Gene Ammons

Any new record by the Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt tenor duo was a welcome event, and a rewarding experience. These 1962 sessions are a solidly swinging, enjoyable exposition of the unfettered let’s-just-blow school of which Ammons and Sittt were the deans. Few tenor men could match the sheer power of Ammons’ playing, and he could finger rapidly when he chose to. His lines are not as relaxed as Stitt’s, as these two albums demonstrate, and whatever they play, from ballads to tunes that are by no means blues, the sound and urgency of the blues pervade their work. On his alto solo on Why Was I Born?, Stitt displays the drive and dazzlingly rich rhythmic imagination that were his trademarks.

Both rhythm sections featured organ players. On “Boss Tenors in Orbit!” they got Sonny’s cooking rhythm section—complete—with the rocking organ of Donald Patterson. On “Soul Summit” Jack McDuff feeds the soloists without ever becoming obtrusive, following along the bristling and powerful style of Charlie Persip, who lays the foundation for their tenor sax masterworks.

[1-5] "Boss Tenors in Orbit":

Gene Ammons, tenor sax; Sonny Stitt, tenor & alto (on #2) sax; Donald Patterson, organ; Paul Weeden, guitar; William James, drums
Recorded in New York City, February 1962 

[6-11] "Soul Summit":

Gene Ammons, tenor sax; Sonny Stitt, tenor & alto sax; Jack McDuff, organ; Charlie Persip, drums
Recorded in New York City, February 1962

Tracklisting:

01. Walkin’ (Carpenter) 5:21
02. Why Was I Born? (Kern-Hammerstein II) 8:20
03. Long Ago (and Far Away) (Kern-Gershwin) 6:17
04. John Brown’s Body (P.D.) 7:22
05. Bye, Bye Blackbird (Dixon-Henderson) 9:58
06. Tubby (Ammons) 9:10
07. Dumplin’ (Stitt) 4:57
08. When You Wish Upon a Star (Harline-Washington) 4:34
09. Shuffle Twist (Ammons) 5:59
10. Sleeping Susan (Mundy) 5:38
11. Out in the Cold Again (Koehler-Bloom) 6:45