a fluctuating membership of 20 to 30 members in addition to an ever-evolving name. The band operated at different times under the names, "Sun Ra and His Arkestra," "Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra," "Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Infinity Arkestra," and "Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra," among others. At this time, the band toured Europe extensively and its performances included "singers, dancers, martial arts practitioners, film, and colorful homemade costumes, becoming a true multimedia attraction." (National Endowment for the Arts)

Sun Ra frequently published poetry in booklets titled, The Immeasurable Equation.

Sun Ra died on May 30, 1993.

Sources:

Barnes, Louis. "The Mythology of Sun Ra." Medium, 16 Feb. 2023, jazzvocate.medium.com/the-mythology-of-sun-ra-d461d5ee398e.

"John Szwed." John Szwed | Department of Anthropology, anthropology.yale.edu/people/john-szwed. Accessed 7 Mar. 2024.

"Sun Ra." Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 30 Jan. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Sun-Ra.

"Sun Ra." National Endowment for the Arts, https://www.arts.gov/honors/jazz/sun-ra. Accessed 2 February 2024.

Szwed, John. "About John Szwed." John Szwed, 2023, johnszwed.com/about-john-szwed/.

The John Szwed collection of Sun Ra material measures 4.25 linear feet and dates from 1935 to 2018. It includes material related to Szwed's book on Sun Ra, Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra and Szwed's research documenting Sun Ra's life, band, and music.

The first series, I. Space is the Place by John Szwed mostly contains awards, correspondence, notes, and reviews relating to Szwed's published book on Sun Ra. Much of the correspondence is labeled "regarding research." In researching his book, Szwed solicited information from newspapers, other academics, and people who knew Sun Ra. These letters mostly consist of their responses and the resulting correspondence. The "notes and ideas" files contain Szwed's brainstorming documents and book proposals for Space is the Place in addition to various notes.

The second series, II. Collected research on Sun Ra, contains the following subseries: A. Biographical material; B. Events; C. Exhibitions; D. Ihnfinity, Inc.; E. Interviews; F. Music and performances; G. Musicians; H. Teaching; I. Writings, cartoons, and films about Sun Ra; J. Writings by Sun Ra; and K. Miscellaneous material.

The biographical material contains research material, including reproductions of primary sources from Sun Ra's youth and time at Alabama A&M University and his conscientious objection to World War II. There is also material relating to Sun Ra's beliefs in mysticism and several memorials and obituaries.

The music and performances material contains numerous recordings of both issued and unissued music and performances. Issued recordings refer to those that have been officially sold, distributed, and circulated and unissued recordings are those that have not been provided for sale or distribution. There are also reproductions of handwritten sheet music for dozens of arrangements and compositions. Many of the recordings are on audiocassette tapes, which are restricted. For more information, please see the Conditions Governing Access note.

The musicians material includes biographical information on and interviews with various members of Sun Ra's Arkestra.

Sold by Chris Calhoun Agency, 2023.

Johan Kugelberg collection of Sun Ra material, 1957-2021, Ms. Coll. 1572, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania [https://findingaids.library.upenn.edu/records/UPENN_RBML_PUSP.MS.COLL.1572]

People
Organization
Subject

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Kelin Baldridge Smallwood
Finding Aid Date
2024 March 7
Access Restrictions

The bulk of this collection is open for research use, however the use of original audiocassette tapes in Box 3 and 4 is restricted. If the original does not already have a copy, it may be sent to an outside vendor for copying. Patrons are financially responsible for the cost. The turnaround time from the time of request to delivery of digital items will depend on the nature of the material and is subject to review for condition. Please contact the Kislak Center (kislak@upenn.edu) for cost estimates and ordering. Researchers should be aware of specifics of copyright law and act accordingly.

The use of the physical DVDs is restricted. The computer files originally stored on the flash drive have been processed and are available for research use (see items described as "Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only)" along the right-hand side in the Collection Inventory). These computer files are reading-room access only on a dedicated computer in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Collection Inventory

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Awards: Association for Recorded Sound Collections [ARSC] Certificate of Merit in Historical Recorded Sound Research, 1998.
Box 1 Folder 1
Correspondence: Campbell, Robert ["regarding research"], 1992-1993.
Box 1 Folder 2
Correspondence: Clark, Gerry ["regarding research"], 1992-1993.
Box 1 Folder 3
Correspondence: de Craen, Hugo ["regarding research"], 1992-1995.
Box 1 Folder 4
Correspondence: Fizzel, Dwight, with biographical information and printed material, 1984-1986, 1994.
Box 1 Folder 5
Correspondence: minerva (Gail N. Hawkins), with biographical information, 1993, undated.
Box 1 Folder 6
Correspondence: Hinds, Peter ["regarding research"], 1992.
Box 1 Folder 7
Correspondence: Kimbrough, Alden ["regarding research"], 1992.
Box 1 Folder 8
Correspondence: Lohmann, Jan ["regarding research"], 1992-1993.
Box 1 Folder 9
Correspondence: Martinelli, Francesco ["regarding research"], 1992.
Box 1 Folder 10
Correspondence: Morris, Roy ["regarding research"], undated.
Box 1 Folder 11
Correspondence: Patrick, Deval ["regarding research"], 1994-1995.
Box 1 Folder 12
Correspondence: Schonfield, Victor, with photocopies of Sun Ra's letters "about his travels in Europe, his staging plans, money, etc.", 1970-1971, 1996.
Box 1 Folder 13
Correspondence: Panther Publishing, 1993-1994, 1997.
Box 1 Folder 14
Correspondence: Pleshar, Robert ["regarding research"], 1992-1993.
Box 1 Folder 15
Correspondence: United States Department of Justice and National Archives information requests, 1993-1994.
Box 1 Folder 16
Correspondence: Taylor, Graham (pseudonym Graham Lock) ["regarding research"], 1992, 1994-1996.
Box 1 Folder 17
Correspondence: Webber, Mark ["regarding research"], 1992-1993.
Box 1 Folder 18
Correspondence: Wilmer, Val ["regarding research"], 1993-1995, 1997.
Box 1 Folder 19
Correspondence: various senders [Noriyuki Tsunofuri, Thomas Stanley, Rick Theis, and unidentified], 1992, 1994, unidentified.
Box 1 Folder 20
Correspondence: various senders ["regarding research" from Anti Bax, Don Byrd, Allan Chase, Byron Coley, Jeff Crompton, John Diliberto, Craig Dorsheimer, Dwight Frizzell, Steven Glabman, Jane Goldberg, John Gray, Ernst Handlos, minerva (Gail N. Hawkins), David Hight, Thomas Hunter, Miles Kierson, Liley King, Jörn Krümpelmann, Hans Kumpf, Christine Lippmann, John Litweiler, Doug Mitchell, Jim Newman, Gloria Powers, Ronald Radano, Thomas Riedwelski, Paul Rubin, H. Sigurdsson, Rick Theis, Michael G. Trucks, and A.J. Wright], 1992-1995.
Box 1 Folder 21
Dust jacket for Space is the Place, 1997.
Box 1 Folder 22
MTV News broadcast featuring John Szwed's Space is the Place (83.7 megabytes), 1997 July 31.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-001
"Notes and ideas": Notecards with bibliographic information, circa 1990s.
Box 1 Folder 23
"Notes and ideas": Notes, circa 1990s.
Box 1 Folder 24
"Notes and ideas": Papers ["Outer space and inner cities: African American responses to NASA" by Lunn Spiegel and "Other planes of there: critical notice of Graham Lock's Blutopia" by Allen Anderson], 2001-2002.
Box 1 Folder 25
"Notes and ideas": Proposal for Space is the Place, circa 1990s.
Box 1 Folder 26
"Notes and ideas": Scraps, circa 1990s.
Box 1 Folder 27
Reviews of Space is the Place, 1997.
Box 1 Folder 28
Reviews of Space is the Place, 1998-1999, 2002, undated.
Box 1 Folder 29
Reviews of Space is the Place, The Guardian, annotated drafts, circa 1997.
Box 1 Folder 30
Other papers about Sun Ra by John Szwed ["Sun Ra: Afro-Saturnian Nationalist," "Interview with John Szwed by Billy Bob Hargus," "The primer," "Liner notes for Space is the Place," and "Liner notes for The Magic City"], 1997, undated.
Box 1 Folder 31

Alabama A&M University, University Archives document reproductions, 1936, 1974, undated.
Box 1 Folder 32
Birmingham, AL notes, undated.
Box 1 Folder 33
Birmingham, AL research material [including some notes], 1980, 1990, undated.
Box 1 Folder 34
Books from Sun Ra's library ["The two Babylons or the papal worship of nimrod and his wife" by Alexander Hislop and "Official ritual of the modern woodmen of America" photocopies. Szwed describes these as "two difficult to locate books owned and treasured by Sun Ra."], 1915, 1945.
Box 1 Folder 35
Chicago, IL research and notes, 1973, 1987, undated.
Box 1 Folder 36
Conscientious objection and selective service research, mostly consisting of photocopies of letters from Sun Ra on the matter, 1942-1943, 1994, 1997.
Box 1 Folder 37
"Readings that helped form [Sun Ra's] beliefs in mysticism", 1955, 1991-1993, undated.
Box 1 Folder 38
"Trudy Morse materials and Sun Ra's last days on earth," mostly correspondence from Trudy Morse to John Szwed, 1992-1993.
Box 1 Folder 39
Memorial, footage of Sun Ra's memorial and graveside services in Birmingham, AL (4.1 gigabytes), 1993 June 4-5.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-002
Memorial, footage of Sun Ra's memorial service at St. Peter's in New York City, 2 audiocassettes [digital reproduction available in the reading room upon request], 1993 July 12.
Box 4
Obituaries and memorials, 1993-1997.
Box 1 Folder 40
Photographs, Sun Ra performing, taken by R. Andrew Lepley, undated.
Box 1 Folder 41
Photographs, Robert Blount [Sun Ra's brother], undated.
Box 1 Folder 42
Photograph album [includes photographs of Sun Ra's bands, performances, visual art, album art, and portraits, 1956, 1967, 1979, undated.
Box 1 Folder 43
Concert flier, Sun Ra and the Cosmo-Angel Arkestra, Massachussetts College of Art, undated.
Box 5 Folder 6
"Sun Ra: In time and space," New Music Theater, 1994 and "Sun Ra Arkestra live in Nickelsdorf," 1984 programs, 1984, 1994.
Box 1 Folder 44
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Slought Foundation, and Hyde Park Art Center, programs and ephemera, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2018.
Box 1 Folder 45
Incorporation and legal papers, 1935-1937, 1974-1975.
Box 1 Folder 46
Sun Ra interviewed by Eddie Determeyer, transcription, undated.
Box 1 Folder 47
Sun Ra Interviewed by James Jackson (parts III and IV), 2 audiocassettes, 1994 August 23.
Box 3
Sun Ra interviewed by Lilly King (niece), audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Sun Ra interviewed by MTV News (207.6 megabytes), undated.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-003
Sun Ra interviewed by Rich Theis, audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Sun Ra interviewed by Rich Theis [unpublished, including transcription from 1996], 1983 January 27.
Box 1 Folder 48
Sun Ra interviewed by Graham Taylor (pseudonym Graham Lock), transcription [unpublished], 1990.
Box 1 Folder 49
Sun Ra interviewed by WXPN Radio, Philadelphia, audiocassette [digital reproduction available in the reading room upon request], undated.
Box 4
Sun Ra interviewed by WXPN Radio, "Pictures of Philadelphia, past, present, and future" and on Christmas day, 2 audiocassettes [digital reproduction available in the reading room upon request], 1976 July 1 and 1976 December 25.
Box 4
Published interviews, 1967-1968, 1974, 1978-1979, 1982-1983, 1989, 1990-1994, undated.
Box 1 Folder 50-51
"Compositions and arrangements not recorded" track list, undated.
Box 1 Folder 52
Covers and label art [photocopies], undated.
Box 1 Folder 53
Discographies, 1961, 1967, undated.
Box 1 Folder 54
Jazz by Sun Ra, document with track list, list of band members, statement by Sun Ra, and explanation of compositions, undated.
Box 1 Folder 55
Recordings, "All star inventions village vanguard" audiocassette, 1991 November 16.
Box 3
Recordings, "Concert at New England Conservatory, Jordan Hall" audiocassette, 1992 February 27.
Box 3
Recordings, "Concert, LA" audiocassette, 1971 June.
Box 3
Recordings, "Denmark" audiocassette, 1971 October 19.
Box 3
Recordings, Free Library Train Stop, audiocassettes [digital reproduction available in the reading room upon request], 1981 June 8.
Box 4
Recordings, Languidity, Philly Jazz 666, acetate test pressing (496.3 megabytes), undated.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-004
Recordings, MTV News, background material on Sun Ra at Birmingham City Stage (4.6 gigabytes), 1990 June.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-005
Recordings, MTV News, Sun Ra at Birmingham City Stage, interview (5.2 gigabytes), 1990 June.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-006
Recordings, "Live at Philadelphia Community College" audiocassette, 1987 January 22.
Box 3
Recordings, "Live at the Bottom Line, NYC - 1st set" audiocassette, 1992 July 27.
Box 3
Recordings, "Live at the Bottom Line, NYC - 2nd set" audiocassette, 1992 July 27.
Box 3
Recordings, "Live at the Bottom Line, NYC - 2nd set" audiocassette, 1993 June 5.
Box 4
Recordings, "Live at the Maine Festival" audiocassette, 1989 August 13.
Box 3
Recordings, "Live in Columbus, Ohio" audiocassette, 1986 February 7.
Box 3
Recordings, "Live in D.C." audiocassette, 1987.
Box 4
Recordings, "Live in Frankfurt" audiocassette, 1984.
Box 3
Recordings, "Live in Lexington, VA" audiocassette, 1988 August 28.
Box 3
Recordings, "Live in Pisa" audiocassette, 1979 June 30.
Box 3
Recordings, WHYY-FM studios, "Sun Ra & the Spirit of Jazz" (967.7 megabytes), 1978 July.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-007
Recordings, "Rare live recordings, Kansas City and Lawrence" audiocassette, 1980, 1985.
Box 3
Recordings, "Santa Cruz" part 1, audiocassette, 1988.
Box 3
Recordings, "Santa Cruz" part 2, audiocassette, 1988.
Box 3
Recordings, "Singles as Sideman" audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, "Singles" Part I, audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, "Singles" Part II, audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, "Singles" Part III, audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, "The Alan Berk Show" [Alan Burke Show?], audiocassette, 1967 May 25.
Box 3
Recordings, BBC Radio 2, "Reading music" and "Space is the place," audiocassette, 1997.
Box 3
Recordings, various ["Outer Space Visual Communication Music Videos - a form of kaleidoscope visualization;" Live under the Sky concert, Japan; Saturday Night Live; Night Music; Mystery, Mr. Ra; and Chicago Jazz Festival] (6.2 gigabytes), 1978, 1981, 1986, 1988.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-008
Recordings, Issued, "Aurora borealis" audiocassette, 1981.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Baritone retinue plays sound advice" audiocassette, 1977.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Beyond the purple star" audiocassette, 1980.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Celestial love" audiocassette, 1982.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Danny Davis/Takashi Kazamaki live at Strange Fruit Atmosphere" [Hadano, Japan], audiocassette, 1985 May 18.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "God is more than love can ever be" audiocassette, 1979.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "I Pharaoh" audiocassette, 1979.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Just friends" audiocassette, 1983.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Live at Slugs vol. 1" audiocassette, 1972 June 7.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Live at Slugs vol. 2" audiocassette, 1972 June 7.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Nature's God (Saturn 1271)" audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Ra to the rescue" audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Sound mirror" audiocassette, 1978.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Stars that shine darkly pt. 2" audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Sun Ra live at Town Hall" audiocassette, 1992 June 26.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Sun Ra Slugs vol. 1" audiocassette, 1972 August.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "The antique Blacks" audiocassette, 1974.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "The soul vibrations of man (Saturn 771)" audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Recordings, Issued, "Universe in blue" audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Recordings, Others playing Sun Ra compositions, "Clarence Williams, 'Chocolate avenue,' [Sun Ra comp?]" audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, Others playing Sun Ra compositions, "Compositions played by others" Part I, audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, Others playing Sun Ra compositions, "Compositions played by others" Part II, audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, Others playing Sun Ra compositions, "Sun Ra arrangements for Red Sanders[?]" audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, Singles, audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Recordings, Singles, audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Recordings, Singles, audiocassette, 1972.
Box 3
Recordings, Sun Ra playing in other bands, "Eugene Wright's Dukes of Swing" audiocassette, 1948.
Box 4
Recordings, Sun Ra playing in other bands, "Perfume set to music" audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, Sun Ra playing in other bands, "Phil Alvin, 'Unsung Stories'" audiocassette, undated.
Box 4
Recordings, Unissued performances, "'Flying saucer' and 'Cosmic machine' unissued master test pressing" audiocassette, 1965.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Le Sonyr Ra / rehearsal" audiocassette, 1950, 1971, 1976, 1979.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Master class at New England Conservatory" audiocassette, 1992 February 27.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Private tapes, WKCR, Sun Ra Festival" audiocassette, 1987.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Soundspace" part I, audiocassette, 1979 November 24.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Soundspace" part II, audiocassette, 1979 November 24.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Soundspace" part III, audiocassette, 1979 November 24.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Soundspace" part IV, audiocassette, 1979 November 24.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra" audiocassette, 1979.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Sun Ra Arkestra at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA" audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Sun Ra live in Bremerhaven" audiocassette, 1988 March 6.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Sun Ra Live! Vol. I" Florence, Italy, audiocassette, 1979 July.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Sun Ra Live! Vol. II" Florence, Italy, audiocassette, 1979 July.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Sun Ra miscellaneous" ["Swing a little taste" transition 30 and Sun Ra on Club X], audiocassette, circa 1957-1958, 1972.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "'Sun Ra on Earth': A Cosmic Duck Production" Berlin, Germany, audiocassette, 1982.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Sun Ra reads his poetry" audiocassette, 1991 October 27.
Box 3
Recordings, Unissued performances, "Symphony Space" audiocassette, 1978 December 30.
Box 3
Sheet music for Sun Ra compositions and arrangements: Abstract Eye, 1973; Abstract I, 1973; Adventure in space, 1956; Alone with just a memory of you, 1936; And otherness, 1967; Angels and demons at play, 1967; As you once were, 1956; Astro black, 1973; Atlantis, 1973; Baby, please be mine!, 1955; The beginning, 1962; Beta, 1956; Bimini, 1973; Birds without wings, 1962; A blue one, 1964; The blue set, 1960; Brainville, Uranus, 1956; Brassism, 1962; Call for all demons, 1956; Chicago, U.S.A., 1954; The cosmo fire, undated; Discipline 33, 1972; and Discipline 99, 1973, 1936, 1954-1973, undated.
Box 5 Folder 1
Sheet music for Sun Ra compositions and arrangements: East of Uz, 1956; East three, 1972; Enlightenment, 1959; Fall off the cog, 1956; Future, 1956; Hidden spheres, 1973; Hours after…, 1958; Images, 1959; Interplanetary music, 1960; Jet flight, undated; Lemuria, 1973; Life is splendid!, 1973; Looking outward, 1961; Love in outerspace, 1964; Magic city, 1973; Moon dance, 1967; and My sweet, 1940, 1940, 1956-1973, undated.
Box 5 Folder 2
Sheet music for Sun Ra compositions and arrangements: Nature's god, 1973; New day, 1962; New horizons, 1956; Orbitration in blue, 1964; Out of sight, 1958; Plutonian nights, 1967; Reflects motion, 1964; Satana & Saturn, 1956; Sea of sounds, 1972; Shadow world, 1973; Snowmed Yballul, 1956; Solar differentials, 1964; Solar symbols, 1964; Somebody else's world, 1970; Sounds and something else, 1961; Space aura, 1964; Space is the place, undated; Space jazz reverie, 1961; Space loneliness, 1960; Spaceship lullaby, 1954; Spur of the moment, 1956; Sun myth, 1970; Sunology, 1956; and Super blonde, 1956, 1954-1973, undated.
Box 5 Folder 3
Sheet music for Sun Ra compositions and arrangements: Tapestry from an asteroid, 1961; That's the way I feel today, 1941; Theme of the strangers, 1960; Tome pictures, 1957; Transition, 1956; Twenty-first century, 1962; Velvet, 1956; Walkin' on the moon, 1970; Watusa, 1967; Whats that?, 1961; When angels speak of love, 1967; When sun comes out, 1967; Where's tomorrow, 1961; Words of music, undated; and Yucatan, 1973, 1941, 1956-1973, undated.
Box 5 Folder 4
Articles, ephemera, interviews, and papers from "Sun Ra's musicians", 1965-1966, 1971, 1973-1976, 1978-1988, 1990-1995.
Box 1 Folder 56-57
Interviews, mostly unpublished, with Nate Pryor, Alvin Fielder, Lucious Randolph, Phil Cohran, Hattie Randolph, Art Hoyle, Julian Priester, John Gilmore, Deval Patrick, and Michael Ray, 1993, 2007, 2011.
Box 2 Folder 1
"John Sinclair materials" email, biography, and clippings, 1994.
Box 2 Folder 2
Club X [television show], Sun Ra lecture, audiocassette, 1989.
Box 3
Dartmouth College, Sun Ra masterclass (5.4 gigabytes), undated.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-009
Manhattan Community College, Sun Ra lecture, and interview with Hans Kumpt, audiocassette, 1979, 1990.
Box 3
Soundscape, Sun Ra lecture, audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
University of California, Berkeley, class lecture recording (504.2 megabytes), 1971.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-010
University of California, Berkeley, student notes, 1992, undated.
Box 2 Folder 3
A. Reid, 1B, audiocassette, 1993.
Box 3
A. Reid, 2B, articles, audiocassette, 1993.
Box 3
Articles, "Dutch translation," audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Articles, Graham Taylor (pseudonym Graham Lock), 1988, 1994, undated.
Box 2 Folder 8
Articles, "Italian article translated," audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Articles, "Italian article translated," audiocassette, undated.
Box 3
Articles, obituaries, 1993.
Box 2 Folder 4
Articles, personal recollections of Sun Ra by Ed Bland, article and correspondence, 2003.
Box 2 Folder 5
Articles, "Sonny Blount and band now in Louisville", 1934.
Box 2 Folder 6
Articles, "Stolen moments" and "In the spirit of the universe - Sun Ra" in Konceptualizations, 1993.
Box 2 Folder 7
Articles, general, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1974-1975, 1978, 1980, 1985-1987, 1990, 1992-1993, 2009.
Box 2 Folder 9
Bibliographies, undated.
Box 2 Folder 10
"Different cats," Stride Magazine, Number 37, 1995.
Box 2 Folder 11
"Jazz profiles: Sun Ra," National Public Radio, audiocassette, 1997.
Box 4
"Record and performance reviews", 1958, 1966-1967, 1969-1975, 1978-1981, 1984-1993, 1995.
Box 2 Folder 12
Sun Ra Materialien by Tilman Stahl [published volume including discography, list of books by Sun Ra, list of films by Sun Ra, photographs, cover art, notes, list of musicians who played with Sun Ra, and record shops with notable Sun Ra stocking], 1983.
Box 2 Folder 32
Sun Ra Quarterly, Issues 2, 4, and 5, 1996 September-1997 June.
Box 2 Folder 13
Sun Ra Research, Issues 1-9, 11-35, and 37-41, 1995 May-2001.
Box 2 Folder 14-18
Cartoons, by R. Crumb and Harvey Pekar [includes miscellaneous, seemingly unrelated, material], 1979, 1994.
Box 2 Folder 19
Films, The cry of jazz and Space is the place, summaries, interviews, and correspondence, 1992, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2015, undated.
Box 2 Folder 20
Films, The cry of jazz, reviews, 1960.
Box 2 Folder 21
Films, The mothership connection, DVD (4.0 gigabytes), 1978 March 21.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-011
Films, Music for the 21st Century, the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen, live at Uncool, Pischiavo, Swiss Alps, DVD (5.1 gigabytes), 2003.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-012
Films, Space is the place: Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Solar Arkestra, director's cut, DVD (5.2 gigabytes), 2003.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-013
Films, Sun Ra - Brother from another planet, BBC, DVD (5.0 gigabytes), 2005.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-014
Films, Sun Ra: Cosmic visions, limited edition VHS, empty VHS case, 1994.
Box 4
Films, Sun Ra and friends, DVD (4.4 gigabytes), 1979.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-015
Films, Sun Ra: A joyful noise, Robert Mugge, DVD (2.8 gigabytes), 1986.
Digital Content (Reading Room Access Only) pusp-1579-016
The book of information, 1986 April.
Box 2 Folder 22
The immeasurable equation, 1985, undated.
Box 2 Folder 23
Letter, first page in which "…he [Sun Ra] begins to explain who he is and what he is attempting to achieve", circa 1970s.
Box 2 Folder 24
Poetry booklets, 1989, undated.
Box 2 Folder 25
Stylus, Temple University, poetry, 1971.
Box 2 Folder 26
"Sun Ra and the Intergalactic Research Arkestra," statements by Sun Ra, undated.
Box 2 Folder 27
Untitled partial poerty booklet published by Ihnfinity, Inc., 1972.
Box 2 Folder 28
Sheet music with compositions by Alton Abraham, some featuring Ruth Lewis, Walter Dunn, Yochannan Yochannan, and Lacy Gibson, 1960, 1963, 1968.
Box 5 Folder 5
Sheet music for "Le Sun Ra" composed by "Kid" Jordan, Danjor Music ASCAP and Chasing the vibration by Graham Taylor (pseudonym Graham Lock), postcard, circa 1993-1994, undated.
Box 2 Folder 29
Notecards [notes are difficult to read], undated.
Box 2 Folder 30-31

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