Sonny Stitt, a quintessential bop saxophonist.

Edward (Sonny) Stitt (February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist. He was a quintessential saxophonist of the bebop idiom. He was also one of the most prolific saxophonists, recording over 100 records in his lifetime. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern , due to his assiduous, relentless touring and his devotion to jazz. Photograph of Sonny Stitt, jazz saxophonist, taken by Don Bronstein FAIR USE FOR Sonny Stitt 1. ... Photograph of Sonny Stitt, jazz saxophonist, taken by Don Bronstein FAIR USE FOR Sonny Stitt 1. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 22 July is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jazz master Louis Armstrong remains one of the most loved and best known of all jazz musicians. ... A saxophonist is a musician who plays the saxophone. ... Bebop or bop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... A critic (from Greek κριτικός, kritikós - one who discerns, from Ancient Greek κριτής, krités, a judge) is a person who offers judgement or analysis, value judgement, interpretation, or observation. ...

Life and works

Sonny was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. His earliest recordings were from 1945, with Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. He had also experienced playing in some swing bands, though he mainly played in bop bands. Stitt featured in Tiny Bradshaw's big band in the early forties. Boston is a town and small port c. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 44th 10,555 mi²; 27,360 km² 183 mi; 295 km 113 mi; 182 km 13. ... Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Official language(s) English de-facto Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 11th 96,889 mi² / 250,941 km² 239 miles / 385 km 491 miles / 790 km 41. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Stanley Getz, better known as Stan Getz (February 2, 1927 - June 6, 1991) was an American jazz musician. ... Dizzy Gillespie photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1955 John Birks Dizzy Gillespie (October 21, 1917 - January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. ... The term Swing has several meanings: Swing (dance), a kind of dance, including West Coast Swing and East Coast Swing. ... BOP is a TLA that could mean: Balance of payments Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts [1] Bay of Plenty (BoP) Board of Pharmacy Boletín Oficial de la Provincia Border Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting mark BOP) Brussels OnderwijsPunt [2] Bureau of Prisons [3] – a division of the United States... Myron (Tiny) Bradshaw (1905 – 1958) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, pianist, and drummer from Youngstown, Ohio. ...

Sonny played alto saxophone in Billy Eckstine's big band alongside future bop pioneers Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons from 1945 until 1949, when he started to play tenor saxophone more frequently. Later on, he notably played with Gene Ammons and Bud Powell. Billy Eckstine (8 July 1914 – 8 March 1993), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as William Clarence Eckstein. ... A big band is a large musical ensemble that plays jazz music. ... Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 - April 25, 1990) was an American tenor saxophone musician. ... Eugene Jug Ammons (April 14, 1925 - August 6, 1974) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. ... Eugene Jug Ammons (April 14, 1925 - August 6, 1974) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. ... Earl Rudolph Bud Powell (September 27, 1924 - July 31, 1966) is widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted and influential pianists in the history of jazz. ...

Stitt, when playing tenor saxophone, seemed to break free from some of the criticism that he was apeing jazz genius Charlie Parker's style. When alto saxophonist Gene Quill was criticised for playing too similar to Parker once by a jazz writer he retorted, "You try imitating Charlie Parker!" Indeed, Sonny began to develop a far more distinctive sound on tenor. He played with other bop jazz musicians Bud Powell and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, a fellow tenor with a distinctly tough tone in comparison to Sonny, in the 1950s and recorded several albums for the burgeoning Prestige Records label as well as for Argo, Verve and Roost. Stitt's playing is said to be at its zenith on these now rare records. Sonny experimented with Afro-Cuban jazz in the late 1950s, and the results can be heard on his recordings for Roost and Verve, on which he teamed up with Thad Jones and Chick Corea for Latin versions of such standards as "Autumn Leaves." Charlie Parker Charles Christopher Bird Parker, Jr. ... Earl Rudolph Bud Powell (September 27, 1924 - July 31, 1966) is widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted and influential pianists in the history of jazz. ... Edward Davis (March 2, 1922 - November 3, 1986), who performed and recorded as Eddie Lockjaw Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ... Prestige Records was a record label founded by Bob Weinstock in 1949, initially as New Jazz. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... Afro-Cuban jazz is a variety of Latin jazz. ... Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 - August 21, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter. ... Chick Corea on the cover of sheet music book Chick Corea Collection Armando Anthony Chick Corea (born June 12, 1941) is an American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer who is arguably best known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion, although his contributions to straight... Autumn Leaves is a much-recorded song that has become a popular standard. ...

Stitt joined with Miles Davis briefly in 1960, and his sole performance with the 1960 quintet is on the record Live at Stockholm, which featured Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb and Paul Chambers. However, Miles fired Sonny because of the bad drinking habit he had developed, and replaced him with fellow tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley. Stitt, later in the 1960s, paid homage to one of his influences, Charlie Parker, on the seminal cut "Stitt Plays Bird", which features Jim Hall on guitar. He recorded a number of memorable records with his friend and fellow saxophonist Gene Ammons. The records recorded by these two saxophonists are regarded by many as some of both Ammons and Stitt's best work, thus the Ammons/Stitt partnership went down in posterity of the best duelling partnerships in jazz, alongside Zoot Sims & Al Cohn, and Johnny Griffin with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Sonny would venture into soul jazz, and he recorded with fellow tenor great Booker Ervin in 1964 on the enjoyable Soul People album. Sonny would also record with Duke Ellington alumnus Paul Gonsalves during the 1960's. Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, likely the best-selling jazz album ever. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Wynton Kelly (1931–1971) was an American jazz pianist, born in Jamaica. ... Jimmy Cobb (born January 20, 1929) is an American jazz drummer. ... Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. ... Alcoholism is a multifactorial illness based upon possibly both genetic and environmental factors which is best explained as a continued detrimental use of alcohol or other sedatives despite ones best interest. ... Henry (Hank) Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American hard bop and soul jazz tenor saxophonist. ... James Stanley Hall (born December 4, 1930) is a jazz guitarist and composer. ... Eugene Jug Ammons (April 14, 1925 - August 6, 1974) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player, and the son of boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. ... John Haley Zoot Sims was an American jazz musician. ... Al Cohn (November 24, 1925–February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist and jazz arranger/composer. ... John Arnold Griffin III (born in 1928) is an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist. ... Edward Davis (March 2, 1922 - November 3, 1986), who performed and recorded as Eddie Lockjaw Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. ... Soul jazz was a development of hard bop which incorporated strong blues and gospel influences in music for small groups featuring keyboards, especially the Hammond organ. ... Booker Telleferro Ervin II (1930 – 1970) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player perhaps best known for his association with Charles Mingus, with whom he played and recorded from 1956 to 1962. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Paul Gonsalves (1920-1974) was an American jazz saxophonist, who is largely remembered for playing a famous 27-chorus solo with the Duke Ellington Orchestra on the song Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. ...

In the 1970s, Stitt slowed his recording output, though not by much and, in 1972, he produced another classic, Tune Up, which was and still is regarded by many jazz critics, such as Scott Yanow, as his definitive record. Indeed, his fiery and ebullient soloing is quite reminiscent of his earlier playing. Stitt was one of the first jazz musicians to experiment with an electric saxophone (the instrument was called a Varitone), as heard on the album Just The Way It Was - Live At The Left Bank, recorded in 1971 and released in 2000. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Tuesday. ... The Varitone is an amplified saxophone that the Selmer Company introduced in 1965. ...

Stitt, to his credit, never slowed down, joining the Giants of Jazz (which included Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk) on some albums for the Mercury Records label, and recording sessions for Cobblestone and other labels. His last recordings were made in Japan. Sadly, in 1982, Stitt suffered a heart attack, and he passed away on July 22. The Giants of Jazz was a jazz all-star group of the 1970s which featured Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Al McKibbon, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Stitt, and Kai Winding. ... Arthur (Art) Blakey, also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, ( October 11, 1919 - October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. ... Dizzy Gillespie photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1955 John Birks Dizzy Gillespie (October 21, 1917 - January 6, 1993) was born in Cheraw, South Carolina. ... Thelonius Monk, as featured on the cover of his 1956 album, Brilliant Corners Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... Mercury Records was a record label founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge. ... A cobblestone-covered street Cobblestones are stones used in the pavement of early streets. ... 22 July is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ...

Although his playing was at first heavily inspired by Charlie Parker and Lester Young, Stitt eventually developed his own style, one which influenced John Coltrane. Sonny was especially effective with blues and with ballad pieces such as "Skylark". Charlie Parker Charles Christopher Bird Parker, Jr. ... Lester Willis Young, nicknamed Prez (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. ... John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ...

Quotation

• "Stitt's throwaways are better than most musician's urgent statements. No musician has said more about the pure pleasure of jazz" - Chris Fujiwara, The Boston Phoenix commenting on Stitt's playing.

External links

• Sonny Stitt at Verve Records
• Sonny Stitt at the Hard Bop Homepage
• BBC - Radio 3 Jazz Profiles - Sonny Stitt