SONNY STITT
Sonny Stitt/Bud Powell/J.J. Johnson (OJC)
Reviewed by Ron Saranich

---

Over fifty years old. Music that old should not sound this exciting, contemporary, and alive. Yet it does, touching me even after repeated listening. This CD contains 17 songs, including several alternate takes, of 3 bop sessions done in 1949 and 1950. The first 9 tunes, with Sonny Stitt on tenor saxophone, Bud Powell on piano, Max Roach on drums, and Curley Russell on bass, are my personal favorites. The remaining 8 songs feature Stitt on tenor, J.J. Johnson on trombone, John Lewis on piano, Nelson Boyd on bass, and Max Roach again on drums.

Considering that 1949 was the year Stitt actually began playing tenor, giving up alto for awhile in order to distance himself from claims that he sounded too much like Charlie Parker, the man cooks. But the surprise for me is Bud Powell. I had mostly heard Powell's playing from the 1950s, when mental illness (precipitated by severe head injuries suffered during a beating from police in Philadelphia) had already ravished his piano mastery. I had no idea the man was THIS great--my speakers literally overheat whenever Stitt and Powell solo. As the CD notes so amply put it, "The sessions with Bud Powell present some of the most highly charged, dually inspirational collaborations ever recorded." Amen!

Listen to the rapid versions of "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm," "Sonny Side," or "Fine And Dandy," and find out for yourself. If ballads are your style, try "Sunset." Or lose yourself in both versions of "Teapot", where the interplay between Stitt and J.J. Johnson is exquisite. Stitt was one of Jazz's most consistent musicians and here he plays with some of the best artists at their respective instruments. The results are timeless.

© 2000 - Ron Saranich