Recently I have been bitten by the Sonny Stitt Bug a la www.pandora.com. While they play his music they do not play enough for me to make informed purchases. I am therefore asking tha AK community to kindly make some recommendations. Thank you.

Stitt was incredibly prolific, leading one commentator to say that he "recorded too much".

I personally don't see how this is possible, but I suppose the argument could be made to focus more on universally solid recordings.

I'm not very familiar with Stitt's catalog, but a lot of people agree that a great place to start is with "Endgame Brilliance", a CD that is now out of print, released on 32 Jazz. This CD includes both "Tune Up" and "Constellation", two of Sonny's most highly regarded sessions.

This is a hard CD to find for a decent price. If you are in a big city, keep checking the used bins.

If you want to learn more, check out All Music Guide. I sometimes disagree with their ratings, but I have learned a lot from this site:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=SONNY|STITT&sql=11:z7ivad1kv8w8~T2

(Sorry I added this link in an "edit" don't know how to make it "clickable")

A couple of very good albums to try....

Sonny Stitt Quartet - New York Jazz (1956)
Sonny Stitt Quartet - Personal Appearance (1957)

Nobody else has anything to offer. Man, I'm disappointed.

I did have a copy of Sonny Stitt / Verve Jazz Masters 50 on CD

Think it was recorded late 50's, great music..I was listening to a lot of Stan Getz at the time, in the ninety's that is, in around Hastings on Hudson, NY - Stan had a place during his career around that area where they would gig n party, I was told.

Nobody else has anything to offer. Man, I'm disappointed.

Okay, okay, how about this one:
Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt: Boss Tenors: Straight Ahead from Chicago 1961

AMG: (5 stars) "This encounter between tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt (who doubles on tenor and alto) is a true classic. Ammons and Stitt teamed together many times over a three-decade period, including co-leading a band during 1950-1952, but Boss Tenors is arguably their finest recording. Backed by pianist John Houston, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer George Brown, Ammons and Stitt battle it out on "There Is No Greater Love," Ammons' "The One Before This," "Autumn Leaves," "Blues Up and Down," and Stitt's "Counter Clockwise." This is competitive bebop at its best, with Stitt and Ammons proving to be equal matches. Essential music for all jazz collections."

Riverrat,

I appreciate the input. I wish we had more "personal experience'. I think Reggeanaut was looking for such. Stitt had such a great career. Anyway, at this point, I hope he's satisfied with these replies.

I could use some rec's for his work. I thought I had some of his stuff but I don't.Must be as a sideman on someone elses LP....

Riverrat, I appreciate the input. I wish we had more "personal experience'. I think Reggeanaut was looking for such. Stitt had such a great career. Anyway, at this point, I hope he's satisfied with these replies.


I probably should have added that I personally agree with the assessment that "Constellation" and "Tune-up" are among Stitt's finest efforts. After seeing this post, I went looking for that to see if had become more available- 32 Jazz has been defunct for awhile now and "Endgame Brilliance" the twofer that includes both of these sessions is still hard to find.

I did find one copy for a decent price, trying to complete the deal on it. If anyone here is interested I can pass it on at my cost. Otherwise I will probably try to flip it to support my music "habit".

And Boss Tenors is a monster too.

AMG's reviews can be variable, but I have found that Scott Yanow's reviews generally square with my own. I find him pretty reliable, if he says a session is good I will probably like it was well.

OTOH, Thom Jurek writes some of the most impenetrable, opaque reviews I've ever seen. 5 paragraphs later I still don't have much of a clue what the music is going to sound like!

The 10" Prestige release Sonny Stitt and Bud Powell is good. Max Roach plays drums and Curley Russell on Bass. I wish that I had more of his work as well.

I have been out and just had chance to view most of the additional posts. Thanks everyone for their input. Riverrat I will pm you.

I wish we had more "personal experience'. I think Reggeanaut was looking for such. Stitt had such a great career.
Guilty as charged. I have one or two in flac on my hard drive upstairs, one cd somewhere, and a 3 or 4 cd set that I bought at Tower's closing sale I cannot find in the Tower bags and I do not remember any titles. :sigh:
OTOH, I found a Gerry Mulligan 4 cd set in a Tower bag I do not remember buying. Looks pretty good too. :)


Carl

32 Jazz. Budget Label, that has turned out to have many collectible CD's. I had the Sonny Stitt CD Mentioned new. I took it back. Just wasn't my cup of tea. The Label had many excellent releases, that I should have bought more of when available.

For a nearly complete selection of Stitt's early stuff from '46-'52, try Sax O' Bebop, a four disc set from Proper Records that's probably still available from amazon.com or caiman.com for under $25.
Proper's sets of Ellington, Lester Young, and Johnny Hodges are also outstanding.
My absolute favorite Sonny Stitt CD is The Last Sessions Volume I&II which is most likely out of print. It combines his last two LPs and features George Duvivier on bass, Jimmy Cobb on drums, plus Junior Mance and Walter Davis on piano.