Jazz In Silhouette

Jazz in Silhouette is the quintessential record of Sun Ra's late 1950s Chicago period. Recorded and issued in 1959, it marks a coda for the bandleader's bebop/hard-bop stage, as his interstellar traveler persona began to transform the band (and the music). It also charts the future, showcasing the brilliant tenor sax stylings of John Gilmore, and introduces the iconic playing of Arkestra mainstays Marshall Allen, Pat Patrick, and Ronnie Boykins. Many of the early works on these recordings would remain staples in Arkestra set lists for the rest of Sun Ra's life. This expanded edition includes the complete, contemporaneous Sound Sun Pleasure, rare stereo mixes, and bonus tracks. With 16 page booklet All titles composed by Sun Ra (c) Enterplanetary Koncepts (BMI), except: Enlightment (Sun Ra-Hobart Dotson), You Never Told Me That You Care (Hobart Dotson), Hours After (Sun Ra-Everett Turner), 'Round Midnight (Monk-Hanighen-Williams), Hour of Parting (Spoliansky-Kahn), Back in Your Own Backyard (Jolson-Rose-Dreyer), I Could Have Danced All Night (Lerner-Loewe). Produced for reissue by Irwin Chusid and Michael D. Anderson Mastering by Joe Lizzi Creative direction: Irwin Chusid Design: Edley ODowd Cover painting restoration: Laurie Sidis Saturn "space nymphs" LP cover (page 8) restoration by Barbara Economon Executive Producers for Virtual Label: Peter Wright and John Allen Tape Transfers by Michael D. Anderson/The Sun Ra Music Archive Audio Restoration by I.C. and J.L. Issued under license from Sun Ra LLC Visit SunRa.com sunramusic.bandcamp.com Liner notes by John Corbett, Chicago, June 2021 [from booklet back cover:] "The music being created by Ra and his colleagues was itself a jazz in silhouette -- a veiled anticipation of future sounds from a brighter, better realm. Even as most black urban commentators grew more pessimistic at the end of the 1950s, El Saturn's leaders worked without hesitation over their final years together in Chicago to develop a forthrightly utopian music. Their African music from outer space might save the world from death and destruction." -- William Sites, Sun Ra's Chicago: Afrofuturism and the City (University of Chicago Press, 2020) [from CD labels:] Recordings produced by Sun Ra and Alton Abraham for El Saturn.