Sonny Stitt - Rearin' Back (1962) [vinyl>flac]

A great little groover from Sonny Stitt – blowing here with a very soulful group that features piano by soul jazz giant Ronnie Matthews! Matthews is at his prime here, and his heavy left-handed approach lays out some wonderful grooves for Stitt – crackling little tunes that are extra-great because they include a good number of original compositions by Sonny! The group’s a quartet, with Sonny and Ronnie alongside Art Harper on bass and Lex Humphries on drums – and the session’s got the great tone and inventive solo work of Stitt’s best work on Roost, but also a more pronounced role from the rhythm section, who really help drive the record! Titles include “Rearin Back”, “Cut Plug”, “Queen”, “Carpsie’s Groove”, and “Bunny R”. ~ Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Argo Records, LPS-709, 1963

Recorded 24^th September, 1962, Ter Mar Recording Studio, Chicago, Illinois

Personnel:

Sonny Stitt - Alto & Tenor Saxophones

Ronald Matthews - Piano

Arthur Harper Jr. - Bass

Lex Humphries - Drums

Track Listing:

A1. Rearin’ Back {Sonny Stitt} (5:06)

A2. We {Harry Woods, Al Sherman, Charles Tobias} (3:57)

A3. Little Girl Blue {Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers} (3:29)

A4. Cut Plug {Sonny Stitt} (4:06)

B1. Queen {Sonny Stitt} (6:50)

B2. Carpsie’s Groove {Sonny Stitt} (5:00)

B3. Bunny R {Sonny Stitt} (6:01)

Very hard drivin’ groove going down here… now Sonny never needed a reason to open up and blow… but this rhythm section sure sparked a fire under Sonny on this date.. and being a Argo, I was not sure it would have the same strong attention as his Roost or Verve years.. gee was I pleasantly surprised to find it not only matched Roost or Verve, but even stepped it a notch [or two] “Little Girl Blue” at 17:30 min long just had Sonny on fire. “Bunny R” is another let all hang out versions for Sonny… So if Soul/Jazz with strong bop lines are your thang’ well seek no further… it’s right here ~ oldhippierick