Sun Ra

Jazz in Silhouette is the third studio album by the pianist and composer Sun Ra. Critics have described the album as one of Ra's best from his early career. An overlooked masterpiece around which many of jazz's major developments have orbited. Sun Ra and his Arkestra established themselves as formidable traders of a new strain or sub-genre of jazz. Having evolved from elaborate reworkings of familiar standards, Jazz in Silhouette presents a collection of originals, building upon Ra's abilities as a consummate multi-tasker - writing, arranging, scoring parts for his band, in addition to performing.

The result is a captivating set of music that not only firmly establishes Ra in the jazz tradition, but puts him on its leading edge, pointing the direction forward. Indeed, this album is also a prime example of Ra and company in a transitional phase, prior to their developed explorations into the avant-garde.