Sun Ra, Street Priest and Father of D.I.Y. Jazz: Slideshow: Slide 1: Observatory: Design Observer

Design Observer

Archive
Books + Store
Job Board
Email Archive
Comments
About
Contact
Log In
Register

Observatory

SLIDESHOW: Image 1/28

Posted 06.22.07 | PERMALINK | ESSAY

John Corbett: Sun Ra, Street Priest and Father of D.I.Y. Jazz

Sun Ra: El Saturn and Chicago's Afro-Futurist Underground 1954-68: slide 1

Sun Ra: El Saturn and Chicago's Afro-Futurist Underground 1954-68
Sun Ra, RCA Studios, Chicago, 1956

SLIDESHOW: Image 1/28

|

Share This Story

ABOUT THE ESSAY

Sun Ra, Street Priest and Father of D.I.Y. Jazz
Before the 1950s, artist-owned record companies were unheard of, but Sun Ra pioneered the idea along with a couple of other musicians and composers. Sun Ra and Alton Abraham helped define the do-it-yourself ethic that came to be a central part of the American independent music industry, designing and in some cases manufacturing the covers themselves. In the process, they maintained a previously unimaginable degree of control over the look and content of their jazz releases.
Read Essay >>

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Corbett is a writer and independent curator who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is a regular contributor to Down Beat Magazine and codirects Corbett vs. Dempsey Galley in Chicago, and has written Extended Play: Sounding Off from John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein.
More Bio >>

Design Observer

Observatory

Featured Writers

Departments

Topics

ABOUT THE ESSAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DESIGN OBSERVER JOBS