Forty years before recording this very interesting CD, keyboardist Sun Ra made his debut on records on a duet with violinist Stuff Smith, playing a haunting version of "Deep Purple." For this CD (one of Ra's final sessions) the quartet workout with violinist Billy Bang finds Ra doing a new version of "Deep Purple" and performing a variety of tunes associated with Smith. Actually, Ra was a bit hemmed in by the concept, and his conception of time was different than Bang's, so there is a certain amount of tension in the music. Also, Billy Bang has a much rougher sound and a freer style than Stuff Smith, but the end results are well worth hearing. - Scott Yanow
Tracks
Only Time Will Tell (Stuff Smith)
Satin Doll (Duke Ellington)
Deep Purple (Peter De Rose/Mitchell Parish)
Bugle Blues (Stuff Smith)
Foggy Day In London Town (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin)
April In Paris (Vernon Duke)
Lover Man (James Davis/Roger Ramirez)
Yesterdays (Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach)
ANDREW CYRILLE drums, percussion
JOHN ORE bass
BILLY BANG violin
SUN RA piano, synthesizer
Recorded September 20 & 22, 1992 at Sear Sound Studios, New York, NY
Soul Note 121216-2 Italy