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Purple Night

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Purple Night
Studio album by
Released1990
RecordedNovember 1989
GenreFree jazz
Length66:02
LabelA&M
ProducerJohn Snyder
Sun Ra chronology
Blue Delight
(1989)
Purple Night
(1990)
Mayan Temples
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Select[2]

Purple Night is a studio album by free jazz pioneer Sun Ra. It was released in 1990 on A&M Records.

Background

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The album was the second in a short-term recording deal with A&M Records, as part of their "Modern Masters Jazz Series" imprint. Sun Ra's profile had risen considerably in the preceding years, partially because of the support given to him in interviews by avant-garde alternative rock band Sonic Youth, who had named him as an influence and played shows with Ra and his Arkestra.[citation needed]

The album was recorded in a single session at BMG Studios in New York City, using a 22-piece group that included several Arkestra members or veterans, including three drummers and two bass players (one on upright bass and another on electric bass), plus fellow free jazz musician Don Cherry, who played the pocket trumpet.[citation needed]

Seven tracks were used for the album, and the remainder of the master multi-track tapes were given to Sun Ra and his manager Alton Abraham for future release on their own after the A&M deal concluded. Many of these recordings were released three years later by Rounder Records on the album Somewhere Else, released shortly before Sun Ra's death. Purple Night is out of print physically, although the album is available via digital outlets. The copyright on the original album passed on to Sun Ra's estate's holding company, Sun Ra LLC, in 2016.[citation needed]

Track listing

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  1. "Journey Towards Stars" – 3:44
  2. "Friendly Galaxy" – 7:43
  3. "Love in Outer Space" – 7:12
  4. "Stars Fell On Alabama" – 10:27
  5. "Of Invisible Them" – 19:08
  6. "Neverness" – 13:16
  7. "Purple Night Blues" – 4:02
All compositions composed by Sun Ra and published by Enterplanetary Koncepts (BMI), except "Stars Fell On Alabama" written by Mitchell Parrish and Frank Perkins and published by Mills Music Inc./Everbright Music Co. (ASCAP). All arrangements by Sun Ra.

Musicians

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Production personnel

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  • John Snyder - producer
  • Steve Ralbovsky - executive producer

References

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  1. ^ Yanow, Scott. Purple Night at AllMusic
  2. ^ Brown, Russell (October 1990). "Sun Ra & The Arkestra: Purple Night". Select. No. 4. p. 117.