🎵 AotW AOTW: Sun Ra - Purple Night (CD-5324)

[Captain Bacardi]

Sun Ra
PURPLE NIGHT
A&M CD-5324

Released 1990

Format: CD/Cassette

Produced by John Snyder
Executive Producer: Steve Ralbovsky

Songs:

• 1. Journey Towards The Stars - 3:44
  2. Friendly Galaxy - 7:43
  3. Love In Outer Space - 7:12
  4. Stars Fell On Alabama (Mitchell Parish/Frank Perkins) - 10:27
  5. Of Invisible Them - 19:08
  6. Neverness - 13:16
  7. Purple Night Blues - 4:02
  
  All compositions composed by Sun Ra except where noted.

Musicians:
Sun Ra - Piano, Synthesizer, Voice
Don Cherry - Pocket Trumpet
June Tyson - Violin, Voice
Fred Adams - Trumpet
Michael Ray - Trumpet, Voice
Ahmed Abdullah - Trumpet
Jothan Collins - Trumpet
Al Evans - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Tyrone Hill - Trombone
Julian Priester - Trombone
Reynold Scott - Baritone Sax, Flute
James Spaulding - Alto Sax, Flute
Marshall Allen - Alto Sax, Flute, Percussion
John Gilmore - Tenor Sax, Percussion, Voice
James Jackson - Bassoon, African Drum
Earl C. "Buster" Smith - Drums
Eric "Samarai" Walker - Drums
Thomas "Bugs" Henderson - Drums
Elson Nascimento - Surdo, Percussion
Jorge Silva - Repinique, Percussion
Rollo Radford - Electric Bass
John Ore - Acoustic Bass


Recorded and mixed November 1989 at BMG Studios, New York City.
Engineered by Joe Lopes and Jay Newland.

Art Direction: Chuck Beeson with Ph.D
Design: Ph.D
Photography: Carol Friedman (cover), Teri Bloom (session)
Grooming: Quietfire


Capt. Bacardi

 

[Mr Bill]

Image FINALLY uploaded!!!

--Mr Bill
semi-annoyed at the #jumping going on of late...

 

[Captain Bacardi]

semi-annoyed at the #jumping going on of late...

Actually this was the very next number...


Capt. Bacardi

 

[LPJim]

While BLUE DELIGHT was a departure from Ra's otherworldly sounds, PURPLE NIGHT is more true to his usual form. The opening two songs emphasize his piano solo work, while the following numbers, up through "Stars ..." (a well-known standard) feature vocals.

After that the lengthy selections which follow are unstructured and feature lots of synthesizer gymnastics. "Purple Night Blues" again features Ra's solo piano.

This is an album I enjoy playing in the car, particularly when stuck in traffic.
Soothing in an odd sort of way.
JB

 

[Captain Bacardi]

This is an off-the-wall kind of album, but it's a lot of fun to listen to. There's a lot of humor going on here. Whether it's intentional or not, I don't know. But it's a very lively album. Sun Ra is actually a decent pianist, as "Journey Towards the Stars" demonstrates. I get a chuckle every time I hear "Friendly Galaxy" with the vocals. But for me, the highlight is "Stars Fell On Alabama", highlighted by Julian Priester's trombone solo. "Of Invisible Them" sounds like a free-for-all, but upon closer listening you can hear how tight the horn section is while chaos is flying around them. This would probably explain why LP Jim listens to this while stuck in traffic. This is hardly middle-of-the-road big band music, but if you like adventurous big band material, then this album is for you. 4 stars from me.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Mr Bill]

I remember seeing him on Letterman and afterwards wondered if his whole "cosmic" schtick was just that -- schtick or was it something he really believed... Personally I suspect it's a fair mix of both -- and I enjoy the music quite a bit...

--Mr Bill