Duets

Duets

In late 1957, Gillespie recorded with two of the finest tenor players in jazz, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt, both in quintet format with one of the saxophonists and in a sextet with both men present. The meeting of the two Sonnys is available on <i>Sonny Side Up</i>, while this disc includes their separate meetings with Gillespie. The contrast between the saxophonists is still apparent, though, with Rollins bringing blunt authority and invention to Wheatleigh Hall and Stitt providing smooth elegance within the bop conventions. Pianist Ray Bryant can play some of the deepest blues of any modern jazz musician, and he imparts a special feel to the two headless blues with Stitt, "Anythin'" and "Haute Mon'." These are blowing sessions with a special mix of the relaxed and the concentrated, with Gillespie, clearly inspired by his partners, tearing off some of his most incendiary solos of the period. --<i>Stuart Broomer</i>