Articles on
Sun Ra, the Arkestra
& Free Jazz
From Sonny Blount to Sun Ra : the
Birmingham Years / Robert Campbell
Robert Campbell's excellent lecture to the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, March 1995.
Sun Ra and the AACM / Allan Chase
A brief examination, from Allan's MA thesis, of the possible relationship, and influence, that Sun Ra may have had on
the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Chiacgo's most influential cooperative for free jazz.
The Sun Ra Arkestra in
Portugal / Artur Miguel Dias.
An article with details of the Arkestra's performances in Portugal, complete with samples of the music performed there. A very interesting site for Saturnians.
Sun Ra's Journey to Moers / Greg Drusdow
A retrospective piece on the Arkestra's first performance at the Moers Festival, reprinted from the programme booklet of the 2000 Moers Festival (with the kind permission of Moers Music).
The Man from Outer Space: an Interview with
Sun Ra / conducted by Robert Franza
Interviews with Sun Ra are always filled with verbal play and surprises.
Steve Coleman, M-Base, & Music
Collectivism / Vijay Iyer.
A very interesting essay on free jazz, especially part 1 (AACM: collectivist creativity) & part 2: Sun Ra:
a music full of Africa.
Sun Ra 171: Professor Sun Ra / Jim Johnson
The reading list for the course that Sun Ra taught at the University of California, Berkeley (two Birmingham natives teaching at the same time on that campus: Sun Ra & Angela Davis!).
Sun Ra at Newport, 1969 / Jack Lefton
A brief memoir of Sunny's influence on the 1969 Newport Jazz Festival.
Thurston Moore's article Top Ten from the Free Jazz Underground.
Moore's choice of the ten rarest records in the history of free jazz.
The Sun Ra Quanta Listing
A listing of quanta about Sun Ra &/or the Arkestra: brief
mentions or passing citations from larger works.
Interview with Sun Ra
/ conducted by Jenifer Ryconga, edited by Dan Plonsey.
An interview with The Man from Saturn's own Dan Plonsey's Web Site.
Albert Ayler: His Life & Music by Jeff Schwartz
A long biography of Ayler.
last Updated: 001214
