Sonny Stitt emerged as a bebop saxman during the late 1940s. Sonny was a contemporary of Charlie Parker, and early in his career was (unfairly, IMO) criticized as being a Bird copycat. Sonny later transitioned away from alto sax to tenor (although he played both throughout his career), which quieted some of the critics.
Sonny Stitt was a prolific artist in the studio, recording from the late '40s through 1982, the year of his death. Sonny's legacy is undergoing a bit of a resurrection, as this year we saw two significant Record Store Day releases, The Bubba's Sessions and Boppin' in Baltimore: Live at the Left Bank.
Sonny had an extraordinary tone, which comes through almost magically on this single. It is a gorgeous recording. I have not been able to find a recording or release date for "The Christmas Song". I believe it would have been an early 50's record, on the MET label. Perhaps the collector community will come through and share that info with us.
Please enjoy "Christmas Song" parts 1 and 2 by Sonny Stitt
Nice, thanks for sharing. Discogs lists this label as active in the 60's and 70's, so 50's may be too early for it. I couldn't find much beyond that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ernie. The 50s was a wild guess just based on when Sonny started recording.
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