Abner, E. Virgil, 32
Abraham, Adahm E., 111
Abraham, Alton: and alien encounters, 130–133; Knights of Music, 31–32; manager of Arkestra, 99–115, 130–132, 171, 143–148, 176–178, 180, 197–198, 202; and the occult, 32–33; and Thmei research, 33–40
Abraham, Artis, 34
Abrams, Muhal Richard, 241
Adamski, George, 130
Aebersold, Jamey, 113
Africa Hitech, 253
African Jazz, 163
Afrika Bambaataa (Kevin Donovan), 248–249
Afrofuturism, 3, 191, 242, 246–250, 252, 259, 297n13
Ali, Luqman (Edward Skinner), 268
Ali, Noble Drew (Timothy Drew), 35
Allen, Marshall, 143, 184–185, 200–201, 235
Altair IV (fictional planet), 161–165
Alter-destiny, 120, 210, 214, 223–224
Amayo’s Fu-Arkist-Ra, 246
American Federation of Musicians (AFM), 103, 114
Ammons, Gene, 20
Angels and Demons at Play, 184, 229
ANKH, 258
Annular Gift, 257
ArchAndroid, 250
Arkestra: beginnings, 62–71; fashion, 5, 132–133; dancers, 167, 203–214, 224; musicians, 62–66, 143, 203–204, 240–241, residences, 100, 179; size, 62–65. See also astro-infinity, cosmo drama, and myth-science
Arlen, Harold, 235
Army Ballistic Missile Agency, 147
Art Ensemble of Chicago, 241–242
Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, 182, 188–189
Artistic Heritage Ensemble, 241
Artpop, 237
Asante, Kimathi, 242
Ascension, 239
Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), 241
Astro-bachelor, 167
Astro-black mythology, 191–199
Astro-infinity: “Astro-Infinity Arkestra”, 188, 217; music 218–219, 226, 242. See also Arkesta and infinity
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, The, 151
Ayler, Albert, 83, 196, 239, 244–246
Back on the Planet, 254
Baker, LaVerne, 25
Ballet Nègre, 19
Banks, Azealia, 250
Baraka, Amiri Imamu (LeRoi Jones), 74, 78–80, 83, 179, 195, 207, 220, 238–239, 268
Bass, Sid, 166
Batman and Robin, 232
Baxter, Leslie Thompson “Les”, 107–108, 162–69, 172
Beach Head, 251
bebop, 5–6, 17, 20, 65–70, 72, 125–126, 276n10
BEM (bug-eyed monster), 136
Bibb, Sir Oliver, 23
Billington, Ben Baker, 257
Binga, Jesse, 18
Birmingham, 7–11, 15–16, 63, 118, 143, 213, 230, 260, 309n1
Black Chicago Renaissance, 21
black counter-knowledge, 105, 206–207
Black Muslims, 48–53. See also Nation of Islam
blackness, 48, 57, 134, 191–194, 203–205, 212–216, 221–26, 261, 297n13; outer, 58, 198, 216, 221, 246
Black Power movement, 95
Blake, William, 54, 76–78, 86, 109
Blakey, Art, 182
Blount, Herman Poole “Sonny”: childhood, 7–9; conscientious objector, 10–16; in Chicago, 22–27; and the occult, 31–41; name change, 41; later years, 213, 226, 252, 268n6. See also Sun Ra
Blue Delight, 236
Boca Negra, 256
Boehme, Jakob, 37
Born to be Blue, 170
Bowie, Lester, 241
Bowman, Brooks, 232
Boykins, Ronnie, 65, 121, 143, 184, 201
Bracken, James C., 103
Bracken, Vivian, 103
Braxton, Anthony, 241
broadsheets, 53–54, 57–60, 64, 108–109, 134, 172, 210, 274n1
Brooks, Christopher, 219.
Brother from Another Planet, 267n5
Brown-Marx Building, 11
Bryant, James, 34, 37–38, 104, 111, 130
Bubbleator, 164
Buck Rogers, 151
C-57D (fictional United Planets cruiser), 161–162
cacophony, 1–4, 118, 186, 223, 232, 235, 239
Café Bizarre, 179
Calloway, Cab, 276n6
Campbell, Robert L. (with Christopher Trent and Robert Pruter), 268, 271n19
Capital Bar, 24
Caribbean Moonlight, 163
Carmichael, Hoagy, 232
Carter, Benny, 276n6
Carter, Betty, 169
Carter, Elnora, 32
Celestial Mechanix, 250
Chang’e, 198
Charles Theater, 179
Cherry, Don, 236
Chicago: the Black Belt, 18, 26; Bronzeville, 17–27, 100, 105; Improvisation, 76, 124–125, 170–173, 184–186, 201–203, 207, 231–235, 240–245, 256–257; kitchenette, 21, 22, 271n18; Loop, 102, 266; L train, 22, 118, 121; North Side, 25–26; racism, 21, 27, 160, 194, 212; South Side, 17, 25–37, 40–43, 53–54, 60–65, 102, 115–118, 123–124, 130–133, 140–143, 160, 171–179, 193–195, 204, 210, 220–226, 236, 256, 274n3; Washington Park, 47–55
Chocolate City, 247
Choreographers’ Workshop, 179–180
Christian, Jodie, 241,
Civilian Public Service camp, 12–15
civil rights movement, 8, 21, 95
Clarin, Luis T., 34
Clavinet, 215
Clavioline, 215
Clementi, Anna, 251
Clockstoppers, The, 101
Club DeLisa, 23–26, 62, 122, 129
Cochran, William “Bugs”, 122, 285n2
Cohen, Charles, 250
Cold War, 21,134, 136, 137, 140, 148, 150, 152–155, 158–160, 182, 196
Coleman, Ornette, 121, 127, 179, 239, 257
Coltrane, John, 20, 106, 121, 127, 170, 229, 238–239, 253
Columbia University, 45
Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe, 151
Comstock, Frank, 169
Corbett, John, 53–54, 106, 114, 127, 145, 171, 266, 274n3
Coslow, Sam, 234
Cosmic Rays, The, 101, 106, 129
Cosmic Scene, The, 169
Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy, 177, 182, 189
Cosmogramma, 253
Cosmo Rhythmatic, 258
Cry of Jazz, The, 122–128, 220
Crystal Spears, 230
Crystals, The, 129
Cymbals, 230
Dangerfield, Claude, 112, 133, 283n44
Dan the Automator (Daniel M. Nakamura), 249
Davis, Miles, 20, 121, 127, 202
Davis, Richard, 238
Debut Records, 281n12
DeJohnette, Jack, 241
Delany, Martin R., 35
Del the Funky Homosapien (Teren Delvon Jones), 249
Deltron 3030, 249
Demus, Earl, 65
discipline, 67–71, 91, 194–196, 201, 218, 224–227, 236–240, 244, 259; album title, 225; and Saturn, 104. See also precision
Discipline 27–II, 225
Disco 3000, 250
DJ Spooky (Paul D. Miller), 250
Dolphy, Eric, 257
Donaldson, Lou, 170
Dorsey, Thomas A., 20
Dotson, Hobart, 129
Down Beat, 107, 114, 183, 240, 243, 250
Dozier Boys, The, 25
Drake, Hamid, 257
Dr. Octagonecologyst, 249
Duke Ellington, 20, 126, 169, 235
Duke Slater’s Vincennes Lounge, 20, 65–66, 122
Dumas, Henry “Ankh”, 113, 207, 217
Düne, Néman Herman, 238
Dyett, Captain Walter, 65
Edith Stephen Dance Theater, 186
Egypt: ancient, 33–37, 42–46, 50, 57; Arkestra performance in, 204–205, black origins of, 43–45; Egyptology, 33, 42; Giza, 204, 261; hieroglyphics, 42, 106; the Sphinx, 42, 261; and Thmei Research, 44–46; Valley of the Kings, 42, 204
Egyptian Mysteries (band), 45
Electric Lady, The, 250
electric piano, 63, 66, 115–116, 250
electronic music, 161–162, 166–169, 172, 197, 204, 216, 250–258
Ellison, Steven, 253
El Morocco, 143
El Saturn Research, 103–105, 116, 118 228, 230
equation, 53, 59, 73, 75, 85, 88–93, 96–97, 111, 119, 204–206, 261–262
Esquivel, Juan García, 166–167, 169, 171
Evans, Bill, 170
Every Day I Wake Up on the Wrong Side of Capitalism, 251
exotica, 5, 115, 161–164, 166–181
Exotica, 163
Explorer 1, 138, 147, 169. See also satellite
Exploring New Sounds in Hi-Fi Stereo, 167
Fantasea, 250
Fantastica: Music from Outer Space, 167–169
Fard Muhammad, Wallace, 35
Fate In a Pleasant Mood, 180
Favors Maghostut, Malachi, 241
Fellowship of Reconciliation, 11
Ferrante, Arthur, 165–166, 170
Fisher, Fred, 102
Flame Lounge, 20
Flash Gordon, 151
Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, 23, 276n6
Forbes, Mike, 257
Forbidden Playground, The, 186–187
Ford, Theodore P., 44
Four for Trane, 239
freedom, 67–68, 124–125, 137–140, 194–195, 211, 218, 239–240, 260
Freedom Ride, 11
free jazz, 67, 170, 238–240, 246, 256, 294n18, 304n7
Free Jazz Classics (Vols. 1 & 2), 257
Freeman, Chico, 241
Freeman, Von, 256
French, E. N., 21
From Another World, 166
Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome, 247
Futuristic Sounds of Sun Ra, The, 181
Galliano, Frédéric, 251
Gibson, Lacy, 302n20
Gillespie, John Birks “Dizzy”, 121, 276n6
Gilmore, John, 65–66, 102, 121, 143, 172–173, 182–184, 201, 233, 239–240
Ginsberg, Allen, 77
Golden Skies, 251
Gonsalves, Paul, 169
Grand Terrace, The, 20, 100, 122
Green, Grant, 170
Green, Lillian “Lil”, 23
Green, Wilbur, 65, 122, 131, 285n2
Griffin, Johnny, 20
Grosvenor, Vertamae, 203
Gurdjieff, George, 37
Haber, Heinz, 157
Haleff, Maxine, 186
Hampton, Lionel, 129
Harburg, E. Y., 235
Harris, Wynonie, 22
Hayden, Almeter, 197
Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra (Vols. 1& 2), 182, 240
Hemsath, Bill, 217
Henderson, Fletcher, 23, 231, 234
Hentoff, Nat, 113
Herndon, Jim, 65
Hieroglyphic Being (Jamal Moss), 258–259
Higgins, Eddie, 127
Hinds, Peter and John, 216, 274n1
Hines, Earl “Fatha”, 65
hip-hop, 205, 238, 248–249, 258
Holiday for Soul Dance, 231
Holloway, Red (James Wesley), 24
Hooker, John Lee, 103
Hours After, 235
Hubbard, Freddie, 143
Hudson, George, 4
Hunter, Tommy “Bugs”, 23–26, 64, 100 180, 201, 271n3
improvisation, 74, 76, 124–125, 171, 173, 180, 184–186, 201–203, 207, 231–235, 240, 242–245, 256–257, 278, 298n9. See also free jazz
infinity: concept of, 59, 66, 83, 139, 160, 188–189, 191–196, 211, 222–228, 233–235, 239, 242–246, 249–250, 252, 255–259, 261–263; music of, 3, 110–112, 173–174, 178, 183–185, 217–219. See also astro-infinity
intercontinental ballistic missile, 136, 146–147, 159
Interstellar Low Ways (Rocket Number Nine Take Off for the Planet Venus), 120, 172–173, 175, 180, 189
Interstellar Space, 238
Invasion of the Saucer Men, 151
Invisible Shield, The, 182
Iron Curtain, 135
It Came from Outer Space, 151
Jarman, Joseph, 241
Jaumet, Etienne, 238
Jazz by Sun Ra, Vol. 1, 107–108, 122, 131–132
Jazz in Silhouette, 123, 127, 131, 144, 171, 180–183, 229
Jazz in the Space Age, 170–171
Jenkins, John, 63
Johnson, John H., 19
Johnston, Arthur, 234
Jones, LeRoi, 74, 179, 207, 220. See also Baraka, Amiri
Joyful Noise, A, 267n5
Jupiter-C rocket, 120
Kalamazoo K101, 215
Kármán line, 139
Keyes, Johnnie, 222
Kid Koala (Eric San), 249
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 40, 55, 187
Kingsley, Gershon, 216
Kool Keith (Keith Thornton), 249
L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry, 90
Lateef, Yusef, 238
Lazar, Sam, 170
Les Stances à Sophie, 242
Lewis, Ramsey E., Jr., 32
Lintels, The, 101
Little Walter (Marion Walter Jacobs), 20, 103
Live in Paris at the “Gibus”, 234
Locus, 256
Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.), 249
Madvillain, 249
Madvillainy, 249
Magic City, The, 182, 186, 229
Magic Sun, The, 186,
Magidson, Herb, 236
Malcolm X Memorial, 241
Man in Space with Sounds, 164–165
Manning, Marty, 168
Man with No Past Originating the Future, A, 252
Marino, Richard, 168
McBride, Nate, 257
McCall, Steve, 241
Media Dreams, 250
Metros, The, 101
MeYouWeYou, 251
MF Doom (Daniel Dumile), 249
Michel, Ed, 228
Miller, Jesse, 26
Miller, Paul D. See DJ Spooky
Million Miles, 253
Minimoog synthesizer, 215–218, 224, 250, 256
Mitchell, Billy, 143
Mitchell, Richard “Blue”, 276n8
Mitchell, Stephen, 154
Monáe, Janelle, 250
Mono/Poly (Charles E. Dickerson), 251
Montgomery, Wes, 143
Morton, Jelly Roll, 234
Mothership Connection, The, 247–248
Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield), 20, 103
Murray, Ricky, 143
Music for Dance and Theater, 251
Music From Out of Space, 166
My Brother the Wind (Vols. 1&2), 217
myth science, 188–191, 199, 202, 209, 220, 226
NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), 21, 60, 224
Nangadef Maafric, 251
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), 120, 139, 140, 148–150, 166, 173, 188, 198, 215, 221, 226, 248
National Service Board for Religious Objectors (NSBRO), 12
Natural Soul, The, 170
Newman, Jim, 207
New Thing, 238–240, 243–246, 304n7. See also free jazz
New York: Arkestra 144, 177–180, 188, 200–204, 240, 244–245; city art scene, 45, 113, 122, 129, 143, 178, 207, 248; compared to Chicago, 21, 27, 118, 255–256, 258; compared to Egypt, 261; East Village, 179, 200, 204; recordings, 181–185, 188, 201, 231
Niblock, Phill, 186
Nietzsche, Friedrich, 83, 279n22
nothing: and infinity, 59; and philosophy of sound, 81–84, 91–96, 125, 172–175, 190; and race 58–59, 60, 125, 141
Nothing Is, 182
Nubians of Plutonia, The, 180, 229
Nuclear War, 238
occult, 2, 32–37, 53, 105, 130, 160
On Jupiter, 248
On the Beach, 241
Osunlade, 252
Otherworldly, 243
Other Worlds Other Sounds, 166–167, 171
outer space: Employment Agency, 221; music of, 2, 115, 131–142, 144, 155; myth of, 9, 152–155; science of, 143–150
Outer Spaceways Incorporated, 182
Out of this World, 168
Out There a Minute, 245
Out There with Betty Carter, 169
Paradigm, Fhloston, 259
Parker, George Wells, 44
Parker, Jeff, 256
Parks, Gordon, 20
Parkway Ballroom, 19, 100, 122
Passions, The, 163
Pathways to Unknown Worlds, 230
Patrick, Laurdine “Pat”, 64–67, 201, 232
Peacock Club, The, 24
People in Sorrow, 242
permutation, 89, 91, 177, 199, 206
Pershing Hotel, 25–26, 115–116, 129; ballroom, 20, 123
Philadelphia, 3, 113, 144, 200–201, 231, 246, 259, 261, 298n1
planetscape, 136
polyharmony, 128
Ports of Pleasure, 163
Potsdam Conference, 136
precision, 67, 194–196, 201, 218, 224, 236, 239–240, 244, 259; musical, 23, 91, 98, 149, 258, 262. See also discipline
President’s Science Advisory Committee, 138
Project Comstock: Music from Outer Space, 169
Purple Night, 236
pyramids: band (The Pyramids), 242–243; in Egypt, 42, 196, 261
Qualities, The, 101
Queen’s Mansion, 20, 122, 129, 202
Ra (Egyptian god), 34, 41, 46, 200, 211, 261
Ras G (Gregory Shorter Jr.), 254–255
Ray, Michael, 268
ray-gun, 152
recording equipment: microphones, 165–167; the Sound Mirror 26, 63, 250; tape recording, 80, 122, 144, 166
Redman, Don, 23
Red menace, 135
Red Saunders Orchestra, 25, 62
Reed, Jimmy, 103
Reflections in Blue, 235
Ritual of the Savage, 163
Robby the Robot, 162
Roberts, Matana, 256
Rocket Ship X-M, 151
Rock-Si-Chord, 215
Roebuck, Lem, 203
Roundup Records, 113
Rugolo, Pete, 166
Sanders, Farrell “Pharoah”, 83, 182
satellite, 120, 130, 137–39, 145–147, 152–157, 165, 169, 219
Saturn, planet, 7, 9, 76, 104–106, 130, 171, 186, 226–229, 252, 262; records, 32, 103–106, 109–116, 123, 128–133, 144–149, 171, 176, 180–182, 189, 207, 228–230, 244, 255; rocket 147–149, 198. See also El Saturn
Saunders, Red (Theodore Dudley), 24–26, 62
Savoy Ballroom, 20
Schaeffer, Pierre, 164
science fiction, 135–136, 138, 147, 151–161, 174, 205–208, 210, 249, 259, 290n3
Secrets of the Sun, 113, 181–184, 188
Seer of Cosmic Visions, 258
segregation: in Chicago, 18, 27–31, 37–43 66, 179, 193–194, 197, 256; effects of 56, 125, 141, 160, 212, 220. See also Wright, Richard
Selective Service System, 10–13
Shape of Jazz to Come, The, 121, 127
Sharrock, Sonny, 179
Shell, Eutrace U. “Prince”, 107
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 77–78, 219
Shep’s Playhouse, 66
Shibusashirazu Orchestra, 246
Shorter, Wayne, 179
Sid’s Oasis, 24
Simmons, Margaux, 242
Simmons, Sonny, 179
Single Piece Flow, 257
Sissle, Noble, 234
Smith, Joshua, 207
Smith, Stuff (Hezekiah Leroy Gordon), 26, 101, 236
Smith, Wadada Leo, 241
Solar Myth Approach (vols. 1&2), The, 217
Sonic Fiction, 251
Sonny Blount Orchestra, 10, 63, 269n1
Soul Vibrations of Man, The, 89, 251
Soundproof: the Sound of Tomorrow Today!, 165
Sounds and Fury, 240
soundscape, 69, 165, 168–169, 183, 207, 256
Sound Sun Pleasure!!, 180, 231
Soviet Union, 136, 139, 146, 153, 204; rockets, 181, 198
space age: “bachelor pad” music or “pop”, 163–169; culture of, 29, 121, 132–136, 140, 151–152, 171, 175–177, 189, 194–199, 203–205, 227, 262; fashion of, 133, 150; heroes of, 145–146
Space Cadet: Tales of Tomorrow, 151
Space Flight, 170
Space Is the Place (film), 3, 207–213, 218–227, 254, 259
Space is the Place (recording), 228–229, 249
Spacek, Steve, 253
space music: changing vision of 202–210, 248–258; impossibility of, 80; and infinity, 191–195, 219, 246, 259; sound of, 131, 172–173, 176–77, 239–243; technology of, 216–218, 235–236; utopian politics of, 8–9, 115, 136–137, 141–42, 145, 150, 160, 174–187, 193, 213, 227, 251–252, 287n13
Space Patrol: Tom Corbett, 151
Spaceship Lullaby, 101
Spiritual Unity, 239
spodie, 47
Sputnik, 120, 135–138, 141–146, 219
Stars Have Shapes, 257
Steiner, Rudolf, 37
Stitt, Edward “Sonny”, 20
St. Louis Blues, 234
Strange Celestial Road, 251
Strange Strings: Arkestra, 182, 186–88, Hieroglyphic Being, 258
Strickland, Walter, 143
Sun Araw (Cameron Stallones), 251
Sun Man Speaks, The, 258
Sun Ra: alien abduction, 7–9; arranger, 24–26, 91–101, 108, 123–126, 171, 185–187, 201; band leader, 23, 62–71, 175–176, 201; Biblical philosophy, 14, 36, 49–61, 262; broadsheets, 53–64, 108–111, 134, 172, 238; childhood, 7–9; composer, 65–70, 79–80, 107–109, 117–118, 141, 185–187; conscientious objector, 10–16; interviews, 41–43, 61, 67, 85–89, 98, 104, 110, 120, 127, 177, 192–195, 204–205, 218, 224; lecturer, 206–207; poet, 73–98, 108, 111, 133–135, 190; television appearances, 195, 207, 230. See also Blount, Herman Poole “Sonny”
Sun Ra Visits Planet Earth, 180–183
Super-Sonic Jazz, 112–116, 118, 133–135, 141
Supreme Liberty Life (insurance), 19
swing music, 20–26, 63–65, 72, 124–128, 164, 204, 230, 235–236
Szwed, John F., 3, 13–15, 20, 36, 41–42, 66, 76, 104, 113, 141, 177–179, 200–207, 230, 266, 267n1
Taggart, John, 113
Tamboo!, 163
Taylor, Chad, 256
technoscience, 134–136, 158, 161
Teenagers from Outer Space, 151
Terry, Clark, 169
Theosophical Society, 37
Third Street Jazz and Blues, 113
Thmei Research: activism, 62–64, 69–70, 99, 137, 183, 191–195, 224–226; beginnings, 35–43; broadsheets, 53–60; and the occult, 33–34
Thompson, Danny, 113
Thompson, Johnny, 65
Threadgill, Henry, 241
TNT, 256
tone science, 84–86, 96, 134, 176–181, 190, 227
Transition record label, 106–109, 112, 115, 122, 132, 144
Tre, 251
Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin, 136, 156
Tyson, June, 203–204, 211, 218, 223, 251, 255
United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, 139
Unity, 250
Universal Recording studio, 26, 107
US Naval Research Laboratory, 147
USSR, 135–139. See also Soviet Union
Vandermark, Ken, 257
Vienna Scientists V: The 10th Anniversary, 251
Viral Sonata, 250
Volney, Count Constantin-François, 44, 206
Waller, Thomas Wright “Fats”, 234
Webb, James, 149
We Travel the Spaceways, 180
When Angels Speak of Love, 182–184
When Sun Comes Out, 182
White, Maurice, 241
White Panther Party, 97, 243–244
Williams, Roland, 101
Wilson, Philip, 241
Wonder Inn, The, 4–5, 20, 122, 202, 232
World War II, 27, 31, 36, 134–136, 152, 157–159
Wright, Richard, 27; Native Son, 27–30, 35
Wrubel, Elias Paul “Allie”, 236
Yochannan (Muck Muck Man), 106
Yo La Tengo, 238
Young, Dave, 65
Young, Marl, 23
Zuckerkandl, Viktor, 83
Zulu Records, 241