Sonny Stitt - Blows the Blues + The Hard Swing

2010 release

Personnel:
Sonny Stitt (as, ts), Lou Levy, Amos Trice (p), Leroy Vinnegar, George Morrow (b), Mel Lewis, Lenny McBrowne (d)

The Blues and Sonny Stitt always had a smooth and engrossing partnership. These performances live up to their full potential, with Stitt in excellent form, at his most sparkling: quick fingers, a nimble musical mind, a well-developed ear, fine sense of time, attractive sound, and good intonation. He was a swinger full of energy, with unusual technical facility. But even when he was a lot closer to Charlie Parker, he always had things of his own to say: such a lyrical player could never be accurately labeled just a Parker clone or a hard swinger. Either way, he always injected much life into his playing, displaying his considerable virtuosity, blues feeling, and controlled emotion.