Blue Be aware Data has introduced their Traditional Vinyl Collection picks for September 2025, and one title will probably be Sonny Clark’s 1957 document Sonny’s Crib. One of many best piano gamers of the exhausting bop era, Clark’s second document on Blue Be aware incorporates a swinging set of originals and requirements.
This Blue Be aware Traditional Vinyl Version is stereo, all-analog, mastered by Kevin Grey from the unique grasp tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimum. Sonny’s Crib is scheduled for launch on September 19.
Sonny’s Crib makes use of the identical sextet format of Clark’s Blue Be aware debut, 1957’s Dial “S” for Sonny. Solely trombonist Curtis Fuller remained from that session’s line-up and the album featured John Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Donald Byrd on trumpet, Paul Chambers on bass, and Artwork Taylor on drums. Coltrane was re-establishing himself as a significant pressure in jazz after being fired from the Miles Davis Quintet earlier that 12 months for unreliability as a result of drug habit.
Three out of 5 tracks on Sonny’s Crib are requirements. The opener is a tackle Rodgers & Hart’s “With a Song in My Heart,” whereas a jaunty interpretation of Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low” incorporates a Latin groove and a highlight solo from Coltrane. A reflective tackle Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer’s mournful ballad “Come Rain Or Come Shine” is particularly resonant.
Facet two of Sonny’s Crib options two of Clark’s self-penned tunes. The primary is the title observe, which pulls on “amen” cadences from African-American church music. The album nearer is the uptempo “News For Lulu,” which options Clark main the music’s first solo.
After Sonny’s Crib, Sonny Clark recorded six extra classes as a frontrunner for Blue Be aware, together with what many understand as his definitive work: 1958’s Cool Struttin’. He continued to be an in-demand sideman, acting on Blue Be aware albums by Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean, Stanley Turrentine, Grant Inexperienced, and Dexter Gordon.
Purchase Sonny Clark’s Sonny’s Crib now.
