Sonny Stitt

Sonny Stitt & Don Patterson - Legends Of Acid Jazz Vol 2 (1968) {Prestige 00025218521024 rel 2006}
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© 1968, 2006 Prestige Records / Fantasy / Universal | 00025218521024
Jazz / Bop / Soul Jazz / Organ / Saxophone

Two-fer CD reissue combines two 1968 sessions, both featuring Stitt and Patterson, that were recorded on consecutive days (September 23-24, 1968), although one was issued under Patterson's name and the other under Stitt's. The first six songs were issued as the Patterson LP Funk You!, on which Patterson leads a date that also has Sonny Stitt and Charles McPherson on saxes and Pat Martino on guitar. The other players get about as much space as Patterson, and as 1960s jazz with organ goes, this is pretty straight-ahead and boppish, rather than soul-jazz (as so much organ jazz from that decade was).

The focus of this exciting, if imperfect, CD is a 1973 reunion of Gene "Jug" Ammons and Sonny Stitt, who were responsible for some of the most famous tenor saxophone battles of the 1940s and early '50s. When the two locked horns, it was musical sportsmanship at its finest. Jug and Stitt had a mutual respect for one another, and their battles were the essence of friendly competition. Some die-hard beboppers might be disappointed to learn that God Bless Jug and Sonny (which was recorded live in Baltimore in 1973 but went unreleased until 2001) isn't all that competitive - the saxmen don't try to relive their legendary cutting contests of the 1940s and early '50s…

The focus of this exciting, if imperfect, CD is a 1973 reunion of Gene "Jug" Ammons and Sonny Stitt, who were responsible for some of the most famous tenor saxophone battles of the 1940s and early '50s. When the two locked horns, it was musical sportsmanship at its finest. Jug and Stitt had a mutual respect for one another, and their battles were the essence of friendly competition.

Among the many tributes paid to Bird’s memory was a tour by a sextet including musicians closely related to Parker. The leaders were Sonny Stitt, a saxophonist of enormous talent and brilliant technique, and trombonist J.J. Johnson, one of the fathers of bebop. Apart from their associations with Parker, all of the musicians on this sextet were well known stars in their own right, and it is refreshing to see more footage of rarely filmed jazzmen like Johnson, Stitt and Howard McGhee.

Sonny Stitt, Bud Powell, J.J. Johnson - Sonny Stitt, Bud Powell, J.J. Johnson (1950) {Prestige Japan Mini LP VICJ-4175 rel 2006}
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© 1950, 2006 Prestige / Victor Japan | VICJ-41757 | MONO | 20bit K2 Remaster
Jazz / Bop / Saxophone

Sonny Stitt (2006 Japanese exclusive limited edition 17-track 'K2 High Definition Coding' CD album, originally released in 1956, also featuring Bud Powell & J.J. Johnson with THREE BONUS TRACKS, presented in mini LP-style cardsleeve reproducing the original album artwork with 'Jazz' obi-strip.) Three classic Sonny Stitt sessions from 1949-50 are heard here in full. Stitt, who had been out of action due to his "personal problems," not only made a full-fledged comeback on these dates but debuted on (and stuck exclusively to) tenor rather than playing alto, where he was being assailed as a Charlie Parker imitator.

Sonny Stitt - Sonny Stitt & The Top Brass (1962) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27059}
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© 1962, 2012 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27059
Jazz / Bop / Alto Saxophone

This LP features altoist Sonny Stitt accompanied by a nonet playing arrangements by either Tadd Dameron or Jimmy Mundy. The charts give this Stitt album more variety than usual, and the superior material (which includes "On a Misty Night," "Poinciana" and Stitt's "Hey Pam") challenges the saxophonist to play at his best; trumpeter Blue Mitchell also has a couple of spots.