What's New!!!

What's New!!!
What's New!!!
Studio album by Sonny Stitt
Released	1966
Recorded	June 1966
Genre	Jazz
Label	Roulette ; SR-25343
Producer	Henry Glover
Sonny Stitt chronology

Last updated May 27, 2025

What's New!!! (subtitled Sonny Stitt Plays the Varitone) is an album by saxophonist Sonny Stitt recorded in 1966 and released on the Roulette label.^[1] The album represents Stitt's first recorded use of the varitone, an electronic amplification device which altered the saxophone's sound.^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[3]

What's New!!! reached number 172 on the Billboard 200 in April 1967 and number 16 on the Jazz Albums chart.^[4] Allmusic awarded the album 3 stars.^[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Sonny Stitt except as indicated

"What's New?" (Bob Haggart, Johnny Burke) - 2:20
"Jumpin' with Symphony Sid" (Lester Young) - 3:55
"Stardust" (Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish) - 6:06
"Cocktails for Two" (Arthur Johnston, Sam Coslow) - 3:28
"Georgia" (Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) - 4:11
"Mame" (Jerry Herman) - 2:10
"Morgan's Song" - 2:31
"Fever" (Eddie Cooley, John Davenport) - 2:05
"Round About Midnight" (Thelonious Monk) - 3:12
"I've Got the World on a String" (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) - 4:17
"If I Didn't Care" (Jack Lawrence) - 4:50
"The Beastly Blues" - 4:50

Personnel

Sonny Stitt - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, varitone
Joe Wilder, Eddie Preston - trumpet
J. J. Johnson - trombone
Illinois Jacquet - tenor saxophone
George Berg - baritone saxophone
Billy Taylor, Ellis Larkins - piano
Wild Bill Davis, Ernie Hayes - organ
Mike Mainieri - vibraphone
Les Spann - guitar
Jan Arnet, George Duvivier - bass
Walter Perkins - drums

References

↑ Edwards, D. & Callahan, M. Roulette Album Discography, Part 1 accessed January 4, 2013
↑ Myers, M. Sonny Stitt: Varitone Redux, All About Jazz , December 20, 2011
1 2 Sonny Stitt: What's New > Overview at AllMusic . Retrieved January 4, 2013.
↑ Sonny Stitt: What's New > Awards at AllMusic . Retrieved January 4, 2013.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Edwards, D. & Callahan, M. Roulette Album Discography, Part 1 accessed January 4, 2013

[2] Myers, M. Sonny Stitt: Varitone Redux, All About Jazz , December 20, 2011

[Allmusic-3] 1 2 Sonny Stitt: What's New > Overview at AllMusic . Retrieved January 4, 2013.

[4] Sonny Stitt: What's New > Awards at AllMusic . Retrieved January 4, 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Sonny Stitt
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release.
As leader or co-leader	Sonny Stitt/Bud Powell/J. J. Johnson (1949–50) Stitt's Bits (1950) Kaleidoscope (1950–52) Jazz at the Hi-Hat (1954) The Battle of Birdland (and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, 1954) Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements from the Pen of Quincy Jones (1955) Sonny Stitt Plays (1955) New York Jazz (1956) For Musicians Only (with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz, 1956) 37 Minutes and 48 Seconds with Sonny Stitt (c.1956/57) Only the Blues (1957) Personal Appearance (1957) Sonny Stitt with the New Yorkers (1957) Burnin' (1958) Sonny Stitt (1958) The Saxophones of Sonny Stitt (1958) A Little Bit of Stitt (1959) Saxophone Supremacy (1959) Sonny Stitt Blows the Blues (1959) Sonny Stitt Plays Jimmy Giuffre Arrangements (1959) Sonny Stitt Sits in with the Oscar Peterson Trio (1959) Sonny Side Up (with Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Rollins, Verve, 1959) Sonny Stitt Swings the Most (1959) The Hard Swing (1959) The Sonny Side of Stitt (1959) Previously Unreleased Recordings (1960) Sonny Side Up (Roost, 1960) Stittsville (1960) Stitt in Orbit (1960–62) Sonny Stitt at the D. J. Lounge (1961) The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt (1961) Feelin's (1962) Low Flame (1962) Rearin' Back (1962) Sonny Stitt & the Top Brass (1962) Stitt Meets Brother Jack (with "Brother" Jack McDuff, 1962) Move on Over (1963) My Mother's Eyes (1963) Now! (1963) Primitivo Soul! (1963) Salt and Pepper (and Paul Gonsalves, 1963) Soul Shack (with "Brother" Jack McDuff, 1963) Stitt Goes Latin (1963) Stitt Plays Bird (1963) My Main Man (and Bennie Green, 1964) Shangri-La (with Don Patterson, 1964) Sax Expressions (1965) Sonny Stitt / Live at Ronnie Scott's (with Dick Morrissey, 1965) Soul People (with Booker Ervin and Don Patterson, 1964–69) Broadway Soul (1965) Inter-Action (and Zoot Sims, 1965) Night Crawler (with Don Patterson, 1965) Pow! (with Bennie Green, 1965) The Matadors Meet the Bull (1965) Deuces Wild (1966) I Keep Comin' Back! (1966) Soul in the Night (and Bunky Green, 1966) What's New!!! (1966) Parallel-a-Stitt (1967) Little Green Apples (1968) Soul Electricity! (1968) Come Hither (1969) Night Letter (1969) Black Vibrations (1971) Turn It On! (1971) 12! (1972) Constellation (1972) Goin' Down Slow (1972) Tune-Up! (1972) Mr. Bojangles (1973) The Champ (1973) Satan (1974) Blues for Duke (1975) Dumpy Mama (1975) Mellow (1975) My Buddy: Sonny Stitt Plays for Gene Ammons (1975) Forecast: Sonny & Red (with Red Holloway, 1976) I Remember Bird (1978) Stomp Off Let's Go (1976) Sonny Stitt with Strings: A Tribute to Duke Ellington (1977) In Style (1981) The Last Sessions (1982)
And Gene Ammons	All Star Sessions (1950–55) Dig Him! (1961) Boss Tenors (1961) Boss Tenors in Orbit! (1962) Soul Summit (with "Brother"Jack McDuff, 1962) You Talk That Talk! (1971) God Bless Jug and Sonny (1973) Left Bank Encores (1973) Together Again for the Last Time (1973)
With Dizzy Gillespie	The Modern Jazz Sextet (1956) Duets (1957) The Giants of Jazz (with Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Kai Winding, 1971) The Bop Session (1975)
With Don Patterson	Patterson's People (1964) Tune Up! (1964–69) The Boss Men (1965) Funk You! (1968) Brothers-4 (1969) Donny Brook (1969)
With others	A Jazz Message (with Art Blakey, 1963) In Walked Sonny (with Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, 1975) The Oscar Peterson Trio with Sonny Stitt, Roy Eldridge and Jo Jones at Newport (1957)

v t e J.J. Johnson
Years indicated are for the recording(s), not first release (except for the film scores)
As leader or co-leader	J. J. Johnson's Jazz Quintets (1946–49) Jay Jay Johnson with Clifford Brown / The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume 1 / The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume 2 (1953–55) The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson Volume 3 (1955) J Is for Jazz (1956) First Place (1957) Blue Trombone (1957) Dial J. J. 5 (1957) Stan Getz and J. J. Johnson at the Opera House (1957) J. J. in Person! (1957) Really Livin' (1959) Trombone and Voices (1960) J.J. Inc. (1960) A Touch of Satin (1960–61) André Previn and J. J. Johnson (1961) J. J.'s Broadway (1963) Proof Positive (1964) J.J.! (1964) Goodies (1965) Broadway Express (1965) The Total J.J. Johnson (1966) The Yokohama Concert (with Nat Adderley, 1977) Chain Reaction: Yokohama Concert, Vol. 2 (with Nat Adderley, 1977) Pinnacles (1979) Concepts in Blue (1980)
With Kai Winding	K + J.J. (aka, Nuf Said, 1955) Trombone for Two (1955) Dave Brubeck and Jay & Kai at Newport (one side each, 1956) Jay and Kai + 6 (1956) Jay and Kai (1955–57) The Great Kai & J. J. (1960) Israel (1968) Betwixt & Between (1968) Stonebone (1969)
Albums as sideman or arranger/ composer	Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (1955) Sayin' Somethin' (Nat Adderley, 1966) The Soul of the City (Manny Albam, 1966) Basie Jam (Count Basie, 1973) The Bosses (Count Basie/"Big Joe" Turner, 1973) Night Song (Kenny Burrell, 1969) I'm Tryin' to Get Home (Donald Byrd, 1964) New York Slick (Ron Carter, 1979) Birth of the Cool (Miles Davis, 1949–50) Young Man with a Horn / Miles Davis Volume 1 / Miles Davis Volume 2 (1952) Summertime (Paul Desmond, 1968) Afro-Cuban (Kenny Dorham, 1955) At the Opera House (Ella Fitzgerald, 1957) The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (Dizzy Gillespie, 1949) Dee Gee Days: The Savoy Sessions (Dizzy Gillespie, 1951) Afro (Dizzy Gillespie, 1954) Dizzy and Strings (Dizzy Gillespie, 1954) Perceptions (Dizzy Gillespie, a/c only, 1960) The Modern Touch (Benny Golson, 1957) The Hawk Flies High (Coleman Hawkins, 1957) Lady in Satin (Billie Holiday, 1958) And Then Again (Elvin Jones, 1965) The Modern Jazz Society Presents a Concert of Contemporary Music (John Lewis, 1955) The Big Band (Jimmy McGriff, 1966) Happenings (Hank Jones & Oliver Nelson, 1966) Encyclopedia of Jazz (Oliver Nelson, 1965–66) Nine Flags (Chico O'Farrill, 1966) Charlie Parker on Dial (1947) Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2 (1957) Alfie (Sonny Rollins, 1966) Carnival of the Spirits (Moacir Santos, 1975) New Fantasy (Lalo Schifrin, 1964) Once a Thief and Other Themes (Lalo Schifrin, 1965) The Cape Verdean Blues (Horace Silver, 1965) Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements from the Pen of Quincy Jones (1955) The Matadors Meet the Bull (Sonny Stitt, 1965) What's New!!! (Sonny Stitt, 1966) Joyride (Stanley Turrentine, 1965)
Film scores	Man and Boy (1971) Across 110th Street (1972) Top of the Heap (1972) Cleopatra Jones (1973) Willie Dynamite (1974)
Discography

What's New!!!

Contents

Reception

Track listing

Personnel

References