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Sun Ra, a.k.a. Herman Poole "Sonny" Blount (1914-1993), has been hailed as "one of the great big-band leaders, pianists, and surrealists of jazz" ("New York Times"). This biography of Sun Ra is "as trippy and entertaining as the great jazz genius himself" ("Details"). 20 photos.Product Identifiers
PublisherDuke University Press
ISBN-101478008415
ISBN-139781478008415
eBay Product ID (ePID)16038370902
Product Key Features
Book TitleSpace Is the Place : the Lives and Times of Sun Ra
Number of Pages512 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicComposers & Musicians, Ethnic Studies / African American Studies, Genres & Styles / Jazz
Publication Year2020
IllustratorYes
GenreMusic, Social Science, Biography & Autobiography
AuthorJohn F. Szwed
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height1.1 in
Item Weight26.5 Oz
Item Length9.3 in
Item Width6.1 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2019-039442
ReviewsJohn Szwed's excellent 1997 biography Space is the Place traces the in-depth study that lay behind Ra's fascination with Ancient Egypt, etymology and space, while making a case for the idea that Ra's Afrocentric cosmology not only reflected the tumult of the 1950s and 1960s, but transcended it., [Szwed] succeeds in prying open countless enigmas within enigmas, revealing much that has eluded historians until now., Through deft writing and detailed chronology, Yale professor and music critic Szwed manages to make the seemingly unintelligible, shiny-turbaned pioneer of big-band free jazz more accessible to society at large., Through collating practically everything written or known about his subject, Szwed doesn't diminish the singularity of Ra's musical achievement, he enhances it. . . . There's an inspirational quality to Szwed's revelations as he demonstrates Ra's commitment to a course that could only be his own, with rewards that make money and fame seem paltry in comparison., The book consistently succeeds in making the idiosyncrasies of [Sun Ra] much less strange by placing them within the mainstreams of African American culture. . . . Szwed is especially convincing when he documents the origins of Sonny's unique blend of mysticism, Egyptology, Afrocentrism, and nonsense. . . . Thanks to Sun Ra, and to this extraordinary book by John Szwed, jazz must be conceived as something much richer than an austere art music., Against the odds, Szwed carves out a central image of Sun Ra as a man whose sincerity was unquestioned, whose heart was pure. Essential reading for the millennium., The story of the experimental jazz composer, keyboardist and band leader Sun Ra . . . is told with brilliance and grace by the Yale anthropologist John Szwed in this deeply simpatico new biography. . . . The achievement of this biography is that it carefully articulates such views of life and art at the same time that it provides hard data and analysis to locate Sun Ra's theories in historical context., Szwed has unearthed a treasure trove of Ra data . . . [and ] through extensive personal interviews and archival materials, Szwed fills in the murky blanks of Ra's early years. . . . Szwed's portrait of Ra is both scholarly and affectionate. While many fans would often put brackets around aspects of Ra's persona, perhaps turning a blind eye to his convoluted philosophies or his space gypsy stage shows, Szwed embraces them, contradictions and all., A brilliant book, a sprawling, curlicued, swinging account of an extraordinary man's great adventure with a bunch of ideas that made sense to him out of a senseless world., Szwed has produced a rare jazz biography--one that takes full account of the history that shaped the music and its central personalities., Alongside Szwed's absorbing musical chronicle, the biographer tackles the more contentious subject of the vast framework of Sun Ra's poetry, theology, and philosophy, and makes a miraculous effort at synthesizing that massive body of often deliberately contradictory statements and beliefs. . . . While he brings academic rigor to his research, however, he writes with an easy flow and peppers the investigation with many memorable anecdotes recalling Sun Ra's idiosyncrasies. Szwed's book is as absorbing an account of Sun Ra's fascinatingly unorthodox life and times as we are ever likely to see.
Dewey Edition21
Age LevelTrade
Dewey Decimal781.65/092 B
Table Of ContentAcknowledgments xiii Preface xvii Introduction xxxi Space is the Place 1 Notes 389 Selected Bibliography 409 Discography by Robert L. Campbell 427 Index 449
SynopsisJohn F. Szwed's Space is the Place is the definitive biography of Sun Ra--composer, keyboardist, bandleader, philosopher, entrepreneur, poet, self-proclaimed extraterrestrial from Saturn, and a founder of Afrofuturism., Considered by many to be a founder of Afrofuturism, Sun Ra-aka Herman Blount-was a composer, keyboardist, bandleader, philosopher, entrepreneur, poet, and self-proclaimed extraterrestrial from Saturn. He recorded over 200 albums with his Arkestra, which, dressed in Egypto-space costumes, played everything from boogie-woogie and swing to fusion and free jazz. John Szwed's Space is the Place is the definitive biography of this musical polymath, who was one of the twentieth century's greatest avant-garde artists and intellectuals. Charting the whole of Sun Ra's life and career, Szwed outlines how after years in Chicago as a blues and swing band pianist, Sun Ra set out in the 1950s to impart his views about the galaxy, black people, and spiritual matters by performing music with the Arkestra that was as vital and innovative as it was mercurial and confounding. Szwed's readers-whether they are just discovering Sun Ra or are among the legion of poets, artists, intellectuals, and musicians who consider him a spiritual godfather-will find that, indeed, space is the place., Considered by many to be a founder of Afrofuturism, Sun Ra--aka Herman Blount--was a composer, keyboardist, bandleader, philosopher, entrepreneur, poet, and self-proclaimed extraterrestrial from Saturn. He recorded over 200 albums with his Arkestra, which, dressed in Egypto-space costumes, played everything from boogie-woogie and swing to fusion and free jazz. John Szwed's Space is the Place is the definitive biography of this musical polymath, who was one of the twentieth century's greatest avant-garde artists and intellectuals. Charting the whole of Sun Ra's life and career, Szwed outlines how after years in Chicago as a blues and swing band pianist, Sun Ra set out in the 1950s to impart his views about the galaxy, black people, and spiritual matters by performing music with the Arkestra that was as vital and innovative as it was mercurial and confounding. Szwed's readers--whether they are just discovering Sun Ra or are among the legion of poets, artists, intellectuals, and musicians who consider him a spiritual godfather--will find that, indeed, space is the place.
Lc Classification NumberMl410.S978s73 2020
Copyright Date2020
