AAA 100% Analogue This LP was Remastered using Pure Analogue Components Only from the Master Tapes through to the Cutting Head

Analogue Productions - AVRJ 6149-45  - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - Verve MGVS-6149

AAA 100% Analogue - Mastered George Marino at Sterling Sound 

Limited Edition - Pressed at QRP Quality Record Pressings 

Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound & Cut from the Absolute Original Analog Master Tapes

"These are all truly classic Verve titles that you simply don't want to miss. Most importantly, the sound of these reissues is nothing short of astounding!" - Danny Kaey/Positive Feedback  

Analogue Productions Verve  reissue series. This is the first one I am reviewing. The title is apt!  Blues by a jazz saxophone master, in excellent form! The sound is excellent, clean, well balanced, very fine, LA, vintage Verve recording. I'm thinking this is the same studio and engineers used to record the later Billie Holiday sessions with Ben Webster and Harry Edison and others. Interesting to hear Mel Lewis on drums. Levy and Vinnegar teamed up frequently, but this is the only time I know of with Mel Lewis. This is a first class rhythm section. Aside from a few short piano solos, it is Stitt all the way. Recommended for Jazz Aficionados! - LP Magazine

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" and the slow, powerful "Morning After Blues."

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.

"Edward "Sonny" Stitt (1924 - 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern, in reference to his relentless touring and devotion to jazz. Stitt was sometimes viewed as a mere Charlie Parker mimic, especially earlier in his career, but gradually came to develop his own sound and style particularly when performing on tenor sax." - i

"A wonderful blues and ballad player whose approach influenced John Coltrane, Stitt could rip through an up-tempo bebop stanza, then turn around and play a shivering, captivating ballad. He was an alto saxophonist in Tiny Bradshaw's band during the early '40s, then joined Billy Eckstine's seminal big band in 1945, playing alongside other emerging bebop stars like Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon. Stitt later played in Dizzy Gillespie's big band and sextet. He began on tenor and baritone in 1949, and at times was in a two-tenor unit with Ammons. He recorded with Bud Powell and J.J. Johnson for Prestige in 1949, then did several albums on Prestige, Argo, and Verve in the '50s and '60s.

 Stitt led many combos in the '50s, and re-joined Gillespie for a short period in the late '50s. After a brief stint with Miles Davis in 1960, he reunited with Ammons and for a while was in a three-tenor lineup with James Moody. During the '60s, Stitt also recorded for Atlantic, cutting the transcendent Stitt Plays Bird, which finally addressed the Parker question in epic fashion. He continued heading bands, though he joined the Giants of Jazz in the early '70s. This group included Gillespie, Art Blakey, Kai Winding, Thelonious Monk, and Al McKibbon. Stitt did more sessions in the '70s for Cobblestone, Muse, and others, among them another definitive date, Tune Up. He continued playing and recording in the early '80s, recording for Muse, Sonet, and Who's Who in Jazz. He suffered a heart attack and died in 1982." 

"These are all truly classic Verve titles that you simply don't want to miss. Most importantly, the sound of these reissues is nothing short of astounding!" - Danny Kaey/Positive Feedback  
 

Originally released in 1970.

Sonny Stitt, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Gene Bertoncini, guitar
Ron Carter, bass
Howard Collins, guitar
Herbie Hancock, organ, piano
John Pizzarelli, guitar
Todd Sommer, vibraphone
Grady Tate, drums

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt Blows The Blues 

1. Blue Devil Blues
2. Home Free Blues
3. Blue Prelude
4. Frankie And Johnny
5. Birth Of The Blues
6. A Blues Offering
7. Hymnal Blues
8. Morning After Blues