About

“Drummer, composer, and bandleader Sunny Murray was born in Idabel, Okla. in 1936. After moving to New York, a brief period of involvement with bebop musicians quickly gave way to several years of playing with Cecil Taylor (CT) in trio, quartet, quintet and septet settings (1959-1965). In addition to his longstanding association with the "88 Tuned Drums" of Taylor, he has worked with some of the most important voices on the saxophone in free jazz: Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Byard Lancaster, Kenneth Terroade, Frank Lowe, and recently Sabir Mateen and Assif Tsahar. Murray's pan-rhythmic approach, effortlessly swinging in often implied or seemingly nonexistent meters, has been highly influential on generations of jazz drummers.” – All About Jazz

“Sunny Murray's Sunshine is yet another all-star blowing session from the BYG Actuel series. Like many of the others, it is loud, very intense, and clocks in at just over 30 minutes. Also, and again like the others in the series, it is an indispensable document of late-'60s Pan-African art music. This is an opportunity to hear a number of fantastic players at the peaks of their respective careers. Represented here are three different groups. Both "Flower Trane" and "Red Cross" are performed by ensembles featuring (among others) Archie Shepp, Alan Silva, Arthur Jones, Lester Bowie, and Roscoe Mitchell. "Real," on the other hand, is a piece for the trio of Murray, tenor man Kenneth Terroade, and bassist Malachi Favors. This is some heavy music and is not for the faint of heart, but fans of avant-garde jazz will find a great deal to enjoy here.” – All Music 

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