Sonny Stitt – Blows The Blues (1960/2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Sonny Stitt – Blows The Blues (1960/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 36:48 minutes | 1,52 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve Reissues

This album came out of a series of three recording sessions by Sonny Stitt toward the end of 1959, and sees the jazz saxophonist delve into the world of blues.The album blends powerful original songs written by Stitt with a couple of standards that get new life breathed into them. Stitt plays alto sax exclusively on this release, which led to unfair comparisons at the time to Charlie Parker. This album has been out-of-print and almost impossible to find for many years, until now.

Sonny Stitt led a number of excellent record dates in 1959, especially at the end of the year when he produced three LPs for Verve over a span of three sessions with pianist Lou Levy, bassist Leroy Vinnegar, and drummer Mel Lewis. Playing alto sax throughout this album, Stitt hardly sounds like a Charlie Parker clone, something that unfortunately was a frequent claim by tin-eared critics throughout a fair portion of his career. The music includes several potent originals, especially “Hymnal Blues” (which is based on an old hymn) and the slow, powerful “Morning After Blues.” Even an old warhorse like “Frankie and Johnnie” (which actually dates back to the early 1800s, according to liner note writer Leonard Feather) sounds fresh in the quartet’s hands, with great solos by Stitt, Levy, and Vinnegar.

Tracklist:
1-01. Sonny Stitt – Blue Devil Blues (04:28)
1-02. Sonny Stitt – Home Free Blues (04:23)
1-03. Sonny Stitt – Blue Prelude (03:07)
1-04. Sonny Stitt – Frankie And Johnny (05:31)
1-05. Sonny Stitt – Birth Of The Blues (05:57)
1-06. Sonny Stitt – Blues Offering (04:06)
1-07. Sonny Stitt – Hymnal Blues (06:10)
1-08. Sonny Stitt – Morning After Blues (03:04)

Personnel:
Sonny Stitt – alto saxophone
Lou Levy – piano
Leroy Vinnegar – bass
Mel Lewis – drums

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