Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt & Sonny Rollins Sonny Side Up (Verve Vault Series) 180g LP (Mono)

Michael Fremer Rated 8/10 Music, 9/10 Sound!

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Sonny Side Up, released in 1959 on Verve Records, is the masterful studio collaboration between trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and tenor saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt. Recorded in December 1957 with producer Norman Granz, the album brings together three of modern jazz's most distinctive musicians in a rare frontline configuration. Gillespie, already a pivotal architect of bebop, trades choruses with two tenor titans of contrasting approach: Rollins, with his thematic development and rhythmic elasticity, and Stitt, with his rapid-fire bebop fluency. It's rumored that Gillespie playfully pitted Rollins and Stitt against each other ahead of the session, which resulted in the bar being raised and the creation of an iconic album. Make no mistake, though, the two trade blows throughout the set leaving no doubt that both are heavyweight champions. The Verve Vault series is always mastered from analog tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Great sound—every instrument is well recorded and splendidly placed in the room (I doubt the word 'mixed' would apply here), and so much fun, plus excellent Optimal pressing... Not among the most consequential jazz albums ever recorded or released but among the most fun you can have listening to these greats have a ball playing together! A treat!