For about 15 years Sonny was my focus on Sax. At 15-16 years old I transcribed Stitt solos.Im thankful to have hung out with and been given many Invaluable gems by one of Bops masters.
It's a shame that so far comparatively little of Stitt has emerged on video. He was at once the most prolific and perfect player I've ever encountered, recording close to 150 LPs under his own name and traveling thoughout the world, or wherever a jazz club could be found. He knew every Songbook standard and jazz standard written (except, as Miles discovered to his dismay and livid irritation, modal tunes, like those on "Kind of Blue"). The dispute came to light after Miles used Stitt as a replacement on European tour following the departure of Coltrane. This is a rare occasion on which Stitt gets a trifle hung up during his solo--I can hear him trying to avoid the tonic note (for which he had a magnetic attraction) and, as a result, interrupting the melodic flow.
caponsacchi nice review BUT historically inaccurate. Departure isnt the correct word. Coltrane "left" Miles' group in 1960 shortly after Giant Steps. Coltrane was very much alive that year and he actually played two European tours with Miles that year. Stitt did one tour the same year. Also, Kind Of Blue was released in 1959 less than one year before the tour. Kind Of Blue isnt a song its an album. The songs on that album were absolutely not standards by 1960. The absolutely only person playing them, just a few months after the release, was Miles Davis and even he stopped playing them. Extremely simple tunes. Stitt got a chart just like Coltrane got on recording day. Probably mean that Miles didnt like Stitt's approach on modal playing. That would be accurate
Lest we forget - great Earl May is on the (electric) bass.He was an outstanding bassist who worked with many jazz giants. Sonny and Diz are sailing on "Whispering" changes.
Some weird stuff going on here. The head is playing in the key of E flat. But then Sonny takes a solo D flat. Dizzy cuts off Sonny’s solo and comes in at the wrong time and abruptly switches back to E flat. Was it Sonny’s fault for slipping into Db flat? I don’t think so, because the coda modulate to D flat. Sonny’s ears are so exquisitely attuned that he couldn’t help but follow the modulation. It seems to me like some kind of miscommunication - if it was deliberate, it would be highly unusual, but you never know. Anyway, they both play beautifully.
It hurts to see Sonny struggling like this, and not remotely at his best. He faced some self-imposed challenges in those days. It is not fair to judge him based on this appearance, which should have remained unreleased.
No Stitt around as he wasn't liked that much. Seems he spent a lot of his spare time blowing people away. Song book or no song book , muso's dont forget.
