Search - Sonny Criss :: This Is Criss!

This recording is Sonny Criss in top form.

10/24/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Criss highlights Sonny Criss at the peak of his playing. In particular, his performance of Black Coffee is unparallelled, and displays Sonny at the top of his form, utitlizing both his virtuostic lightning technique along with his deep sense of the blues. The entire recording is worth it just for that one performance alone. One finds is hard to imagine listening to any other alto player after hearing Criss on this one. Kudos to Don Schlitten for yet another brilliant Sonny Criss recording for Prestige Records. Also, check out Walter Davis and his incredible piano playing, another feature of this superb disc."

Pleasure Cooker!!!!

Beverly Praiswater | 03/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I would rate this one higher than 5 stars if I could. Sonny Criss felt a soulful depth in his music. From the opening number "Black Coffee" to the (bonus track) finale "Love For Sale", we are fortunate to have the experience of these sessions on cd. Sonny's version of "Sunrise, Sunset" is incomparable. Every song on this cd is sweet!! If you love 60's sax/accoustic jazz you need to have this one in your collection."

Solid album by an undervalued altoist.

bruce horner | 08/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the great overlooked jazz albums of the sixties by one of the great overlooked alto players of the post-war era. "Black Coffee," "Greasy," and "Skylark" are standouts but the whole album is excellent, with Criss in top form throughout. His style was a satisfying amalgam of the bluesy, the lyric, and the dazzlingly convoluted. One wonders what would have happened if he had done an album with Sonny Stitt (if they did, I haven't seen it.)"