The Sun Ra/El Saturn Collection, 1950-1993

Both the finding aid and the collection itself are currently to be considered works in progress. Rather than wait until the entire collection is processed before making it generally available to researchers--our usual practice--we have decided to make each series available as it is completed.

The collection was amassed by John Corbett, a recognized scholar of Ra's work and its cultural and historical context, and his wife, writer and educator Terri Kapsalis. The contents of the collection were acquired by the couple in 2000, sparing the recordings and ephemera from destruction following the death of Alton Abraham, Sun Ra's business manager and the original owner of the materials. The recordings were donated to ESS in August 2007 and the Ra-related visual and written materials were given to the University of Chicago Jazz Archive.

An initial assessment of the collection content and condition was provided by Corbett. The majority of the tapes are unidentified; some tapes have been incorrectly labeled. Many items contain multiple recording formats and speeds spliced together, and a number of tapes were in fragile condition, making more than one play hazardous. The analog recordings were carefully transferred to digital format by Todd Carter, recording engineer. Closer analysis during playback yielded more details about the contents. Corbett's notes have been documented with the findings and processed into the collection inventory. Corbett will serve as the collection consultant to assist with further research on content, personnel, and probable dates for the recordings.

ESS develops interpretive programs based on the Sun Ra/El Saturn collection for the public to meaningfully engage with the archive and to aid in the continued study and interpretation of the collection. Programs include educational colloquiums and tours, artist commissions to research and present new compositions or visual artworks based on the holdings, curated online exhibitions of collection material, and exhibitions and performances presented on-site and throughout the city of Chicago.

The collection offers a rare and multifaceted glimpse into the working process of Sun Ra and his collaborators. Preliminary research on the tapes has already yielded some remarkable finds, including recordings of Sun Ra reciting his poetic-polemic texts in which he expounds some of the philosophical bases of his aesthetic; experiments with early electronic instruments; and rehearsals, performances, and sessions with legendary trumpeter Hobart Dobson, Chicago “doo-wop" groups, African musicians in New York, and with members of Sun Ra’s Arkestra, one of jazz history’s most iconoclastic and sophisticated ensembles.

The collection is filed by recording format. Temporary accession numbers were assigned to each item in the order of the numerical labels found on the tapes, where possible. Track listings referred to as "Contents" were retrieved from transfer log sheets that were identified by transfer engineer, Todd Carter, and the Creative Audio Archive interns. Titles of performances and related notes were retrieved from original labels and notes provided by John Corbett.

Material is available to interested researchers by appointment.

All material is copyright restricted to the individual artists that appear in the recordings. Copyright of the Sun Ra recordings is retained by Adam Abraham/Infinity Inc.

The bulk of the collection was acquired by ESS on in an audio VHS format. The collection was reformatted into three digial surrogate formats by ESS.

Sonia Yoon managed the organization of the collection and supervised the cataloging and digital preservation of the material. Recording engineer Todd Carter conducted the transfer of tapes to digital files. Archive interns Alex Wilson, Rowland Saifi, identified each recording by artist, date, location, duration, track listing and number.