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Legends Of Acid Jazz (Low Flame/Shangri-La)

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Maybe not the Acid Jazz extravaganza promised in the title – but a set that features two early sweet albums that match Sonny Stitt's tenor with the Hammond of Don Patterson! First up is Low Flame – mellow late-night set of jazz tracks, cut with Don Patterson and his trio that included Paul Weeden and Billy James. The record has a great soulful sound that's a lot more like some of Patterson's work on Prestige than the usual stuff on Jazzland – and we almost wonder if the session wasn't given to Jazzland by Prestige, or done for free as a favor for using Stitt on a few of their records. Stitt's nicely situated in a warm organ groove, and his blowing is strong and soulful on tracks like "Low Flame", "Silly Billy", "Baby, Do You Ever Think Of Me", and "Donald Duck". On Shangri-La, Sonny Stitt's grooving nicely with organist Don Patterson – at a level that's similar to some of the records that Patterson cut with Booker Ervin – just organ, tenor, and a bit of drums –a very a very stripped down, very laid back set of tracks that has a focus on free running solos! Billy James handles the drums, and often lays out to give just the organ and tenor plenty of room to play – which makes for a really open-ended session with a wonderfully organic vibe. Titles include "My New Baby", "Soul Food", "The Eternal One", and "Shangri-La" with a strong soul jazz sensibility. Plus, Stitt also gives a rare vocal performance on the cut "Mama Don't Allow"! (CD case has a small cutout hole.)  © 1996-2013, Dusty Groove, Inc.