The Sun Died

The Sun Died
Studio album by Ellery Eskelin
Released	1996
Recorded	February 1996
Genre	Jazz
Label	Soul Note
Ellery Eskelin chronology
Jazz Trash (1994) The Sun Died (1996) Green Bermudas (1996)

The Sun Died is an album by the American saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, released in 1996. ^{[1] [2]} He supported it with a North American tour. ^[3]

Production

Recorded in February 1996, the album is a tribute to the American saxophonist Gene Ammons. ^{[4] [5]} Eskelin was backed by Marc Ribot on guitar and Kenny Wollesen on drums. ^{[6] [7]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[9]
MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide	[10]
The News & Observer	[11]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[4]

The New York Times said that "Eskelin neither gives Ammons pallid worship, nor does he remake him as some sort of revolutionary: he's simply working with durable blues and gospel melodies that fit his sensibility"; the paper's Ben Ratliff later listed The Sun Died as the second best jazz album of 1996. ^{[12] [13]} The Chicago Sun-Times opined that "Eskelin is equally comfortable getting down with the bruising Ammons sound and cutting oblique slices in the soul-jazz firmament." ^[14]

The Boston Globe stated that Eskelin "is currently the tenor saxophonist to be noticed on the more risk-taking end of the jazz spectrum." ^[15] DownBeat noted that Eskelin "achieves a stylistic synthesis you'd expect from Joe Lovano or David Murray". ^[16] The News & Observer concluded that Ribot "is at once primitive bluesman, a mad scientist with the electronic controls and foot pedals and a fan of staccato funk." ^[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Twistin' the Jug"
2.	"The People's Choice"
3.	"Canadian Sunset"
4.	"Out of It"
5.	"Seed Sack"
6.	"Ca' Purange (Jungle Soul)"
7.	"The Sun Died"
8.	"Jivin' Around"
9.	"Precious Memories"
10.	"The Light"

References

1. "Recommended New Jazz". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 14, 1996. p. G4.
2. Morris, Al (March 24, 1997). "Jazz series bring Helias Quartet". Daily Hampshire Gazette. p. 7.
3. Karoly, Lisa G. (May 4, 1997). "Jazz". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F6.
4. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. Penguin Books. 2008. p. 453.
5. Giddins, Gary (2004). Weather Bird: Jazz at the Dawn of Its Second Century. Oxford University Press. p. 158.
6. Dollar, Steve (September 11, 1998). "Isle of Influence". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. P6.
7. "Kenny's Kuts". Modern Drummer. Vol. 26, no. 1. January 2002. p. 84.
8. "The Sun Died Review by Chris Kelsey". AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
9. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 310.
10. MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 382.
11. Cordle, Owen (September 28, 1997). "Jazz Reviews". The News & Observer. pp. G1, G3.
12. Ratliff, Ben (August 13, 1996). "'Simple' Equaling 'Effective'". The New York Times. p. C11.
13. "A Year to Hear America Drumming". The New York Times. January 2, 1997. p. B13.
14. Sachs, Lloyd (May 13, 1997). "Eskelin gives Ammons his due". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 2.36.
15. Blumenthal, Bob (April 10, 1997). "Escalatin' with Eskelin". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 27.
16. Cordle, Owen (September 7, 1997). "A new audience — and new action". The News and Observer. DownBeat. p. 11G.