Sonny Stitt - Stitt's Bits, The Bebop Recordings, 1949-1952 [2006] (3 x CDs)

SUNDAY JAZZ

SONNY STITT

Sonny Stitt - Stitt's Bits, The Bebop Recordings, 1949-1952 [2006] (3 x CDs)

The rap on Sonny Stitt is that he was little more than an imitator of Charlie Parker, without a firm identity of his own. However, from the evidence of these early Stitt recordings, gathered together into a three-CD box, the first part of the rap doesn't quite ring true, though the second remains an open question. Stitt may have shared an occasional rhetorical turn or blindingly fast run with Bird; most tellingly on "S`Wonderful", but definitely not his entire style. You can hear plenty of Lester Young influences on the tracks where he plays tenor sax, and many of the ballads preview the soulful inflections that would flourish when he joined the soul-jazz movement in the '60s. Moreover, aware of the Bird backlash, Stitt recorded the majority of these tracks on the tenor, with occasional sessions on the baritone and finally, about two-thirds of the way through the set, on alto. What we don't hear at this point in his career is a truly individual voice; at times, when he and Gene Ammons are dueling on tenors, it's difficult to tell the difference between them upon casual listening.

Not only are Stitt's own sessions included in this thorough survey, but also those where he was a co-leader with Ammons and Bud Powell, and a sometimes-non-soloing sideman for Ammons, J.J. Johnson, and the obscure Billy Eckstine-wannabe vocalist Teddy Williams. Above all, this box is a revealing look at the beginnings of the Prestige label just before Bob Weinstock learned how to exploit the potential of LP with open-ended blowing sessions. All of these tracks -- including those designated as Parts 1 and 2 -- were recorded to fit on a single side of a 10" 78 rpm record, as was still the custom of the time, and the neighborhood jukeboxes were definitely a target. Hence, we hear Stitt not just as a high-minded -- if by necessity, heavily self-edited -- bebopper, but also as a participant in de facto period pop and R&B sessions. There are even some novelty numbers that tend to be ignored by history (how about a title like "Who Threw the Sleeping Pills in Rip Van Winkle's Coffee?" with group vocals!). Even deep in the bop era, jazz musicians still made gestures toward whatever happened to be selling to the masses, voluntarily or not. Although there are no unreleased tunes or outtakes, several tracks make their first CD appearances here, and three (including the notorious "Van Winkle") are being heard for the first time since the 78 era. (AMG review by Richard S. Ginell)

Sonny Stitt may be one of the most neglected figures of the bop era, a brilliant alto saxophonist unjustly overlooked for his stylistic resemblance to Charlie Parker. 

==========================================================

ALL 

OR

ALL 

===========================================================

Track lists

CD1

01 Jay Jay Johnson's Boppers - Afternoon in Paris (Take 1) 3:08

02 Jay Jay Johnson's Boppers - Afternoon in Paris (Take 2) 3:05

03 Jay Jay Johnson's Boppers - Elora (Take 1) 3:06

04 Jay Jay Johnson's Boppers - Elora (Take 2) 3:12

05 Jay Jay Johnson's Boppers - Teapot (Take 1) 2:45

06 Jay Jay Johnson's Boppers - Teapot (Take 2) 3:06

07 Jay Jay Johnson's Boppers - Blue Mode (Take 1) 3:48

08 Jay Jay Johnson's Boppers - Blue Mode (Take 2) 2:53

09 Sonny Stitt-Bud Powell Quartet - All God's Chillun Got Rhythm 3:01

10 Sonny Stitt-Bud Powell Quartet - Sonny Side 2:23

11 Sonny Stitt-Bud Powell Quartet - Bud's Blues 2:36

12 Sonny Stitt-Bud Powell Quartet - Sunset 3:49

13 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Strike Up The Band 3:29

14 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Strike Up The Band (Alternate) 2:54

15 Sonny Stitt Quartet - I Want to Be Happy 3:14

16 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Taking A Chance on Love 2:36

17 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Fine and Dandy (Take 1) 2:45

18 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Fine and Dandy (Take 2) 2:43

19 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Avalon 2:32

20 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Later 3:03

21 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Ain't Misbehavin' 3:05

22 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Mean to Me 3:10

23 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Stairway to The Stars 3:19

24 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Bye Bye 3:04

25 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Let it Be 3:07

CD2

01 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Blues Up and Down (Take 1) 1:28

02 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Blues Up and Down (Take 2) 2:25

03 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Blues Up and Down (Take 3) 2:40

04 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - You Can Depend on Me (Take 1) 2:52

05 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - You Can Depend on Me (Take 2) 2:52

06 Teddy Williams (4); Sonny Stitt Band - Touch of The Blues 3:12

07 Teddy Williams (4); Sonny Stitt Band - Dumb Woman Blues 2:50

08 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Chabootie 3:04

09 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Who Threw The Sleeping Pills in Rip Van Winkle's Coffee? 2:35

10 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Gravy (AKA Walkin') 3:03

11 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Easy Glide 3:00

12 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Count Every Star 3:02

13 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Nice Work If You Can Get It 2:42

14 Sonny Stitt Quartet - There Will Never Be Another You 2:35

15 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Blazin' 3:26

16 Gene Ammons Band - Back in Your Own Back Yard 3:15

17 Gene Ammons Band - Sweet Jennie Lou 2:39

18 Gene Ammons Band - La Vie En Rose 3:05

19 Gene Ammons Band - Seven Eleven 2:56

20 Sonny Stitt Band - To Think Youv'e Chosen Me 3:02

21 Sonny Stitt Band - After You've Gone 2:30

22 Sonny Stitt Band - Our Very Own 3:11

23 Sonny Stitt Band - 'S Wonderful 2:29

24 Gene Ammons; Sonny Stitt Band - Stringin' The Jug 5:07

25 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Nevertheless (I'm in Love With You) 2:51

CD3

01 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Jeepers Creepers 2:58

02 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Imagination 3:27

03 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Cherokee 2:35

04 Gene Ammons Band - 'Round About One A.M. 3:05

05 Gene Ammons Band - Jug 2:52

06 Gene Ammons Band - Wow 2:56

07 Gene Ammons Band - Blue and Sentimental 3:12

08 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Liza (All The Clouds'll Roll Away) 2:50

09 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Can't We Be Friends 2:43

10 Gene Ammons Band - New Blues Up and Down 5:10

11 Gene Ammons Band - The Thrill of Your Kiss 2:45

12 Gene Ammons Band - If The Moon Turns Green 2:47

13 Sonny Stitt Quartet - P.S. I Love You 3:04

14 Sonny Stitt Quartet - This Can't Be Love 2:50

15 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Down With It 2:35

16 Sonny Stitt Quartet - For The Fat Man 2:59

17 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Splinter 2:43

18 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Confessin' 2:39

19 Gene Ammons Band - Undecided 2:42

20 Gene Ammons Band - (It Will Have to Do) Until The Real Thing Comes Along 2:42

21 Gene Ammons Band - Because of Rain 2:50

22 Gene Ammons Band - Charmaine 3:02

23 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Cool Mambo 2:42

24 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Sonny Sounds 2:31

25 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Blue Mambo 2:28

26 Sonny Stitt Quartet - Stitt's It 2:34

=============================================================

=============================================================

Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

=============================================================

=============================================================