Search - Sonny Stitt :: No Greater Love

Quirky Packaging but a Keeper.

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 04/29/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of those strange, offbeat European releases--who knows where they got the tape? The major two quirks about the CD are the title (since "No Greater Love," a tune Sonny often performed, is not on the album) and the sound of Eddie Lockjaw Davis' unmistakable tenor sax on two of the tunes ("LAX" and "Four"). Besides the unannounced Lockjaw, an unidentified trumpet player solos on the aforementioned cuts.As for the music, it's fine late Stitt and characteristically heated Lockjaw. The trumpet player's presence is minimally felt (possibly Harry Sweets Edison, since one of the tunes is a Sweets' original). The rhythm section is on fire the whole way (few drummers swing like Duffy Jackson; few piano players can match Eddie Higgins' chops and ideas). The sound is very "present," capturing the ambience of live performance but also balancing the instruments very tastefully.At the right price, this one is definitely a keeper."