Saturday, August 30, 2008

Sonny Stitt at the D.J. Lounge

( Naar de Nederlandse vertaling.) JAZZ HOEILAART 2008
SONNY STITT: EEN ONDERGEWAARDEERD TALENT
Today another great album from the 1960s, played by Sonny Stitt and the John Board Organ Trio ( only Sonny Stitt is credited on the label and cover - he's the star !!) live at the D.J. Lounge in Chicago. This album, simply titled as Sonny Stitt at the D.J. lounge, was released by on the Argo label ( Argo LPS 683). It has a great cover by Robert Trendler Jr.

Sonny Stitt, was born in Boston February 1924 and passed away July 1982 in Washington. He started his career in the early 1940s in the big band of Tiny Bradshaw and became later a member of the Billy Eckstine Band, the breeding room for young bebop players like Fats Navarro,
Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey and Gene Ammons. In the mid 1940s he is to be found as a member of the Dizzy Gillespie Sextet. From the 1950s onwards he has his own small groups and in 1960 he even plays for some times in the Miles Davis Quintet, replacing no one but John Coltrane. In the 1970s he is one of the members of the Giants of Jazz - the ultimate all-star band that toured for two months across te world. I pointed you to that subject at my contribution The Giants of Jazz - Heavenly Music


This album is a registration of a live recording early June 1961 and contains the John Board Organ Trio, featuring John Board on tenor saxophone, Edward Buster at the organ and Joe Shelton on drums. On this recording Sonny Stitt plays his alto and tenor saxophone as a guest in the club. John Board is one of those Chicago saxophone players that has been complete forgotten now, but belongs to the big-toned tenor saxophone players like Gene Ammons and Johnny Griffin', who passed away last month. John Board was the house band leader, who played in the club with his Organ trio.

Sonny Stitt and Pee Wee Ellis

The Disc Jokey Lounge was situated at the East 63rd Street and South Cottage Grove Av. in Chicago and was directed by McKee Fitzhugh, who was a dance promotor. It is said that the club became famous during the 1950s because of his battles between jazz men during lenghty jam sessions. The club stayed active at least until the early 1960s.

This record is one of the numerous LPs ( Sonny Stitt made more then 100 albums under his own name for labels like Prestige and Roost) Sonny Stitt released during his 40 years in jazz. It contains six tunes, half own compositions like the groovy Free Chicken with a great solo by John Board and a tune dedicated to the owner of the club: McKie. This album is not his best, but I like it because of the great saxophone duels between Stitt and Board and the groovy sound of Edward Buster's organ. My copy of the LP is the Mono version and as you might know real collectors prefer the mono versions ..... Isn't that strange? Did the original John Board Organ Trio ( featuring Sonny Stitt) played mono on stage?
An announcement of a Sax Battle between Little Wash and Tom Archia, organized at the McKie's Disc Jockey Lounge, somewhere in the 1950s.
Love to finish this small contribution with a fragment, from the same period I guess, in which you can hear Sonny Stitt, J.J. Johnson and Howard McGhee together in Now's The Time.

Hope you liked it !!
Keep swinging

Hans Koert


keepswinging@live.nl

Nederlands ( To the English translation )

JAZZ HOEILAART 2008

Van 24 tot en met 27 september 2008 vindt weer het jaarlijkse Jazz Hoeilaart Festival plaats. Op dit gerenomeerde festival dat vlakbij Brussel gehouden wordt in Jezus-Eik is ook nu weer van alles te genieten. Het festival wordt dit jaar gehouden voor de 30ste keer. Dit jaar overleed haar oprichter Albert Michiels. Het festival wordt geopend door niemand minder dan Toots Thielemans, still going strong, die al meer dan zestig jaar op de planken staat. Vier weken voordat dit festival van start gaat is dit openingsconcert helaas al helemaal uitverkocht.

Het Jazz Hoeilaar 2008 staat traditioneel in het teken van de Jazz Hoeilaart prijs, die jaarlijks wordt toegekend aan jong aanstormend talent. De twee finalisten zullen optreden tijdens dit festival. Andere optredens zijn van Tutu Puona, een van oorsprong Zuidafrikaanse zangeres, die momenteel in onze streken woont en optreedt. Ze treedt regelmatig op o.a. met het Brussels Jazz Orkest. Ze timmert de laatste tijd flink aan de weg. Verder een optreden van Lay Linn & her Magnificent Seven en als afsluiter de 65-jarige gitarist Philip Catherine, die zijn soloprogramma laat horen. Al met al weer genoeg redenen om volgende maand richting Brussel te trekken ....... Jazz Hoeilaart 2008.

SONNY STITT: EEN ONDERGEWAARDEERD TALENT

De altsaxofonist Sonny Stitt is één van die bebopmuzikant die naast Charlie Parker onderbelicht gebleven zijn. Hij kon schitterend soleren op zowel alt- als tenorsax, eerst nog sterk onder invloed van Bird, maar al snel in een geheel eigen stijl. Je leest er meer over in: Sonny Stitt: Een Ondergewaardeerd Talent.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great post Durium.

I love Sonny's music. He was a true original.
To me those recordings are the best.

Moten Swing
Denis

montreal (Canada)

9:57 PM  
Blogger Jocelyn A Dorsey said...

Good to see this! I am the granddaughter of Johnny Board, I am trying to find all I can about him. I miss him and his music.

3:23 AM  

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