Sonny Clark • Sonny's Crib

 

Review by Thom Jurek
Recorded in 1957, Sonny's Crib features a front line of Curtis Fuller, Donald Byrd, and John Coltrane with Sonny Clark on piano, Art Taylor on drums, and Paul Chambers on bass. Truly still a bebop recording, done a full year before the landmark Cool Struttin' session, nonetheless the set produced some awesome readings of classic tunes, like the opener, "With a Song in My Heart," with one of the knottiest Byrd solos ever. As Chambers and Taylor up the rhythmic ante and Clark comps with enormous chords in the background, the entire line solos, but it is Byrd's that is stunning in its complexity -- though Coltrane could play bebop as well as anybody. The most notable tracks on the session are the classic readings of Kurt Weill's "Speak Low" and "News for Lulu," the latter of which has been adopted by John Zorn as his theme. On the former, Clark's rearrangement, with Coltrane leading the front line, is truly revelatory. Using a Latin rhythm in cut time, Clark sets up a long, 22-note melody line that moves right into Trane's solo. He moves the key around and harmonically shifts gears as Clark follows and stays in the pocket for him while Trane uses the middle register for legato pyrotechnics. Fuller's next and covers over the blues inherent in the tune with pure swing, before Byrd brings it back into the fold with a gorgeous counterpoint of the melody. Clark taps his way into extended harmonics on the sixths and sharpens the accents as he trounces the original key and plays double trills to get back. The latter is a smokin' Latin take on the hard bop blues, with a staggered melodic line and a large tonal palette that gives the horn players room to explore the timbral possibilities of Clark's colors -- which are revealed in the loosest, skittering skein of bluesy phrasing this side of Horace Silver in his solo. In all, Sonny's Crib is a phenomenal recording, one that opened the door to hard bop becoming the norm in the late '50s, and one that drew deft, imaginative performances from all its players.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonnys-crib-mw0000196632

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Reseña de Thom Jurek
Grabado en 1957, Sonny's Crib presenta una primera línea de Curtis Fuller, Donald Byrd y John Coltrane con Sonny Clark al piano, Art Taylor a la batería y Paul Chambers al bajo. Aunque se trata de una grabación bebop, realizada un año antes de la histórica sesión de Cool Struttin', el conjunto ofrece algunas lecturas impresionantes de temas clásicos, como el primer tema, "With a Song in My Heart", con uno de los solos de Byrd más complejos de la historia. A medida que Chambers y Taylor suben la apuesta rítmica y Clark compone con enormes acordes de fondo, toda la línea de solos, pero es el de Byrd el que asombra por su complejidad -aunque Coltrane podía tocar bebop tan bien como cualquiera. Los temas más notables de la sesión son las lecturas clásicas de "Speak Low" de Kurt Weill y "News for Lulu", esta última adoptada por John Zorn como tema. En la primera, la reordenación de Clark, con Coltrane al frente, es realmente reveladora. Utilizando un ritmo latino en tiempo de corte, Clark establece una larga línea melódica de 22 notas que pasa directamente al solo de Trane. Este mueve la clave y cambia de marcha armónicamente mientras Clark le sigue y se mantiene en el bolsillo mientras Trane utiliza el registro medio para la pirotecnia del legato. Fuller es el siguiente y cubre el blues inherente a la melodía con puro swing, antes de que Byrd lo devuelva al redil con un magnífico contrapunto de la melodía. Clark se abre camino hacia los armónicos extendidos en las sextas y agudiza los acentos mientras se desplaza de la tonalidad original y toca dobles trinos para volver. La última es una versión latina del hard bop blues, con una línea melódica escalonada y una amplia paleta tonal que da a los trompetistas espacio para explorar las posibilidades tímbricas de los colores de Clark - que se revelan en la más suelta y escurridiza madeja de fraseo bluesy a este lado de Horace Silver en su solo. En definitiva, Sonny's Crib es una grabación fenomenal, que abrió la puerta a que el hard bop se convirtiera en la norma a finales de los años 50, y que atrajo actuaciones hábiles e imaginativas de todos sus músicos.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonnys-crib-mw0000196632

Tracklist:
1 - With A Song In My Heart - 7:52
2 - Speak Low - 6:47
3 - Come Rain Or Come Shine - 7:25
4 - Sonny's Crib - 13:28
5 - News For Lulu - 8:31
6 - With A Song In My Heart (Alt Tk) - 8:45
7 - Speak Low (Alt Tk) - 6:54
8 - Sonny's Crib (Alt Tk) - 9:52


Credits:
    Bass – Paul Chambers
    Cover, Design – Reid Miles
    Drums – Art Taylor
    Engineer [Recording] – Rudy Van Gelder
    Mastered By [20-bit Super Bit Mapping] – Ron McMaster
    Photography By [Cover, Liner] – Francis Wolff
    Piano – Sonny Clark
    Producer [Original Session] – Alfred Lion
    Reissue Producer – Michael Cuscuna
    Tenor Saxophone – John Coltrane
    Trombone – Curtis Fuller
    Trumpet – Donald Byrd

Notes:
Recorded on September 1, 1957 at Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey.


Label: Blue Note ‎– 7243 4 97367 2 6, Blue Note ‎– 97367
Series: Blue Note Connoisseur Series –
Released: 1998
Original Release: 1958
Genre: Jazz
Style: Bop
https://www.discogs.com/Sonny-Clark-Sonnys-Crib/release/6854435

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