To me, there is no better feeling in the world than being on a "hot streak". I remember, once I was at a Chumash casino in California and I won 24 hands of Blackjack in a row. I felt great, like I was invincible, I could do no wrong, I was king of the world. I imagine it was how the 1972 Miami Dolphins felt or maybe Joe Dimmagio, or perhaps Franklin Roosevelt. Maybe my accomplishment wasn't as significant, but I could relate.

In music, just like in gambling, "hot streaks" seem to come and go with little or no rhyme or reason. Sometimes it seems like even the least talented artist is capable of producing a series of recordings that achieve a consistent high quality. But when a certified master gets on a roll, it is wise we pay attention, because something special is taking place.

_______________

In 1957 milk was one dollar a gallon, postage stamps cost three cents, and "Leave It To Beaver" debuted on television. That same year, saxophonist Sonny Stitt embarked on a "hot streak". Every time he put his horn to his lips he played on a level that even his prior work, great as it was, could not compare to. But first, a quick history...

Born Edward Boatner Stitt in Boston during 1924, he started out as an alto saxophonist. Although often referred to as a disciple of Charlie Parker, Stitt emphatically denied it, and always insisted he came to his style on his own. In 1945 he got his first major break replacing Charlie Parker in the legendary big band of vocalist Billy Eckstine. "B", as Eckstine was referred to, filled his band with the top modern soloists of the day. The likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro, Dexter Gordon, and Art Blakey all passed through at one point or another.

Tired of all the accusations of being a Parker imitator, and a brief stay in prison, Stitt switched to tenor saxophone. On tenor his style was more indebted to Lester Young than Charlie Parker. While retaining the harmonic language and rhythmic nuances of bepop, his tone became warmer and rounder. Listening to his 1949 quartet session with Bud Powell, one can hear the smoothness and saxophone techniques associated with "Pres". In 1950 Stitt partnered with fellow tenor Gene Ammons on the record "Blues Up and Down". It would go on to be a big hit, and "Blues..." would be become an oft-covered song throughout his career. From this point on he seemed to choose to remain a single act, playing with local rhythm sections. There were exceptions, including a brief stay with the band of Clifford Brown and Max Roach. Then there was 1957.

___________________

During October of 1956, Stitt joined Gillespie and Stan Getz for a recording entitled "For Musicians Only". He played alto for the entire date, and he was in a mood to "cut". Always notorious as being a highly competitive player (it is often said Stitt would invite musicians up to play with him only to call off songs at a ridiculously fast tempo in a key no one but he could play), he plays at a highly inventive level. Stitt always sounded never less than great however, so it should come as no surprise. But in the spring of 1957 he entered the a studio accompanied by Bobby Timmons on piano, Edgar Willis on bass, and Kenny Dennis on drums. There he recorded "Personal Appearance".

__________________

"Personal Appearance" is comprised of Great American standards, a couple of blues, and a "Rhythm Changes" song thrown in. Alternating between alto and tenor for the entire date, Stitt plays in a manner so melodic, harmonically inventive, and technically perfect that one can understand why John Coltrane once said that Sonny Stitt played the tenor saxophone "the way it was meant to be played".

The album starts out with Sonny on alto playing "Easy To Love". His tone is rich, full, and very much in the lineage of altoist like the great Willie Smith and Charlie Parker. He favors consistent streams of eighth-notes, but often times throws in blues lines that bring everything back home. Listening to this track, it's hard to believe Stitt's claim of coming to his style independently because so many of the improvised lines he plays are taken verbatim from Charlie Parker. But that shouldn't be seen as a negative, as it is said "the good borrow, the great steal". Dennis provides a driving medium-up 4/4 swing and the whole rhythm section seems to very much find it's role, which is to support Stitt while he creates amazing solos.

Next, on the ballad "Easy Living", Stitt pulls out his tenor and now one can really see his greatness. By 1957, he had fully developed his own tenor style. While on alto you still heard the Charlie Parker lines and harmony, on tenor you just heard Stitt. His four bar intro to the song demonstrates this. Although still based harmonically in bepop, gone is the harsher tone and angular phrasing of his alto playing. The lines flow like wine and his sound seems to fill up the entire room. He takes many liberties with the melody, as was usually the case, but this doesn't hinder him. He uses alternate fingerings for notes to provide rhytmic thrust, and staccato phrasing to add variety. At the end of the song, the short cadenza he plays makes it clear why he was so beloved by musicians. While most found it necessary to "stretch" the harmony "out-side" the chord changes in order to be creative, Stitt could play note after note of nothing other than the given harmony yet make it sound like nothing you have ever heard before.

On the fourth track, the standard "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", Stitt phrases the medium-tempo melody in style reminiscent of Gene Ammons. Playing tenor on this track, the middle register of his horn is warm and thick, and he seems to prefer to "sub-tone" (a technique in which the player alters the tone of his bottom notes by using a soft, breath attack) his low notes. From there he embarks on highly melodic solo. Stitt was often derided as only "playing the changes", but it should be noted how melodic he remains even while playing long passages of convoluted notes. Everybody gets a chance to shine on this one, with Timmons (pre-Blakey) showing his Bud Powell side, and Willis acquitting himself nicely on the bass. After everyone has their solos, Stitt returns for the melody statement. Yet even in the melody statement he takes so much liberty with the song that it could be another solo statement. Whatever you think it is, it is swinging.

The two "blues" on the album, "For Some Friends" and "Blues Greasy", are examples of the mastery with which Stitt played the blues. Splitting time between alto and tenor on both, Sonny plays phrases in which one can hear his direct influence on Coltrane. When most players would stick to either playing blues phrases mixed with simple bebop lines or just blues cliches entirely, Stitt uses highly involved harmonic movement in his solos. In the first two bars of the form alone, in which it is traditionaly played either I-IV (tonic of the key to the 4 dominant) or I-II/V (tonic to the 2 minor to the 5 dominant), he often plays ideas that veer from the tonic chord in the first two beats, only to resolve AND THEN play a "leading tone" into the II chord, in which he'll then play the sub-dominant of the II chord and then resolve back, then the V, and then back to the tonic at the third bar. If all this sounds complicated, imagine the master it must take for a player to make it sound so spontaneous, as Sonny Stitt Does. Let it be said that he also digs deep into his most soulful "bag" of blues lines and never lets his mastery of harmony interfere with his blues feeling.

While the entire album swings (especially his versions of "Between the Devil and Deep Blue Sea" and "Avalon"), one must take special note of his original "rhythm changes" tune entitled "Original?". This song, based on "I Got Rhythm" in "Bb", is taken at an up-tempo that Stitt seemed to prefer. Bar after bar of melody flow from his horn, and though many of his phrases will be familiar to followers of his playing, one can't help but get caught up in his command and invention. He uses the complete range of his horn and the effect is something of like being in a life raft at times. You move up and down with him constantly and at times, if you are not ready, it can be surprising to say the least. And though he is still clearly a bepopper, one can't help to realize that this is no Parker clone. He is his own man through and through.

_________________

The song "Original?" clearly fore-tells the playing Stitt would employ on the classic Dizzy Gillespie sessions "Sonny Side Up" and "Duets". Both recorded in 1957, Stitt continues the amazing playing heard on this record. On their renditions of "On the Sunny Side of the Street", "Eternal Triangle", and "Con Alma", he plays with such a command of the horn and mastery of harmony that his playing sticks out, even when paired with tenor giant Sonny Rollins (It's interesting to note the difference between the two. Rollins plays with much more rhythmic variety, but his harmonic choices, while highly creative, often veer "outside" the given harmony. This is where Stitt's greatness lied. His mastery was the COMPLETE knowledge and execution of the given harmony. He never had to stray outside of it in order to be creative.)

These three albums, "Personal Appearance", "Sonny Side Up", and "Duets", constitute one of the greatest series of albums ever recorded by one artist. All have been highly influential (no less of a tenor giant than Joe Lovano transcribed all of Stitt's playing on "Appearance") recordings. But while "Sonny Side Up" and "Duets" have achieved more acclaim, mainly due to the two-tenor nature of them, "Personal Appearance" is the equal of both in terms of pure quality.

This streak would eventually end, as all must. Sonny Stitt would go on to record other great albums, most notably with Gene Ammons on their "Straigh Ahead From Chicago 1961" and Oscar Peterson on "Stitt Sits In". He would go on to spend time in Miles Davis' group and as a star soloist. As late as 1981 he was recording wonderful music. Although gone was the virtuostic technique of his earlier days, he still retained the harmonic and melodic creativity.

Sonny Stitt died of a heart attack in 1982. It is only after his death that the record companies decide it is a good idea to re-issue his body of work. For quite a while most people knew of Stitt's playing only through his side-man appearances with the likes of Gillespie and his two-tenor "battles" with Gene Ammons. And though all of those contain wonderful playing, "Personal Appearance" will cast his artistry in a whole new light.

Recommended: Yes