blue hour

Blue Hour is a collaboration album by jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine and The Three Sounds recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Turrentine with Gene Harris, Andrew Simpkins and Bill Dowdy. The album was reissued in 2000 with an additional disc of unreleased recordings, as Blue Hour: The Complete Sessions (Blue Note 24586).

The blue hour is the period of twilight during dawn each morning and dusk each evening when the sun is a significant distance below the horizon and the residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue hue. This effect is caused by the relative diffusibility of short blue wavelengths of light versus the longer red wavelengths. During the blue "hour" (typically the period is about 40 minutes in length), red light passes straight into space while blue light is scattered in the atmosphere and therefore reaches the earth's surface. Because of the quality of the light, this period is treasured by artists.