''Sonny Clark Quintets'' is an album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist Sonny Clark, recorded for the Blue Note label, featuring performances by Clark with two different studio quintets. The first session, from late 1957, featured Clifford Jordan, Kenny Burrell,

Paul Chambers Paul Laurence Dunbar Chambers Jr. (April 22, 1935 – January 4, 1969) was an American jazz double bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, he has become one of the most widely-known jazz bassists of the hard bop era. ...

, and

Pete LaRoca Pete "La Roca" Sims (born Peter Sims; April 7, 1938 – November 20, 2012, known as Pete La Roca from 1957 until 1968) was an American jazz drummer and attorney. Born and raised in Harlem by a pianist mother and a stepfather who played trumpet, ...

, and produced three tracks. The LP's remaining two tracks were recorded a few weeks later with group including

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

, Jackie McLean, Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. The three pieces recorded with Burrell and Jordan were originally scheduled to be released on album given the catalog number "BLP 1592" (these tracks would be later issued as bonus tracks on the CD release of ''

My Conception ''My Conception'' is an album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark, recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Clark with Donald Byrd, Hank Mobley, Paul Chambers, and Art Blakey. It was originally released in 1979 in Japan, as GXF 3056, featuri ...

''). Blue Note decided not to complete the album begun with Jordan and Burrell, and the tracks remained unreleased during Clark's lifetime. In 1976, Blue Note combined these three tracks with two outtakes recorded in early 1958 as part of the session for the ''

Cool Struttin' ''Cool Struttin'' is an album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark that was released by Blue Note Records in August 1958. Described as an "enduring hard-bop classic" by ''The New York Times'', the album features alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, trumpeter Ar ...

'' LP (BLP 1588). The resulting LP was released in Japan as ''Sonny Clark Quintets'' (LNJ 70093). The same five pieces were subsequently re-released on a 1983 Japanese LP titled ''Cool Struttin' Volume 2''. ''Sonny Clark Quintets'' has been reissued numerous times on compact disc. In an

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review, Lee Bloom stated: "Of interest to fans of the superb hard bop pianist, this recording combines material from two separate dates. 'Royal Flush' and 'Lover' are from the January 1958 ''

'' session and are available domestically on the CD release of the same name. The remaining tunes, 'Minor Meeting,' 'Eastern Incident' and 'Little Sonny,' were never released during Clark's short life — they are special for fans of Sonny, as they include guitarist Kenny Burrell. Clark rarely worked with a guitarist, although he recorded some wonderful material with Grant Green, Tal Farlow, and Jimmy Raney, three masterful players. His playing here never clashes harmonically or rhythmically with the guitar, a challenging feat for any jazz pianist. These three original tunes are also welcome additions to the consistently excellent body of work which Sonny Clark composed".Bloom, L.

Allmusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

accessed December 21, 2009.

Track listing

:''All compositions by Sonny Clark, except as indicated'' # "Royal Flush" - 9:03 # "Lover" (

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

) - 7:04 # "Minor Meeting" - 6:54 # "Eastern Incident" - 8:14 # "Little Sonny" - 6:32 ''Recorded on December 8, 1957 (#3-5) and January 5, 1958 (#1-2).''

Personnel

* Sonny Clark - piano * Clifford Jordan -

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

(tracks 3-5) * Kenny Burrell - guitar (tracks 3-5) *

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(tracks 1-2) * Jackie McLean -

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

(tracks 1-2) *

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Philly Joe Jones (tracks 1-2),

(tracks 3-5) -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Production

Alfred Lion Alfred Lion (born Alfred Löw; April 21, 1908 – February 2, 1987), was an American record executive who co-founded the jazz record label Blue Note in 1939. Lion retired in 1967, having sold the company, after producing recordings by leading music ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Reid Miles Reid Miles (July 4, 1927 – February 2, 1993) was an American graphic designer and photographer best known for his work for Blue Note Records in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Reid Miles was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 4, 1927 but, fo ...

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Theloni ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Francis Wolff Francis Wolff (April 5, 1907 – March 8, 1971) was a record company executive, photographer and record producer. Wolff's skills, as an executive and a photographer, were important contributions to the success of the Blue Note record label. Care ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

References

{{Authority control Sonny Clark albums 1957 albums Blue Note Records albums Albums produced by Alfred Lion Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Albums recorded in a home studio