Customer Reviews

Sonny Side Up

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I approach "all-star" recordings cautiously because they don't always live up to their billing. Sometimes the talent is there but the chemistry isn't, sort of like a basketball team that looks great on paper but comes up short in execution. Happily that isn't the case with "Sonny Side Up." There's plenty of room for Rollins, Stitt and Gillespie to show off their individual chops, but they all work together for a satisfying group sound.

As soon as you hear "Sunny Side of the Street," you know you're in for a good time. It's a great, joyful song that's enlivened by Dizzy's appealingly fractured vocal. "Eternal Triangle" is appropriately named as all three of these great improvisers fire up zesty solos made in hard bop heaven. The contrast of sounds between the tenors and Gillespie's darting trumpet is wonderful.

My favorite cut, however, is a definitive blues workout, "After Hours." It's a classic approach that allows the horns to play the set refrain together, and then bow out on a recurring vamp, leaving one soloist to take his turn blowing the blues. None of the three horns gets cheated. Pianist Ray Bryant enriches the mix, not only with a fine solo but with his perfect comping.

This is one of those releases that I've never gotten tired of. It's a classic from three of the premier practitioners of bop, each of whom help to bring out the best in one another. A must for any serious jazz collection.

The trend toward hyperbole with these reviews is justified with an album like "Sonny Side Up". No bones about it, this CD is a smoker! This was one of my first albums that set the hook for 28 years of jazz enjoyment. With thousands of records in my collection now I still never tire of this one, a desert island pick for sure.

Diz, Newk and Stitt are at the pinnicle of their creative careers. Dizzy is like bubbling oiled fire. Rollins...raw, biting, searching. Stitt...smooth as butter, funny, fast. One of the two strokes of genius on this date...the pairing of these two tenor titans. Their styles are so totally different yet they compliment one another.

The other stroke of genius is the use of blues oriented jazz pianist Ray Bryant who adds a solid mood that anchors this session.

"On The Sunny Side Of The Street" opens the set at a business man's bounce. Stitt takes the first solo followed by Diz using a Harmon mute. Rollins jumps in with all fours and the out melody is sung by (who else) Dizzy embelishing the lyrics with "Dizzyisms".

A Stitt original "The Eternal Triangle" flys. Faster than my metronome (208). Stitt takes the first solo and is off. The ideas just gush out. His tone is so beautiful and his rhythm is right on the money. Dizzy and Rollins throw in shout riffs behind him to build the energy. Stitt's solo ends when Rollins busts through the door and they begin trading "fours". As Joe Bob Briggs might say..."then they got pissed". Each tries to outdo the other and succeeds, the result is an exremely exciting and climactic romp through this tune. After they trade "eights" Dizzy tepidly enters on unmuted horn and cools things down before launching into one of the most inspired solos of his life. He squeezes out screeching high notes, half valves it, jerks the rhythm and finally ends by trading fours with drummer Chas Persip ending the head with a blazing tag.

Ray Bryant has made the Avery Paris! h tune "After Hours" his own with this recording. The Bryant touch is so blue it profounly affects the horn soloists. Each tune shows Dizzy's musical stamp with small ensemble riffs sometimes launching a soloist. This tune is no exception. A classic.

Another workout for bassist Tommy Bryant is "I Know That You Know". Sonny Rollons "stop time" solo on this showcases his ability to hear the chords and rhythm in his head and jettison the band for several choruses.

This is a good CD to turn a novice on to jazz or perk up some jazz die hard. It doesn't get any better than this! A ten on the groove-o-meter.

Stitt, Dizz, and Rollins combine perfectly while still showing off their individual talents. "On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a sweet, laid back tune that immediately lets you know that you're listening to a classic. "Eternal Triangle" is a fast-pace battle of the masters between Stitt and Rollins. According to the booklet, Dizz told Rollins and Stitt each separatley that the other one was "loaded for bear" on "Eternal Triangle". It shows in the song; the two tenors trade fours and then eights and have an all-out war! Dizzy's punctuating trumpet completely balances the saxophones, and the rhythm section sets a steady groove for the brass to improvise on. If you are at all interested in jazz, I suggest you buy this cd NOW!

This album is HOT. "On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a great laid-back tune. Sonny Rollins' solo is a work of art. Taking hints from Louis Armstrong's version, it is melodic and paired up with Rollins' full tone...I can't stop listening to it. Dizzy's vocal at the end is reminiscent of Satch too, in the way that neither had a good voice, but were able to have a strong effect on the listener. "The Eternal Triangle" is an all-out battle between Rollins and Stitt, mostly because Gillespie had told each one separately that the other was talking trash. They trade 4's, then 8's, until Dizzy comes in with some nice work of his own. "After Hours" is a slow blues, and with these three playing it, what more do I need to say? "I Know That You Know" is just as "smokin" as "The Eternal Triangle," with a Rollins stop-time solo. I'm really impressed with Rollins' work on the whole album, I also bought his "Saxophone Colossus." The "Sonny Side Up" original liner notes discuss his use of thematic improvisation, as opposed to just flailing through the changes. Plus, his tone is just flawless- thick and centered, if it were hair they would say it has "body." BUY IT.

There is no doubt that this session served to push both Stitt and Rollins to some of their best ("The Eternal Triangle" for Stitt and Rollins...and "..Sunny Side.." finding Rollins compact and captivating in his solo). "After Hours" is one of my favorite tunes (called 'the Black National Anthem' by one of my 80+ year old best friends), and while it is played for quite a while - it is literally more than a fourth of the recording - I could listen to Ray Bryant with brother Tommy all night long. This is a great recording, and I wouldn't 'pass it around' without keeping a close eye on it!

This is among the best jazz albums of all time. It represents the best playing of both Stitt and Rollins, and Dizzy is always Dizzy. The arrangements are simple - a head, bridge, and then lots of solo space. The choruses between the Sonnys on Eternal Triangle remain my personal favorite rhythm changes solos and the stylistic vocalizing of Dizzy over the ever-artistic backgrounds by Stitt and Rollins on Sunny Side of the Street cannot be equaled.

Buy this album. Whether you are a serious or peripheral jazz fan, you will not be disappointed and you will end up listening to it over and over again.

as a jazz musician (saxophones) music makes me thrill. when i listen to "sonny side up" i realise that the greatest players don't have to be techincly geniouses to make you listen to them, they have to thrill you. in this album i get thrill every time i listen to those three geniouses: dizzy, sonny stitt& sonny rollins. the groove you feel in the background of the music, is so hard that it makes you just move and smile. i specialy like the first song "on the sunny side of the street" by jimmy mchugh, where stitt plays so cool and and dizzy sings so cool too. also i like rollins's solo on the last song "i know that you know". you must listen to it. matti.s.

Ahhhhhhh... the good old days... when players could play technically challenging material, yet NEVER lost their sense of swing - - To call this session swingin', boppin' and in the pocket is an understatement.

What makes it really fun to listen to is that even though Rollins and Stitt are clearly children of Bird, their sounds are different enough that you can tell who's up at the mike. (Stitt has a sharper more agressive intonation... Rollins is bit warmer - - seems to have a bit of Dexter Gordon in him (or is it just me?) - - Gillespie often stands off to the side enjoying the action, but once he's in on the game its a master in his own territory/god knows what's going to happen next type of intensity that's classic Gillespie. - - As for the album... The rhythm section is soooooooooo tasty you want to eat the notes (*tell me I'm lying !) - - Line up is Ray Bryant, Tommy Bryant and Charile Persip.

In addition to the fact that this is one of those "sit down and transcribe" type blowing sessions, what also makes it phenomenal is the variety... from the frensic bop of triangle, the 12 beat after hours blues of the aptly titles AFTER HOURS, the sprightly swinging SUNNY SIDE (which also features Dizzy on vocals) and alas the more hard boppish I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW.

All in all this is just one of those sessions which is in such a league of its own you almost want to shed a tear that few groups are really playing with this feel (not the solid high hat on the 2 and 4 - - modern day drummers don't like to do that any more but notice how toe tapping the music is... yet the Roach-like punches are still as there. - - Another fine point is that the clearly listening to and digging each other (At one point Rollins clearly flubs a tone in his solo, but it don't matter and clearly Dizzy digs it and you can hear him vocalizing sort of an encouraging Gotcha!/I dig it! that Jazz msicians of that era were prone to do.)

Conclusion: What a session - - must have study and listening ! A journey back to a time when Jazz was cool, fresh, vibrant, boppin', swinging and every word in between !

Simply said, "The Eternal Triangle" will blow you away. Possibly the hottest 15 minutes of jazz I have ever heard. Dizzy was more then happy to let Sonny and Sonny dominate the majority of the recording. A wise decision, because they were both right on. The CD is a 5 with that track alone. Enough said.

This is one of the coolest jazz albums that I've ever heard. It is clear that the players enjoy playing with each other and do their best to make impressive improvisasions (And they sucsseed.). The best track in the album is, in my opinion, track no. 2:"The Eternal Triangle". Almost 15 minutes of fast, cool jazz. 15 minutes of 3 jazz geniuses that try to win in a fast-running improvisasion copetition. Gillespie's trumpet is running wild in a crazy impro, and you love every minute of it.
It is truly a must in any Jazz collection.