SONNY CLARK Cool Struttin' CLASSIC RECORDS 45rpm 180g AUDIOPHILE (4x) disc set

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SONNY CLARK Cool Struttin' CLASSIC RECORDS 45rpm 180g AUDIOPHILE (4x) disc set

Tracklist

*(all photos are of the actual item)

• Recorded At – Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey

• Alto Saxophone – Jackie McLean
• Bass – Paul Chambers (3)
• Design [Cover] – Reid Miles
• Drums – "Philly" Joe Jones
• Liner Notes – Nat Hentoff
• Photography By – Francis Wolff
• Piano – Sonny Clark
• Producer – Alfred Lion
• Recorded By [Recording By] – Rudy Van Gelder
• Trumpet – Art Farmer

Notes

Recorded in 1958, this legendary date with the still-undersung Sonny Clark in the leader’s chair also featured a young Jackie McLean on alto (playing with a smoother tone than he had before or ever did again), trumpeter Art Farmer, and the legendary rhythm section of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones, both from the Miles Davis band. The set begins with one of the preeminent “swinging medium blues” pieces in jazz history: the title track with its leveraged fours and eights shoved smoothly up against the walking bass of Chambers and the backbeat shuffle of Jones. Clark’s solo, with its grouped fifths and sevenths, is a wonder of both understatement and groove, while Chambers’ arco solo turns the blues in on itself. While there isn’t a weak note on this record, there are some other tracks that stand out, most notably Miles’ “Sippin’ at Bells,” with its loping Latin rhythm. When McLean takes his solo against a handful of Clark’s shaded minor chords, he sounds as if he may blow it — he comes out a little quick — but he recovers nicely and reaches for a handful of Broadway show tunes to counter the minor mood of the piece. He shifts to both Ben Webster and Lester Young before moving through Bird, and finally to McLean himself, riding the margin of the changes to slip just outside enough to add some depth in the middle register. The LP closes with Henderson and Vallée’s “Deep Night,” the only number in the batch not rooted in the blues. It’s a classic hard bop jamming tune and features wonderful solos by Farmer, who plays weird flatted notes all over the horn against the changes, and McLean, who thinks he’s playing a kind of snake charmer blues in swing tune. This set deserves its reputation for its soul appeal alone. [Some reissues include two bonus tracks: "Royal Flush" and "Lover."]

Classic Records earned a solid reputation by reissuing long-out-of-print and highly sought out jazz, pop, and classical titles originally released in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  These pressings offered great dynamics and wide, impressive soundstages.  Unfortunately, they also sold in limited numbers when new and finding mint used copies has become quite difficult.  Classic Records began reissuing many of these titles in the mid 1990s, first as 180 gram 33 1/3 LPs, and later as limited edition pressings cut at 45 RPM on multiple, single-sided discs for optimum sound quality.

Hard Bop pianist Sonny Clark had a brief but memorable career, and his recordings for Blue Note are regarded as classics of the genre.  AllMusic.com gave Cool Struttin’ five stars.