Customer Reviews

This Is Criss

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

 

 

This is Criss highlights Sonny Criss at the peak of his playing. In particular, his performance of Black Coffee is unparallelled, and displays Sonny at the top of his form, utitlizing both his virtuostic lightning technique along with his deep sense of the blues. The entire recording is worth it just for that one performance alone. One finds is hard to imagine listening to any other alto player after hearing Criss on this one. Kudos to Don Schlitten for yet another brilliant Sonny Criss recording for Prestige Records. Also, check out Walter Davis and his incredible piano playing, another feature of this superb disc.

I would rate this one higher than 5 stars if I could. Sonny Criss felt a soulful depth in his music. From the opening number "Black Coffee" to the (bonus track) finale "Love For Sale", we are fortunate to have the experience of these sessions on cd. Sonny's version of "Sunrise, Sunset" is incomparable. Every song on this cd is sweet!! If you love 60's sax/accoustic jazz you need to have this one in your collection.

One of the great overlooked jazz albums of the sixties by one of the great overlooked alto players of the post-war era. "Black Coffee," "Greasy," and "Skylark" are standouts but the whole album is excellent, with Criss in top form throughout. His style was a satisfying amalgam of the bluesy, the lyric, and the dazzlingly convoluted. One wonders what would have happened if he had done an album with Sonny Stitt (if they did, I haven't seen it.)

"This Is Criss!" was released on Fantasy Records in 1966. Alto saxphonist Sonny Criss (not to be confused with any of the other "Sonnys" of the saxophone: Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, and Sonny Red) was a very original player and a master improviser. He could take something as simple as "Days Of Wine And Roses," which is featured on this album and make it swing so hard you would think it was an uptempo tune. Criss had great tone, execution, and endless improvisational ideas. One wonders why he enjoyed so-so success during his career? I'm not sure, but this recording placed him in the jazz elite in my opinion.

Joining Criss are Walter Davis, Jr. on piano, who jazz fans may know from his work with Art Blakey, Donald Byrd, Kenny Clarke, etc. Paul Chambers is on bass and NEEDS no introduction as he was a very successful jazz musician in the '50s and '60s and has played with the who's who of bebop. Alan Dawson is on drums is probably best remembered for his work with Dave Brubeck, Dexter Gordon, Charles Mingus, and Sonny Stitt. All of these musicians are fantastic.

"This Is Criss!" is a hard-bop album and if any of you haven't heard hard-bop, then you're in for a real treat. Buy this album today!

This is one of those albums that seems to diminish the closer you look at it. Listened to uncritically or, egad, as background music, Sonny wins you over with his lovely tone and beautiful, lyrical style. Pay it more attention, and Sonny really doesn't seem all that original, an alto-sax version of Blue Mitchell, all manly sentimentality. Even the material here betrays his heart-on-his-sleeve approach. I mean, who wants a jazz version of "Sunrise, Sunset"? The only player here who truly delivers is drummer Alan Dawson, turning in another one of those deft, subtle performances of the sort he turned in on all of Booker Ervin's "Book" albums.