Don Patterson, Sonny Stitt, Billy James - The Boss Men (1965) [re-rip]

Fruitful partnerships in jazz are one the principal ways both the music and the musicians stay creatively vital. Having a close colleague to riff off of and goad on keeps even an art form based on improvisation from going stale. Stitt and Patterson shared just such a relationship. The saxophonist and the organist teamed up on over a dozen dates together in the late 60s, frequently with drummer James in tow. This Prestige LP "The Boss Men" is ostensibly helmed by Patterson. Blues-based originals and a handful of standards round out the crop of tunes and the trio wastes no time in harvesting them. One of the immediately audible aspects of this errant trio is their reverence for space and thematic flexibility. While several of the tunes traffic in rapid tempos nothing ever seems rushed. Stitt’s a venerated veteran and he knows it, taking the changes with a diplomatic amiability that proves a model of self-assurance and pacing. His alto positively sings in points and it’s a true joy to hear him blowing so effusively in such economical setting. Whether soloing or filling in the chordal cracks around his partners’ Patterson is similarly confident. His glimmering lines sport a slippery weightlessness at odds with the stereotypical heavy-handed, lead-footed organists of the era. James is at times a basher, striking his skins with a strident urgency, as on But more often he slides easily into an accompanist’s role sculpting syncopated grooves and soothing brush patterns with equal alacrity. Excerpts by Derek Taylor, AAJ.

Prestige Records, PRST 7466, 1966

Recorded 28^th December, 1965 At Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Tracks:

A1. Diane {Erno Rapee, Lew Pollack} (5:48)

A2. Someday My Prince Will Come {Frank Churchill, Larry Morey} (8:21)

A3. Easy To Love {Cole Porter} (5:43)

B1. What's New? {Bob Haggart, Johnny Burke} (5:34)

B2. Big C's Rock {Don Patterson} (3:12)

B3. They Say That Falling In Love Is Beautiful {Irving Berlin} (7:52)

Personnel:

Don Patterson - Organ

Sonny Stitt - Alto Saxophone

Billy James - Drums

Credits:

Producer - Cal Lampley

Engineer - Rudy van Gelder
Design - Don Schlitten

Liner Notes - Ahmad Basheer, June 1966