Boppin' in Baltimore captures
Sonny Stitt's quartet in November 1973, playing the Famous Ballroom as part of the Left Bank Jazz Society's Sunday jazz concerts between 1969-1981. It is one of three simultaneously issued volumes on
Jazz Detective from the society's archives; the other two are organist
Shirley Scott's
Queen Talk and pianist
Walter Bishop, Jr.'s
Bish at the Bank.
Stitt's band on the date included bassist
Sam Jones, drummer
Louis Hayes, and pianist
Kenny Barron.
The two-disc program showcases the quartet in an incendiary jam session stretching out blues, bop, and swing standards.
Stitt's approach differs from the less bop-oriented recordings he was making for
Cadet,
Muse, and
Flying Dutchman at the time. That said, this is
Stitt the survivor who emerged as a fiery, take-no-prisoners competitor from the days of live cutting sessions during the '40s and '50s.
All but two of these nine selections are over eight minutes, with most over ten. Set-opener "Baltimore Blues" is a muscular, 19-minute bebop sprint reminiscent of the many all-star jams
Stitt cut for
Prestige,
Savoy, and
Roost. Introduced by
Hayes and
Barron,
Jones drops in a meaty blues walk before
Stitt solos on tenor. The fingerpopping monolith offers fantastic soloing from
Barron, too. That said, the locked-down interplay between
Hayes and
Jones --arguably one of the other most underrated bassists of the 20th century -- is textbook; it provides the groove engine for this music to open up wide. They work off the same changes for the entire ride, but the playing is so spirited and the solos so creative, it doesn't get bogged down.
Stitt's knotty, dazzling opening solo on "Star Eyes" is so fleet and dexetrous,
Barron alters the vamp with a Latin tinge while
Hayes and
Jones swing like mad. And speaking of Latin, the entire rhythm section grabs a Cuban son groove to kick off "A Different Blues." Its pace and tension get ratcheted by
Jones and
Hayes as
Barron comps colorfully and
Stitt blows wild and unfettered.
That said, anyone who's ever spent time listening to the saxophonist knows he's awfully expressive, as evidenced here on the powerful ballads "Loverman" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me." The second disc kicks off with "A Different Blues," offering another 14-and-a-half minutes of raw, kinetic bebop blues where
Stitt showcases his devastating technical mastery. "Stella by Starlight" features another uncredited saxophonist joining
Stitt in a honking R&B sax chorus, as
Jones double times and
Hayes adds funky fills, accents, and rim shots after every chorus while
Barron constructs a harmonic shelf for the saxophonist. The handsome package is annotated with liner essays and tributes by writers and musicians alongside rare photos. Sound quality is good, though not pristine. For
Stitt fans,
Boppin in Baltimore is essential, offering an intimate, fiery portrait of the saxophonist with a killer band later in his career. For the un- or under-initiated, this an excellent introduction to a jazz giant. ~ Thom Jurek
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