Search - Sonny Criss :: Sessions

The master altoist at different settings

nadav haber | jerusalem Israel | 09/05/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This great CD presents material from four recording sessions: from 1949, 1957, 1965 and 1970. They all feature Sonny Criss on alto (except one great soparano ballad) and Hampton Hawes on piano. The other musicians change from session to session.
The final conclusion from hearing this collection is that Criss was definately one of the greatest bebop and blues altoists in the field called jazz.
The four tracks from 1949 are authentic bop pieces, in the spirit of Charlie Parker and Fats Navarro. Criss sounds a lot like Parker which I think is a big compliment, but plays with enough drive and precision to be his own man.
The next 3 tracks from 1957 are at a somewhat slower pace, and on Easy Living and Willow Weep for Me show that Criss can excell in more than straight bop phrases.
The 1965 session open with Criss on the beautiful ballad - "Saturday Morning". He sounds older, more experienced. On the 5 tracks from this 1965 he is almost a different player than he was in 1949 - and his style is no longer pure bop, but an original style that is merely influenced by Chalie Parker.
The last four tracks are with Harry Edison on trumpet, Teddy Edwards on tenor, and with Big Joe Turner as a vocalist. Here one has the oppurtunity to hear Criss in a much more traditional setting, that of a blues band in the original Kansas City style. Criss proves what should already be apparent - that he can play the blues with the best, and more than hold his own.
This CD is recommanded to anyone interested in bebop and jazz saxophone, and is going to bring guarateed pleasure whenever it is played."