Only the Blues

Last updated
Only the Blues
Onlytheblues.jpg
Studio album by Sonny Stitt
Released 1957
Recorded October 11, 1957
Genre Jazz
Length75:03
Label Verve
Producer Norman Granz
Sonny Stitt chronology
Sonny Stitt with the New Yorkers
(1957)		Only the Blues
(1957)		 Sonny Side Up
(1957)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Only the Blues is a 1957 album by Sonny Stitt, accompanied by Roy Eldridge and Oscar Peterson. [2]

Album collection of recorded music, words, sounds

An album is a collection of audio recordings issued as a collection on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78-rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photograph album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl LP records played at ​33 1⁄3 rpm. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used alongside vinyl from the 1970s into the first decade of the 2000s.

Sonny Stitt American jazz saxophonist

Edward Hammond Boatner Jr., known professionally as Sonny Stitt, was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording more than 100 albums. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern because of his relentless touring and devotion to jazz. Stitt was sometimes viewed as a Charlie Parker mimic, especially earlier in his career, but gradually came to develop his own sound and style, particularly when performing on tenor sax.

Roy Eldridge American trumpeter

David Roy Eldridge, nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from the dominant style of jazz trumpet innovator Louis Armstrong, and his strong impact on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most influential musicians of the swing era and a precursor of bebop.

Contents

Track listing

  1. "The String (The Eternal Triangle)" (Sonny Stitt) – 10:01
  2. "Cleveland Blues" (Stitt) – 12:02
  3. "B.W. Blues (Boogie Woogie Blues)" (Stitt) – 11:35
  4. "Blues for Bags" (Stitt) – 10:39
    Studio outtakes included on the CD reissue:
  5. "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 3:31
  6. "I Remember You" (Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger) – 3:54
  7. "I Know That You Know" (Anne Caldwell, Vincent Youmans) – 4:39
  8. "I Know That You Know" (False Start) – 4:55
  9. "I Know That You Know" – 4:47
  10. "I Know That You Know" (Coda Rehearsal) – 3:19
  11. "I Know That You Know" (Composite Master Take) – 4:43

A subsequent Fresh Sound CD issue gives tracks 5 and 6 plus I Know That You Know with only 1 alternate take.

Personnel

Performance

Alto saxophone type of saxophone

The alto saxophone, also referred to as the alto sax, is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s, and patented in 1846. It is pitched in E♭, and is smaller than the tenor, but larger than the soprano. The alto sax is the most common saxophone and is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, military bands, marching bands, and jazz. The fingerings of the different saxophones are all the same so a saxophone player can play any type of saxophone.

Trumpet musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family

A trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group contains the instruments with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpet-like instruments have historically been used as signaling devices in battle or hunting, with examples dating back to at least 1500 BC; they began to be used as musical instruments only in the late 14th or early 15th century. Trumpets are used in art music styles, for instance in orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles, as well as in popular music. They are played by blowing air through nearly-closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century they have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded rectangular shape.

Oscar Peterson Canadian jazz pianist and composer

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, but simply "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards, and received numerous other awards and honours. He is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists, and played thousands of concerts worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years.

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References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Only the Blues at AllMusic
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