Search - Stitt, Sims :: Complete Recordings

A Difficult Review to Write

Warren Weise | Lakeville, MN United States | 02/13/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"For the record, I am a staunch fan of the music of Zoot Sims and Sonny Stitt. As a saxophone player, I have long admired the skill and artistry that these two stalwarts have exhibited in a wide variety of musical settings. They are both among the best that have ever "learned to work the saxophone" as Steely Dan would say in "Deacon Blues". However, you would never know it by listening to this recording. Sonny sounds totally disinterested and Zoot can't seem to fully understand why things have gone amiss. Goodness knows they both are serial swingers, have serious chops and have brought the house down on many, many ocassions individually. Why it didn't work for this recording is beyond me. Despite being off their "A" games individually, the supporting cast is not up to the task either. The piano even needed tuning! And the choice of tunes is quite forgettable, what appear to be some hastily thrown together originals and a couple of lack-lustre standards. If you are fans of Sonny and Zoot, you have much better examples of their individual artistry already in your possession. If you're not familiar with their work, this is not the recording you want as your first exposure to the playing of either one. I can heartily recommend many of their other recordings that will give you much pleasure and enjoyment. But not this one. Whether it was the chemistry, the alignment of the planets or some other factor, what would seem to be a natural pairing of highly talented and seemingly compatible players fizzled, at least to these ears. By the way, the music samples listed for this item are from a different Zoot Sims-only reording and sound MUCH better than the actual tracks on the Stitt-Sims CD. I've notified Amazon of this but they have not corrected the problem."