Cool Struttin'

Artist: Sonny Clark
Label: Blue Note Records
Category: Music

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Format: Original recording reissued
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 724349532724
EAN: 0724349532724
ASIN: B00000IL28

Release Date: 1999-04-20

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Tracks:

Cool Struttin'
Blue Minor
Sippin' At Bells
Deep Night
Royal Flush
Lover

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Page One

Customer Reviews:

Love this album.......2005-11-01

Sonny is very cool and plays tasty straight ahead jazz throughout this date. He is brilliantly supported by the rythym section of Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. The chemistry and tonal quality of the horns is something special. The title track is a well recognised classic but "Blue Minor" is equally up there.

This is a bebop gem! Thanks to RVG for including the awesome bonus tracks.

Great straight-ahead Hardbop.......2005-06-10

Sonny Clark, despite his exceptionally fluid stlye of playing, lead an odd life. It seems that from his playing you would think he was a happy man who was healthy and stayed away from drugs. Not so, he was a big heroin addict who spent long amounts of time away from the recording studio. He died at a mere 32 in a car accident which has become the fate of many other incredible musicians including Clifford brown and Ritchie Powell(Buds Brother) in the same accident, three great bassists including Scott LaFaro, Oscar Pettiford, and Doug Watkins. Aside from Clarks unfortunate life, he produced some very fine recordings with the top musicians of the time. On bass is Paul Chambers along with Philly Joe Jones on drums who were the backbone of Miles Davis' early quintet. Clark on piano, Art Farmer on Trumpet, and Jackie Mclean on Alto Sax. Mclean, who is known for his raw sharp alto playing is in an earlier stage and is much more mellow and fluid. Art farmer has a quieter more subdued sound yet produces some very interesting intervals. Clark is the ultimate treat, his light touch and very fluid and fast style reflects the influence of bud powell as well as earlier masters like Fats Waller and Art Tatum.

The opening title track is a funky and heavy swingin blues with a strong unison sound produced by Mclean and Farmer. Clark, Farmer, Mclean, and Chambers all solo like a log on the fire, slow burning. "Blue Minor" is obviously a minor keyed tune with extended solos that are simple but meaningful.
"Sippin" at the bell is a be-bop tune with a very melodically and Harmonically interesting tune. Jackie somewhat takes the role of Bird playing up and downscales with speed and accuracy.

"Deep Night" starts off with Clark, Chambers, and Jones in a Piano Trio-istic fashion with the horns taking their solos. The two bonus tracks include "Royal Flush" a Clark original and the standard "Lover".

The session is just heavy handed yet straight ahead jazz. Clark threw out all the fancy tricks and twists and turns and threw in simple yet unique tunes.

"Cool Struttin" is a classic.

Doesn't disappoint........2005-06-09

A once-forgotten session that apparently acquired a following when the Japanese discovered it in the seventies, "Cool Struttin'" lives up to expectations. Were it not for what is known these days as an "addictive personality," Clark might have taken his place alongside Barry Harris and Tommy Flanagan as an enduring presence among latter-day mainstream bop pianists. Certainly his flowing, ceaselessly inventive melodic lines explain Bill Evans' interest in this post-Powell interpreter.

The Spotlight Review by Nate Dorward practically "nails" everything there is to know and notice about the recording. McLean is a tad less "sweet-sour" but still readily identifiable; Art Farmer is a happy, inspired choice for the reasons given by Dorward; Clark's bypassing a solo opportunity on the fast-moving changes of "Lover" raises questions about his facility, which was probably nowhere near Bud's.

If you want just one CD by Sonny Clark, or are a completist, or don't already have a lot of "classic," Van Gelder-engineered Blue Note sessions, you might easily consider this one an essential, five-star pick-up.

Cool Struttin'.......2005-03-12

I first heard Sonny Clark on Dexter Gordon's "Go!" (see my review) and was super impressed with his very laid-back style and great ear. Seeing that this album had Jackie McLean, probably my second favorite altoist, among the personnel, I knew immediately that it would be good. I was definitely right since this great hard bop session captures the "Blue Note Sound" of the late 50's/early 60's perfectly. The personnel is an all-star group consisting of Art Farmer on trumpet, McLean on alto, Sonny, and Miles's great unit of Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. The title track and "Blue Minor" are very bluesy tracks, with the title track being taken at a slower tempo than "Blue Minor". The type of blues solos that are heard on these tracks are nothing short of phenomenal, yet are very simple. "Sippin' At Bells" is a not-so-done Charlie Parker/Miles Davis tune that really is treated very well here. You really get to hear Parker's influence on the then young McLean. "Deep Night" is a very soothing tune, with Sonny's piano taking the spotlight. It really is a shame that he didn't get a chance to record more due to his incredibly short life, since he definitely ranks up there with the best of 'em and is my favorite jazz pianist. The next two tracks were previously unreleased until the RVG edition ("Royal Flush" and "Lover") and are both exceptional hard bop performances. If you are into the "Blue Note Sound", then look no further than "Cool Struttin'", one of the best hard bop sessions of all time.

Good, classic hard bop.......2004-09-29

A good album, with a great lineup. Sonny Clark is a good soloist and even better comping pianist, and Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones are superb as bass and drums respectively. In the horns we have the brilliant Jackie McLean on alto, and Art Farmer on trumpet. This was actually my first recording with Farmer, and he is a capable, steady soloist with some nice lines. McLean, not as razor-sharp as usual, contributes some nice solos, although he's a bit dissapointing on this to me as I've heard him do some much better hard bop. This album is good, but not quite great. Everything swings, but there are no bursts of inspiration that define the great albums of the period. The compositions are standard medium-tempo fare with some very nice moments. Nothing spectacular, but a good Blue Note addition, and and an excellent way to check out Sonny Clark, an underrated and to jazz novices unknown (he died early) pianist.

Music CD:

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

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