Sonny's Crib

Last updated
Sonny's Crib
Sonny's Crib.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1958 (1958-03) [1] [2] [3]
RecordedSeptember 1, 1957
Studio Van Gelder Studio
Hackensack, NJ
Genre Hard bop
Length44:18
Label Blue Note
BLP 1576
Producer Alfred Lion
Sonny Clark chronology
Dial "S" for Sonny
(1957)
Sonny's Crib
(1958)
Sonny Clark Trio
(1958)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]

Sonny's Crib is a studio album by the jazz pianist Sonny Clark. It was released through Blue Note Records in March 1958. [1] [2] [3] The sextet consists of horn players Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, and John Coltrane and rhythm section Paul Chambers and Art Taylor.. [6] The first half of the album comprises three jazz standards, while the second half contains two original compositions by Clark. The recording was made on September 1, 1957.

Contents

Critical reception

The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states, "Sonny's Crib is a phenomenal recording, one that opened the door to hard bop becoming the norm in the late '50s, and one that drew deft, imaginative performances from all its players". [7]

Critic Reid Thompson compared the album favorably to Coltrane's Blue Train (recorded two weeks later), seeing them as the epitome of the Blue Note sound in the late 1950s. [8]

Track listing

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."With a Song in My Heart"7:54
2."Speak Low"6:50
3."Come Rain or Come Shine"7:29
Side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sonny's Crib"Sonny Clark13:31
2."News for Lulu"Clark8:34
CD bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."With a Song in My Heart" (alternate take)Rodgers8:47
7."Speak Low" (alternate take)
  • Weill
  • Nash
6:57
8."Sonny's Crib" (alternate take)Clark9:56

Personnel

Musicians

Technical personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Clark</span> American jazz pianist (1931–63)

Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark was an American jazz pianist and composer who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Taylor</span> American drummer

Arthur S. Taylor Jr. was an American jazz drummer, who "helped define the sound of modern jazz drumming".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Watkins</span> American jazz double bassist

Douglas Watkins was an American jazz double bassist. He was best known for being an accompanist to various hard bop artists in the Detroit area, including Donald Byrd and Jackie McLean.

<i>Blue Train</i> (album) 1958 jazz album by John Coltrane

Blue Train is a studio album by the jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane. It was released through Blue Note Records in January 1958. It is Coltrane's only session as leader for Blue Note. The recording took place at Rudy Van Gelder's studio on September 15, 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Fuller</span> American jazz musician (1932–2021)

Curtis DuBois Fuller was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings.

"With a Song in My Heart" is a show tune from the 1929 Rodgers and Hart musical Spring Is Here.

<i>Whims of Chambers</i> 1957 studio album by the Paul Chambers Sextet

Whims of Chambers is a studio album by the jazz bassist Paul Chambers. It was released through Blue Note Records circa January 1957. The sextet assembled for the recording consists of trumpeter Donald Byrd, saxophonist John Coltrane, guitarist Kenny Burrell, Horace Silver, Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.

<i>Tranes Blues</i> 1999 compilation album by John Coltrane

Trane's Blues is a compact disc credited to the jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1999 on Blue Note Records, catalogue 98240. It comprises recordings from sessions for Blue Note and United Artists Records with Coltrane as a sideman for Paul Chambers, Sonny Clark, Johnny Griffin, and Cecil Taylor. These recordings were issued respectively on their Whims of Chambers, Sonny's Crib, A Blowin' Session, and Hard Driving Jazz albums. Two selections are from Coltrane's own 1957 Blue Train, and "One for Four" had been previously unissued. "Trane's Blues" had been issued on the compilation High Step in 1975, previously known as "John Paul Jones" and named after himself, the bass player Chambers, and the drummer Philly Joe Jones. Like Prestige Records before them, as Coltrane's fame grew long after he had stopped recording for the label, Blue Note used varied recordings, often those where Coltrane had been merely a sideman, and reissued them as a new album with Coltrane's name prominently displayed. In this case, the Big Four conglomerate EMI continued that earlier practice.

<i>Cool Struttin</i> 1958 studio album by Sonny Clark

Cool Struttin' is an album by American jazz pianist Sonny Clark recorded on January 5, 1958 and released on Blue Note later that year. The quintet features horn section Art Farmer and Jackie McLean, and Miles Davis Quintet rhythm section Philly Joe Jones and Paul Chambers.

<i>City Lights</i> (Lee Morgan album) 1958 studio album by Lee Morgan

City Lights is an album by American jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan recorded on August 25, 1957 and released on Blue Note the following year. The sextet features horn section Curtis Fuller and George Coleman and rhythm section Ray Bryant, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor.

<i>Candy</i> (Lee Morgan album) 1958 studio album by Lee Morgan

Candy is an album by American jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan recorded on November 18, 1957 and February 2, 1958 and released on Blue Note in 1958. The quartet features rhythm section Sonny Clark, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor.

<i>Hank Mobley</i> (album) 1958 studio album by Hank Mobley

Hank Mobley is an album by American jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on June 23, 1957 and released on Blue Note the following year. The sextet features horn section Bill Hardman and Curtis Porter and rhythm section Sonny Clark, Paul Chambers, and Art Taylor.

<i>Sonny Clark Trio</i> 1958 studio album by Sonny Clark

Sonny Clark Trio is an album by American jazz pianist Sonny Clark recorded on October 13, 1957 and released on Blue Note the following year. The trio features rhythm section Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.

<i>Lou Takes Off</i> 1958 studio album by Lou Donaldson

Lou Takes Off is an album by American jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded on December 15, 1957 and released on Blue Note the following year. The sextet features brass section Donald Byrd and Curtis Fuller and rhythm section Sonny Clark, Jamil Nasser and Art Taylor.

<i>Sonny Rollins, Volume 1</i> 1957 studio album by Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins, also known as Sonny Rollins, Volume 1, is an album by American jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded on December 16, 1956 and released on Blue Note the following year.

<i>Dial "S" for Sonny</i> 1957 studio album by Sonny Clark

Dial "S" for Sonny is the debut studio album by American jazz pianist Sonny Clark recorded on July 21, 1957 and released on Blue Note later that year. The septet features horn section Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, and Hank Mobley and rhythm section Wilbur Ware and Louis Hayes.

<i>My Conception</i> 1979 studio album by Sonny Clark

My Conception is an album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark, recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Clark with Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, Paul Chambers, and Art Blakey. It was originally released in 1979 in Japan, as GXF 3056, featuring six tracks recorded in 1959 including an alternate take of "Royal Flush", a track that had appeared on the album Cool Struttin'. The 2000 limited CD reissue also comprised the three additional tracks originally recorded for Sonny Clark Quintets, an album which never saw the light of the day until being released later only in Japan.

<i>Off to the Races</i> (Donald Byrd album) 1959 studio album by Donald Byrd

Off to the Races is an album by American jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd recorded on December 21, 1958 and released on Blue Note the following year.

<i>The Opener</i> 1957 studio album by Curtis Fuller

The Opener is an album by American jazz trombonist Curtis Fuller, recorded on June 16, 1957 and released on Blue Note later that year—his debut for the label.

<i>Bone & Bari</i> 1958 studio album by Curtis Fuller

Bone & Bari is an album by American jazz trombonist Curtis Fuller, recorded on August 4, 1957 and released on Blue Note early the following year. The quintet features saxophonist Tate Houston and rhythm section Sonny Clark, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor.

References

  1. 1 2 DeVito, Chris; Fujioka, Yasuhiro; Schmaler, Wolf; Wild, David (2013). Porter, Lewis (ed.). The John Coltrane Reference. New York/Abingdon: Routledge. p. 482. ISBN   9780415634632 . Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 "New LP Releases". The Billboard . Cincinnati: The Billboard Publishing Co. March 3, 1958. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 "March Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box . New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. March 8, 1958. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  4. Allmusic Review
  5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 254. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. Sonny Clark discography accessed December 21, 2009.
  7. Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed December 21, 2009.
  8. Thompson, Reid (Dec 1, 2001). "Sonny Clark: Sonny's Crib". All About Jazz . Retrieved 3 March 2015.