Sonny Stitt: Goin' Down Slow

SONNY STITT
Goin' Down Slow

“I’m not Bird, man! And Cannonball Adderley isn’t, either! Nobody’s Bird! Bird died!” These were the words of Sonny Stitt in response to being tagged as “the new Bird,” an appellation that was also foisted on Cannonball Adderley. The truth of the matter is that both Stitt and Adderley arrived independently at similar harmonic concepts as Charlie Parker. As a tenor player, Stitt was influenced by Lester Young, and his originality was sometimes easier to hear on that horn since it was not the horn Parker played.

Stitt made quite a few recordings for Prestige, and these two sessions from 1972 are among the last he did for the label. The first, originally released as Goin’ Down Slow, features features Thad Jones, pianist Hank Jones, and drummer Idris Muhammad along with two guitarists, a percussionist, and a violin quartet. The string arrangements by Billy Ver Planck are gorgeous, recalling the Southern touches of Dusty In Memphis. “Miss Ann, Lisa, Sue, and Sadie” is a slice of laid-back soul jazz, all sweet tea strings and gospel meeting piano, but when Stitt steps in with his commanding alto sound there is simply no question of who the star of the show is. His version of “Where Is Love?” is sheer beauty, and you can hear the influence of Stitt on Phil Woods and a generation of saxophonists in his playing. “Goin’ Down Slow” is a lazy blues drift through New Orleans, with Stitt playing tenor. There’s a lot of Coltrane in the way Stitt handles the tenor, and it’s hard to decide which horn suits him better.

The other session included here resulted in the album So Doggone Good, and this time Stitt is backed only by a rhythm section, which includes Hampton Hawes on the keys, bassist Reggie Johnson, and drummer Lenny McBrowne. Listening to the title track and “Orange Ashtray” should convince anyone that Stitt had much more to offer than an imitation of Charlie Parker. It’s really almost impossible to find a bad Sonny Stitt album, so consistent was his output, but the newly reissued Goin’ Down Slow is a great opportunity to hear a master in his prime.

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