Sonny Stitt - Sonny's Back (Muse, 1980)

This post is by Scott

Sonny Stitt (ts); Ricky Ford (ts); Barry Harris (p); George Duvivier (b); Leroy Williams (d)

Recorded on April 7 and July 14, 1980

When I wrote about Sonny Stitt on my 70s jazz blog, I pointed to a series of five records in the saxophonist's massive discography, all of which feature Stitt with pianist Barry Harris and bassist Sam Jones -- along with a sequence of various drummers:

- Tune-Up! (Cobblestone/Muse, 1972) with Alan Dawson

- Constellation (Cobblestone/Muse, 1972) with Roy Brooks

- 12! (Prestige, 1973) with Louis Hayes

- My Buddy: Sonny Stitt Plays for Gene Ammons (Muse, 1976) with Leroy Williams

- Blues for Duke (Muse, 1978) with Billy Higgins 

The first two LPs in the series have always been highly regarded, but I felt like the others had been overlooked.  Pairing Stitt with Harris and Jones made for a hand-in-glove fit; it was a rhythm section that seemed to bring out the best in Sonny.

Before his passing in July 1982, Stitt made two more excellent LPs with the simpatico Barry Harris/Sam Jones rhythm team:

- Sonny's Back (Muse, 1980) with Leroy Williams

- In Style (Muse, 1982) with Jimmy Cobb

The record I've chosen, Sonny's Back, adds a wrinkle to the winning formula.  Three of the album's seven cuts include up-and-coming (at the time) tenorist Ricky Ford.  Ford's presence ratchets up Stitt's playing.  Inevitably, the two-sax front line makes one recall Stitt's many records with Gene Ammons.  Ford's Rollins-esque sound also brings to mind Dizzy's pairing of Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt on Sonny Side Up (Verve, 1959).  

But don't come to this LP expecting fiery tenor battles or burning bop.  This music is much more leisurely, if no less masterful.  And, sometimes, the type of mastery that makes incredibly difficult music sound "simple" is exactly what I'm looking for.