By this point in his career,
Sonny hardly needed a tune up in his style – but the album's a great one from his post-Prestige years, and a real back-to-basics effort that recalls the genius of his work on Roost! The format is straight and simple –
Stitt's tenor and alto fronting a quartet that includes Barry Harris, Sam Jones, and Alan Dawson – all playing in a way that puts
Sonny in command on all tracks, blowing with an amazing tone that makes us want to throw away all his funk, organ, and electric outings, and just concentrate on these straight acoustic sides.
Stitt has a way of blowing the reed like he's got his whole mouth moving into the sax – an earthy, human, and personal feel that first came out strongly in his work during the late 50s, but which has grown even more by this point – even if you couldn't hear the development on other sets. And given our love of funk and electric sides, we're honestly surprised we find ourselves championing a record like this from the early 70s – but it's a great one, and not to be missed if you remotely dig
Stitt! Titles include "Tune Up", "Idaho", "Just Friends", "Groovin High", and "Blues For Prez & Bird".
(Cover has light wear.)