Persian Surgery Dervishes

Persian Surgery Dervishes is a recording of two live solo electric organ concerts, the first held in Los Angeles on 18 April 1971 and the second in Paris on 24 May 1972, by the avant-garde minimalist composer Terry Riley, following his A Rainbow in Curved Air and In C. The two very different performances of the same composition are meant to show the importance of improvisation in Riley's music. Riley plays a modified Yamaha electric organ tuned in just intonation.

The original double-record version was released by the French label Shandar. It was republished, first by Mantra Records, then by Dunya Records. There existed also a single-record version, also on Shandar, containing just the Paris concert, which had been sponsored by the label itself.

Parts of this album served as soundtrack for a French film released in 1973, La chute d'un corps, directed by the French columnist Michel Polac.