Skip to product information
1 of 1

Encore Records Ltd

2LP - Sun Ra - Jazz in Silhouette

2LP - Sun Ra - Jazz in Silhouette

Regular price $34.99 CAD
Regular price Sale price $34.99 CAD
Sale Sold out
2 LP - Import

"In tomorrow's world, men will not need artificial instruments such as jets and space ships. In the world of tomorrow, the new man will 'think' the place he wants to go, then his mind will take him there."
— Sun Ra, Jazz in Silhouette album notes (1959)

Jazz in Silhouette is the quintessential record of Sun Ra's Chicago period during the late 1950s. Recorded in 1958 and issued in 1959, the album—Ra's third—offers a coda for the bandleader's bebop/hard-bop periods, as his interstellar traveler persona began to vividly evolve at the close of the decade. Sunny's compositions here reflect his talent for writing memorable works in the jazz idiom, even as arrangements like "Ancient Aiethopia" point to new directions in amalgamated primitive-futurism. After Ra moved to New York in 1961, he began to explore musical terrain away from jazz conventions. Yet Jazz in Silhouette is resplendent with adventure.

Many of these early works, including "Images," "Enlightment," and "Saturn," would remain staples in Arkestra set lists for the rest of Sunny's life. These recordings showcase the brilliant tenor sax stylings of John Gilmore and introduce the iconic playing of Marshall Allen and Pat Patrick; all three would remain with Ra for decades (as would bassist Ronnie Boykins). On the extended “Blues At Midnight,” each horn soloist stretches out as in a live club performance. Here, Sun Ra and the band radiate the period's Chicago jazz sound, with lilting melodies, intertwining chords, and surprising dynamic shifts.

This expanded edition features additional material from the 1958 sessions, along with non-album bonus tracks from the period, some never-before issued, as well as rare stereo mixes. 

This deluxe package also features the original space nymph cover art, which only appeared in cropped and washed-out reproductions on Saturn releases. John Corbett found and preserved the original painting by an artist identified only as "Evans." The colors are more vibrant, and the expanded edition gatefold LP presents previously omitted artwork at the periphery of the untitled painting.

Finally, all formats of this expanded edition restore the track sequence of the earliest Saturn versions of Jazz in Silhouette; every subsequent reissue has reversed the original sides A and B.

View full details