Alton Abraham

Alton Abraham (5 May 1927 – 6 June 1999) was an African American social entrepreneur who acted as business manager for jazz musician Sun Ra.

Early life

Abraham was born in Chicago and served in the U.S Military in Okinawa from 1945 to 1947. When he returned to Chicago, he studied at the DuSable High School (1947–1950) and Wilson Junior College, gaining qualifications as a Radiographer at Provident Hospital from 1952.^[1] In 1951, he sang in Edward Virgil Abner's vocal ensemble, the Knights of Music.^[2]

Association with Sun Ra

In late 1951, Abraham met Sun Ra and the two men soon discovered a shared interest in ancient history, mysticism, numerology, the occult and science.^[3][4] Together with Sun Ra and his brother Artis A. Abraham Father of Anita A. Abraham, current President of Ihnfinity Inc., they also co-founded El Saturn Records. During his tenure as Sun Ra's business manager, he amassed a large collection of objects, artifacts, documents, and materials associated with the musician, which are preserved as the Alton Abraham Collection of Sun Ra at the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago.

References

1. Sites, William (23 April 2012). "Radical Culture in Black Necropolis: Sun Ra, Alton Abraham, and Postwar Chicago". Journal of Urban History. 38 (4). SAGE Publishing: 687–719. doi:10.1177/0096144211428766. S2CID 145251571. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
2. Youngquist, Paul (25 October 2016). A Pure Solar World: Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism. Discovering America. University of Texas Press. doi:10.7560/726369. ISBN 9780292726369. LCCN 2016005943.
3. Goldhammer, Zach (9 October 2013). "Who Knows Sun Ra? Charting the legacy of the space-jazz pioneer". South Side Weekly. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
4. Guide to the Alton Abraham Collection of Sun Ra 1822-2008, University of Chicago, accessed 26 June 2011