Sun Ra And His Arkestra – Jazz In Silhouette

Recorded in 1958, Jazz in Silhouette stands as an overlooked masterpiece, a work that shows Ra not as a mere curiosity or backwater galaxy, but as a major creative force in the jazz universe, a center of gravity around which many of jazz’s major developments have orbited.

This album simply inspires, no matter what perspective you adopt: rhythm, melody, ensemble or mood. You can listen to John Gilmore sculpt his solo on “Saturn” with sensitivity and flair, or Hobart Dotson extemporize with grace and wit on the two-beat gospel number “Hours After”. Or you could listen to how Ra integrates all of his marvelous sidemen with the intent of creating a bold yet highly disciplined group sound.

Ra ingeniously weaves together the nostalgic, almost sentimental themes and counter-themes that make up Hobart Dotson’s “Enlightenment”, and in doing so he transforms the material from the everyday to something transcendent. On “Saturn” he subtly blends the abstract melody and rapid propulsion of bebop with more conventional big band themes without sacrificing the essential character of either. The tune swings hard and the soloists still create challenging lines.

Jazz in Silhouette shows Ra doing what he did like few others: looking at the past, present and future simultaneously while maintaining a unified musical direction.

Ra’s Arkestra swings intricate big band charts worthy of Ellington, never forgetting their blues roots. They precisely play angular bop melodies in an orchestra setting. They explore the wide-open modal frontier that was opening up and also foreshadow the prominent role percussion would play in the coming years.

Combine these elements with bold solos that gleam with warmth and precision, splashes of Afro-Cuban rhythms and Ra’s imaginative writing- what results is a captivating set of music that not only firmly establishes Ra in the jazz tradition, but actually puts him on its leading edge, pointing the direction forward.

2 x Vinyl, LP, Deluxe Edition, Reissue

Jazz In Silhouette
A1 Hours After (Stereo)
A2 Horoscope
A3 Images
A4 Blues At Midnight
B1 Enlightment (Stereo)
B2 Saturn
B3 Velvet (Stereo)
B4 Ancient Aiethopia (Stereo)
Sound Sun Pleasure (Full Stereo)
C1 'Round Midnight
C2 You Never Told Me That You Care
C3 Hour Of Parting
C4 Back In Your Own Back Yard
C5 I Could Have Danced All Night
Bonus Tracks
D1 State Street (Alternate, Previously Unreleased)
D2 Blues From Saturn (Previously Unreleased)
D3 Hours After (Single Version)
D4 Great Balls Of Fire (Single)
D5 Horoscope (Stereo, Incomplete, Previously Unreleased)