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Sonny StittEdward (Sonny) Stitt (1924–1982) was an American jazz saxophonist. He was one of the most quintessential bebop saxophonists of his era. He was also one of the most prolific saxophonists, recording over 60 records in his lifetime. Life and Works He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 2, 1924. His earliest recordings were from 1945, when he played on records with Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. He played alto saxophone Billy Eckstine's big band from 1945, where he played alongside future bop pioneers Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons until 1949, when he started to play tenor and baritone saxophone more often. He later notably played with Gene Ammons and Bud Powell. He switched to the tenor saxophone and baritone in 1949, and in doing so, he seemed to break free from some of the criticism that he was apeing jazz genius Charlie Parker's style. Indeed, he began to develop a far more distinctive sound on tenor. He played with other bop jazzers Bud Powell and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis in the fifties, and started recording several albums for the burgeoning Prestige Records label, as well as Argo and Verve. He experimented with Afro-Cuban jazz in the late fifties, which can be heard on his recordings for Roost and Verve, in which he teamed up with Thad Jones and Chick Corea for Latin versions of such standards like "Autumn Leaves." Stitt would record with Miles Davis briefly in 1960, but Miles fired Stitt due to a bad drinking habit he had developed, and was replaced by Hank Mobley. Stitt, later on in the sixties, paid homage to his main influence Parker, on the seminal cut Stitt Plays Bird. In the 1970s, Stitt slowed in recording output, though not by too much, and during this period, he produced another classic, in the year of 1972. Tune Up was and still is regarded by many jazz critics such as Scott Yanow, his definitive record. Indeed, his fiery and ebuillient soloing is quite reminiscent of his earlier playing. Stitt, to his credit never slowed down, joining the Giants of Jazz, who made some albums for the Mercury label, and he continued to record more sessions for Cobblestone and other labels. In 1982, Stitt suffered from a heart attack and passed away on July_22. Although his playing was at first heavily influenced by Charlie Parker and Lester Young, Stitt eventually developed his own style, which influenced John Coltrane. He was especially effective with at blues and ballad numbers such as Skylark. External links Stitt, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Stitt, Sonny
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