Sonny Side Up is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and the tenor saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins, recorded in December 1957 in New York City. It was released in 1959 on producer Norman Granz's newly launched Verve label.
| Sonny Side Up | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1959[1] | |||
| Recorded | December 19, 1957 Nola Recording Studio, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz, bebop, hard bop | |||
| Length | 37:42 | |||
| Label | Verve MGV-8262 | |||
| Producer | Norman Granz | |||
| Dizzy Gillespie chronology | ||||
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| Sonny Rollins chronology | ||||
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| Sonny Stitt chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [3] |
Reception
editAs Thomas Cunniffe has written, "The pairing of Rollins and Stitt was highly inspired. More important than their common nicknames (and the punning album title), tenor saxophonists Rollins and Stitt were both influenced by Charlie Parker, but each took a vastly different approach to improvisation. Stitt transferred Parker's white-hot intensity to the tenor after several fans and critics pointed out the tonal similarity of their alto sounds. Rollins was a more thoughtful player who expanded the vocabulary of bop improvisation by incorporating thematic elements into his solos and by experimenting with different melodic shapes and unusual phrase lengths."[4]
Pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Tommy Bryant, and drummer Charlie Persip form the rhythm section.[2] Stephen Cook of AllMusic described the album as "one of the most exciting 'jam session' records in the jazz catalog. ...both a highly enjoyable jazz set and something of an approximation of the music's once-revered live cutting session".[2]
Track listing
edit- "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) – 5:41
- "The Eternal Triangle" (Stitt) – 14:10
- "After Hours" (Avery Parrish) – 12:19
- "I Know That You Know" (Vincent Youmans, Anne Caldwell) – 5:27
Personnel
edit- Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet, vocal (track 1)
- Sonny Stitt – tenor saxophone
- Sonny Rollins – tenor saxophone
- Ray Bryant – piano
- Tommy Bryant – double bass
- Charlie Persip – drums
Additional personnel
edit- Burt Goldblatt – cover photography
- Nat Hentoff – liner notes
References
edit- ^ Billboard, February 9, 1959.
- ^ a b c Stephen Cook, Sonny Side Up – AllMusic Review
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 533. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ "Dizzy Gillespie:'Sonny Side Up' (Verve 314 521 426)/'Duets' (Verve 835 253)", Retro Reviews - Jazz History Online.