Sonny Stitt ”Low Flame”

Sonny Stitt

”Low Flame”
( LP Jazzland Records, 1962 )
Catalog # JLP 71

Tracklisting:
Donald Duck
Close Your Eyes
Low Flame
Put Your Little Foot Right Out
Cynthia Sue
Baby Do You Ever Think Of Me
Silly Billy
Fine And Dandy

Personnel & Notes:
Sonny Stitt (as, ts)
Don Patterson (org)
Paul Weeden (g)
Billy James (d)
Recorded in NYC, April 4, 1962

Review:
Stitt plays both tenor and alto sax on this set, backed by his working band of the time: Don Patterson on organ, Billy James on drums, and Paul Weeden on guitar. This small combo jazz fits between Bebop and soul-jazz, dominated by group-penned material. Stitt gets an especially smoky tone on the ballads, particularly on the title track, which is a sultry blues number also featuring the guitarist and organ in their solo turns. Weeden distinguishes himself more as a soloist than Patterson does, particularly on the Wes Montgomery-type lines on “Silly Billy.” Prestige’s 1999 reissue of the album combines Low Flame and the entirety of Stitt’s 1964 album Shangri-La (which also features Patterson and James, though not Weeden) on the same disc.
By Richie Unterberger (AMG)

By Pier