Sonny Clark

• USED / SECOND HAND / MINT CONDITION

This 3-CD set compiles the complete trio performances by one of the most oustanding pianists of the Fifties! Featuring Paul Chambers, George Duvivier, Philly Joe Jones & Max Roach. Although today his playing is revered among many jazz circles, Sonny Clark never achieved fame during his lifetime, due to the fact that, like so many talented jazzmen, he died very young, at the tender age of 31 of a heroin overdose on January 13, 1963, leaving an impressive musical legacy, but certainly without being able to fulfill all the expectations his talent seemed to announce. This set, containing all his trio sessions, is an ideal homage to his memory.

Tracks and personnel information:

CD 1: 1. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was (alt take), 2. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was, 3. Two Bass Hit, 4. Two Bass Hit (alt take), 5. Bebop, 6. Tadd’s Delight (alt take), 7. Tadd’s Delight, 8. Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise, 9. I’ll Remember April, 10. I’m Just a Lucky So and So, 11. Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You?, 12. Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You? (alt take).
Sonny Clark, piano on all tracks, plus: #1-8: Paul Chambers (b) & Philly Joe Jones (d). # 9 is a piano solo.
Recorded in New York, October 13, 1957.
#10-12: Jymie Merritt (b) & Wes Landers (d). Hackensack, New Jersey,
November 16, 1958. Total Time: 61:21 mins.

CD 2: 1. Ain’t No Use, 2. The Breeze and I, 3. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, 4. Can’t We Be Friends?, 5. I Cover the Waterfront, 6. Somebody Loves Me, 7. Blues in the Night, 8. Blues in the Night (alt take), 9. All of You, 10. Dancing in the Dark, 11. Minor Meeting, 12. Nica, 13. Sonny’s Crib.
Sonny Clark, piano on all tracks, plus: #1-3: Jymie Merritt (b), Wes Landers (d). Recorded in Hackensack, New Jersey, November 16, 1958. #4-10: Paul Chambers (b), Wes Landers (d). Recorded in Hackensack, New Jersey, December 7, 1958.
#11-13: George Duvivier (b) & Max Roach (d). Recorded in New York, March 23, 1960. Total Time: 62:38 mins.

CD 3: 1. Blues Mambo, 2. Blues Blue, 3. Junka, 4. My Conception, 5. Sonia, 6. Nica (alt. take) 7. Blues Blue (alt. take), 8. Junka (alt. take), 9. Sonia (alt. take), 10. Love Walked In, 11. Once in a While.
Sonny Clark, piano on all tracks, plus: #1-9: George Duvivier (b), Max Roach (d). New York, March 23, 1960. #10: Wilbur Ware (b), Louis Hayes (d). Hackensack, New Jersey, July 21, 1957.
#11: Red Mitchell (b), Bobby White (d). Paris, France, February 6, 1954.
Total Time: 62:29 mins.

Collector’s note

On CD 3, tracks #6-9 are four never before released alternate takes of "Nica", "Blues Blue", "Junka" and "Sonia".
Track #10 is the only trio track from the sextet album "Dial ‘S’ For Sonny".
Track #11 is the only trio track from a session led by guitarist Jimmy Raney (although Raney himself does not play here).