Jazz in Silhouette

Recorded in 1959 at El Saturn Studio, Chicago, the album is one of three records that the Arkestra released in the 1950s, the other two being Jazz by Sun Ra and Super-Sonic Jazz. Originally released in a simple silk-screened cover credited to HP Corbissero, the album had gained its sci-fi cover, 'of half-naked women teleporting themselves over one of the moons of Saturn', credited to 'Evans' by the early 1960s. The album's songs were featured in live performances by Sun Ra, and Enlightenment, in particular, was to become a staple of the Arkestra's concerts and often featured chanted vocals.

The album was reissued by Impulse in 1974, and released on CD by Evidence in 1992. When reissued by Impulse! on LP and Evidence on CD, the album's sides were reversed.

{{Music ratings

|rev1 = All About Jazz

|rev1score = (very favorable)[http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=11081 All About Jazz review]

|rev2 = AllMusic

|rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r148337|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]

| rev3 = DownBeat

| rev3score = {{rating|2.5|5}}{{Cite magazine |last=DeMichael |first=Don |date=April 14, 1960 |title=Sun Ra: Jazz in Silhouette |magazine=DownBeat |volume=27|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/DownBeat/IDX/60s/Down-Beat-1960-04-14-27-8-IDX-35.pdf|issue=8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522233446/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/DownBeat/IDX/60s/Down-Beat-1960-04-14-27-8-IDX-35.pdf|archive-date=May 22, 2024|url-status=live|location=Chicago|publisher=Maher Publications|page=34}}

|rev4 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

|rev4Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}

|rev5 = Tom Hull

|rev5Score = A{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=n.d.|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/jnotes/ej1950s.php|title=Essential Jazz Albums of the 1950s|website=tomhull.com|access-date=March 12, 2020}}

|rev6 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz

|rev6Score = 👑{{rating|4|4}}{{cite web |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz: 4-Star Records in 8th Edition |url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/notes/pjazz-crown.php|publisher=Tom Hull |access-date=9 July 2020}}

|rev7 = Rolling Stone

|rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20071118200714/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/203757/review/5945412/jazzinsilhouette Rolling Stone review]

}}

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection" and awarded it a "crown" accolade, stating "This marvellous record will one day be recognised as one of the most important jazz records since the war."{{cite book|last = Cook|first = Richard|author-link = Richard Cook (journalist)|author2 = Brian Morton|author-link2 = Brian Morton (Scottish writer)|title = The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings|orig-year = 1992|edition = 8th.|series = The Penguin Guide to Jazz|year = 2006|publisher = Penguin|location = New York|isbn = 0-14-102327-9|page = [https://archive.org/details/penguinguidetoja00cook_1/page/1245 1245]|chapter = Sun Ra|chapter-url-access = registration|chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/penguinguidetoja00cook_1/page/1245}}

{{cquote|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...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...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.
{{emdash}}Mathew Wuethrich[http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=11081 All about Jazz]}}

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Sun Ra except where noted

| headline = Side One

| title1 = Enlightenment

| length1 = 5:02

| writer1 = Ra / Hobart Dotson

| title2 = Saturn

| length2 = 3:37

| title3 = Velvet

| length3 = 3:19

| title4 = Ancient Aiethopia

| length4 = 9:08

| total_length = 21:06

}}{{Track listing

| headline = Side Two

| title5 = Hours After

| length5 = 3:04

| writer5 = Ra / Everett Turner

| title6 = Horoscope

| length6 = 3:45

| title7 = Images

| length7 = 3:50

| title8 = Blues At Midnight

| length8 = 11:37

| total_length = 22:16

}}

1. "Enlightenment" (Hobart Dotson, Ra) – (5:02)
2. "Saturn" – (3:37)
3. "Velvet" – (3:18)
4. "Ancient Aiethopia" – (9:04)
5. "Hours After" (Ra, Everett Turner) – (3:41)
6. "Horoscope" – (3:43)
7. "Images" – (3:48)
8. "Blues at Midnight" – (11:56)

For some years the record was believed to have been recorded in 1958, until the musicologist and discographer Robert Campbell uncovered the original tape box, clearly dated March 6, 1959. The album's release was mentioned a few months later in the Chicago Defender of June 9 (Sun Ra Discs Hit Album!).

• Sun Ra - Piano, celeste, gong
• Hobart Dotson - Trumpet
• Pat Patrick - Baritone sax, flute, percussion
• Charles Davis - Baritone sax, percussion
• John Gilmore - Tenor sax, percussion
• William Cochran - Drums
• Marshall Allen - Alto sax, flute
• James Spaulding - Alto sax, flute, percussion
• Ronnie Boykins - Bass
• Bo Bailey - Trombone

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.the-temple.net/sunradisco/ Complete Sun Ra's Discography]

{{Sun Ra}}

{{Julian Priester}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:Sun Ra albums

Category:1959 albums

Category:El Saturn Records albums

Category:Impulse! Records albums

Category:Evidence Music albums