Customer Reviews

Jazz in Silhouette

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ok, I'll admit it. I haven't listened to the Evidence package of this recording. But it's exactly the same music that was originally released on Sun Ra's Saturn label in the early 60's, then re-released in the 70's on ABC/Impulse during the time that Sun Ra recorded for the label.

The album was only available through Impulse in limited release, and was very difficult to find. Interestingly, it's long been considered to be quite possibly the finest example of the early Sun Ra Arkestra.

Sun Ra was a iconoclast who seamlessly combined music of the early Swing era with more adventurous free-form approaches; his sound was as unique as his legendary personality. As a young musician growing up in the late 20's and early 30's, he was strongly influenced by the arranging styles of Fletcher Henderson and Don Redman. Throughout the 40's and early 50's, Sun Ra began to experiment with sound sources in the context of the traditional large jazz orchestra. By the late 50's, he ha! d drawn a number of devoted musicians together to form the nucleus of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Some of these musicians, such as saxophonists Marshall Allen, John Gilmore, and Pat Patrick, remained with Ra for over 30 years until his death in 1993 at the age of 80.

The recording shows the more traditional early swing band influences of the Sun Ra Arkestra as much as any recording dating from this time. The work of tenor saxophonist John Gilmore and baritone saxophonist Pat Patrick is outstanding, particularly on the luxuriant Enlightenment and Blues at Midnight. However, music such as Ancient Aiethiopia illustrates that the Arkestra was not only a superior large jazz ensemble, but a unit which was pushing the very cutting edge of jazz.

Whether you're a serious collector, historian, or just someone who wants to hear this unique voice in jazz at his best, this Sun Ra recording should be an essential part of your collection.

I am a Sun Ra rookie. I heard of him, but never heard him. So, unlike other reviewers here, this is my first Sun Ra album. And I love it. More precisely, I think that its a masterpiece. One of those albums you here and just know you discovered a wide new world. Music will never sound the same again! (*written while hearing this album again, and dicovering how great it is).

This is one of the best jazz albums from the 1950s. More like swing and bop than the free style Ra became noted for later on. The tune Images is a standout, being something like Monk's Off Minor. This is music for a future that has yet to arrive. Ancient Aethiopia will take you all the way there in time and place. Arguably, this is Sun Ra's best album ever!

Although not as futuristic and revolutionary by todays standards or by Ra's own soon-to-be even more spaced out rythms on "Heliocentric Worlds", this is still an amazingly fresh (and accessible) album. If you are ever interested of listening to Sun Ra then this is definitley the place to start. The first track, "Enlightenment", is one of my very favorite jazz songs and features an amazingly tight solo by little known trumpeter, Hobart Dobson. This albums foreshadows what Miles Davis would do with bebop and is a beautiful milestone in the progression of Jazz.

This was released on Ra's Saturn label in 1957. It's not quite as startling, colorful, or brilliant as "SuperSonic Jazz", which he released in 1956; the edges seem to have been filed down a bit on the music. But it's good stuff, listenable jazz with an exotic edge.

The one amazing track here is "Ancient Aethiopia" - it fuses eastern & western motifs together and sounds well ahead of its time.

In production and tone, Jazz in Silhouette may sound like more of a step backward after the fantastic Sound of Joy or the B side of Angels and Demons at Play, but since so much was happening at once and a great deal of this music did not get any sort of release until later, it may be difficult to talk about progression.

I am a big fan of the more 'open' and 'loose' presentation of Sound of Joy which seems to bring out more of the arkestra, while Jazz in Silhouette brings back the 'horns up in the front' mix that to my ears produces a rather bright but shallow feel. This isn't to say that Jazz in Silhouette is a bad album--far from it! This is the classic Sun Ra sound, but whether its the more traditional presentation or the mix of songs, I find this one a bit of a bore, especially when there are some really strong albums next to it (again, Sounds of Joy, Visits Planet Earth, Nubians from Plutonia). I can understand why people rave when they hear Sun Ra playing more-or-less straight jazz, but again, this is not the only Sun Ra album that does it, and others, in my opinion, do it better.

As said elsewhere, Ancient Aeitheopia is the centerpiece here and is probably worth the price of admission. Also featured is the earliest version I've yet heard of Enlightenment and another version of Saturn. Of Aeitheopia, this is definitely a forward looking track which points toward what is to come. The album concludes with the swinging Blues at Midnight that clocks in at almost 12 minutes, building to some really great moments despite taking nothing in the way of risks.

Summing things up then, Jazz in Silhouette to my ears sounds like a last gasp of the old before moving ahead. It's dissapointing, at least to me, that these recordings don't offer more, given the chronological position of the album. By no means was Ra merely playing straight ahead tunes at this point, and even then, I don't think this is the best of his 'straight' albums. Those who are filling in there Sun Ra collection or are looking exclusively for his more traditional output will enjoy this album (I do), but those who are hoping to find some of the transitional Ra as found on...well basically every other album after this, but before the full-on-weirdness of the 60's, may be dissapointed.

I just wish Silhouette could take a few more risks.

Sun Ra stood as an iconoclast within the jazz world from his first recording in 1953. Indeed, Sun Ra stood as an enigma within our world.

Inspired by what he claimed were experiences in outer space, Sun Ra's precept of jazz delved into a much more progressive and avant-garde structure, one that evolved from the be-bop stylings showcased on his first recordings.

Jazz In Silhouette, one of many long forgotten Sun Ra albums, highlights the be-bop he cherished before stepping into the fold of the avant-garde. This album is rich in composition, with extended solos throughout courtesy of Sun Ra's Arkestra. To describe the music contained within this album as majestic would be an understatement. The sheer joy of the recording is finely captured here, every note and solo encompassing Sun Ra's larger themes of space, peace, and love.

This is Sun Ra before the avant-garde. This is Sun Ra's take on be-bop. This is Sun Ra jazz.

This is perhaps the best place to start with Sun Ra - demonstrating his full roots in Ellington, Monk, and Space! But seriously - this guy is a true master - his compositions are imagineative - he is a master leader- the solos are all inspired - and everything is together. In Jazz there are 4 composers who really were ingenious - Monk, Mingus, Ellington, and Ra - there are some other great ones to - but these are the ones that really stand out to me!

This one is alot more of a straight forward type of jazz with elements of the "far out" style present. Definatly a good album. Since it is more traditional, the casual jazz fan should enjoy the flow of the album - as well as those who seek the element of experimentation. Eight strong tracks from the late 50s and early 60s.

I started listening to this CD, knowing only the guy's name and that he claimed to be from Saturn. So, when the first song started with a gong, I was nervous that my jazz listening skills would once again be challenged with some off-the-wall, "I can make stranger sounding jazz music than you can" type of recording. I was pleasantly surprised to find Sun Ra and his "Arkestra" to be amazingly approachable and authentic. Their sound is a very big band, steady swing type of sound, and while one or two tracks experiment with some chanting, odd rhythms and non-traditional instruments, most of this is straight ahead, classic-sounding jazz. I found myself humming or even "scatting" a melody or two to myself during the day, and after a steady four or five day diet of Miles Davis, I found the transition to Sun Ra unexpectedly smooth. I will be coming back to this CD often in the future.