Time: 35:09
Size: 80.5 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1965/2006
Art: Front
[8:00] 1. My Blue Heaven
[3:03] 2. The Saber
[6:51] 3. Katea
[5:29] 4. Fools Rush In
[7:17] 5. Look Down That Lonesome Road
[4:26] 6. I Want To Go Home
Finding this album serendipitously was a little like my going to Chicago's Plugged Nickel one Sunday in the '70s to hear Sonny Stitt and finding Sonny had managed to include on the date--contrary to my wildest expectations--Zoot Sims! In college I had soon been made aware of the West Coast vs. East Coast, cool bop vs. hard bop, Pacific Jazz vs. Blue Note, white vs. black cultural wars. Among saxophonists, Zoot Sims along with Getz, Cohn, Desmond, Konitz, etc. were roundly dismissed and out of favor whereas Trane, Rollins, Dexter, Ammons and Stitt were, according to the influential jazz "authorities" (who were from Chicago rather than a place like my esoteric N. Wisconsin village), the only guys worth listening to. Had they any idea that Stitt had recorded not only with Zoot but with, horrors! Jimmy Giuffre, I have little doubt their closed little worlds could not have withstood the shock.
Granted, Sonny is a more competitive player than Zoot, never meeting a conclave of tenor (or alto) players he wasn't eager to do battle with. At the Plugged Nickel, I recall that he remained standing on the stage while Zoot was content (or required) to stand on the floor, somewhat beneath Sonny on his left side. Moreover, Sonny was still using his Varitone device, which not only doubled his tones but amplified them, giving him a considerable advantage over the unmiked Zoot. But after the first set it became easy to ignore these disparities in favor of the swinging and inventive lines that Zoot was playing during each of his turns. Unlike Sonny (along with numerous other beboppers who, admittedly, often played for the "sport" of it), Zoot seemed to zone in exclusively on the tunes, the rhythm section, the opportunities to contribute to a whole and satisfying result.
Much the same can be heard on this recording. In fact, Zoot's approach seems to affect Sonny's playing for the better, making him less of a competitor than a "team player." Whoever came up with the title for this encounter must have listened carefully to the master tapes first. ~Samuel C.
Granted, Sonny is a more competitive player than Zoot, never meeting a conclave of tenor (or alto) players he wasn't eager to do battle with. At the Plugged Nickel, I recall that he remained standing on the stage while Zoot was content (or required) to stand on the floor, somewhat beneath Sonny on his left side. Moreover, Sonny was still using his Varitone device, which not only doubled his tones but amplified them, giving him a considerable advantage over the unmiked Zoot. But after the first set it became easy to ignore these disparities in favor of the swinging and inventive lines that Zoot was playing during each of his turns. Unlike Sonny (along with numerous other beboppers who, admittedly, often played for the "sport" of it), Zoot seemed to zone in exclusively on the tunes, the rhythm section, the opportunities to contribute to a whole and satisfying result.
Much the same can be heard on this recording. In fact, Zoot's approach seems to affect Sonny's playing for the better, making him less of a competitor than a "team player." Whoever came up with the title for this encounter must have listened carefully to the master tapes first. ~Samuel C.
Inter-Action
