Sonny's Dream

Sonny Criss, Sonny Criss Orchestra | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 17, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ojc
• ASIN: B000000YWX
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,946 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sonny's Dream

2. Ballad for Samuel

3. The Black Apostles

4. The Golden Pearl

5. Daughter of Cochise

6. Sandy and Niles

7. The Golden Pearl [Alternate Take][#][*]

8. Sonny's Dream [Alternate Take][#][*]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lonely masterpiece, February 3, 2004

By 

N. Dorward "obsessive reviewer" (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sonny's Dream (Audio CD)

I've always liked Sonny Criss's saxophone playing, while finding myself rarely all that satisfied with his albums as a whole, which are full of nice blowing without pushing over into classic status. The big exception is _Sonny's Dream_, one of the best postwar little-big band discs I've heard. It's a debut disc of sorts for pianist/arranger Horace Tapscott--he doesn't play on it (piano duties are handled by the always-wonderful Tommy Flanagan) but wrote & arranged all the music, & conducted the orchestra. Like Sun Ra & Mingus he favours a low, dark instrumentation--the ensembles are characterized by prominent use of baritone sax & tuba--& it's clear that Tapscott had closely studied Mingus's work, especially _Black Lady & the Sinner Saint_. Tapscott's arrangements typically feature deceptively atmospheric introductions, before they unleash an intense, cathartic central improvisational section. The effects can be devastating, especially on the title-track & on "The Black Apostles", a raw memorial to Martin Luther King, Malcolm X & Medgar Evers. Criss's keening alto takes (so to speak) the Dolphy/Mariano role on the album, & he even plays some soprano--& does it so well (without any facile Traneisms--actually he sounds more like Roland Kirk) that I wish he'd recorded more often on that instrument. For sheer electricity it's hard to beat his solo on the Milesish modal tune "Sandy and Niles".

It's a great band, & while the focus is very much on Criss several of the other players get solos also, notably Teddy Edwards and Tommy Flanagan. The lineup is: David Sherr, alto; Teddy Edwards, tenor; Pete Christlieb, baritone; Conte Candoli, trumpet; Dick Nash, trombone; Ray Draper, tuba; Tommy Flanagan, piano; Al McKibbon, bass (check out his introductory solo on "Daughter of Cochise"!); Everett Brown, Jr, drums. The original album was very short--36 minutes long--but the CD is beefed up with two alternate takes which are actually (unlike a lot of alternate takes!) a welcome addition to the album.

The sad thing about this album is that it's a one-off. There ought to have been a lot more Criss albums this good. Hats off to the late Horace Tapscott for having brokered this masterpiece, anyway.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, July 6, 2009

By 

Michael Weintraub (Santa Monica, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sonny's Dream (Audio CD)

I love almost anything Criss plays on, but this uncharacteristic big-band date is almost certainly his best work. His alto soars above the complex yet engaging Horace Tapscott arrangements, and the whole album gives the impression of being one cohesive whole. You'll love it from the first note.