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Sonny Clark: Dial "S" for Sonny

By C. Michael Bailey
May 20, 2020
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Pianist

Sonny Clark

piano
1931 - 1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Clark was culturally marginalized in much the same way as his contemporary

Elmo Hope

piano
1923 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Elmo Hope—both heroin-addicted jazz musicians in the 1950s: at the time, and romantically, a cliche. Both pianists have been sorely lumped into the "

" data-original-title="" title="">Bud Powell school of bop piano" which superficially may seem accurate until one considers the evolutionary continuum of jazz piano that places both Clark and Hope conceptually and stylistically beyond Powell.

Clark was born in Georgia and raised outside of Pittsburgh. His professional career began on the West Coast while visiting his Aunt where Clark met and began working with tenor saxophonist

Wardell Gray

saxophone, tenor
1921 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Wardell Gray. From southern California, Clark went to San Francisco with bassist

Oscar Pettiford

bass
1922 - 1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Oscar Pettiford. The pianist joined clarinetist

Buddy DeFranco

clarinet
1923 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Buddy DeFranco in 1953, touring with him until 1956, when he joined The Lighthouse All-Stars, led by bassist

Howard Rumsey

bass, acoustic
1917 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Howard Rumsey. Wishing to return East, in 1957, Clark signed on to accompany singer

Dinah Washington

vocals
1924 - 1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Dinah Washington ensuring a move to New York City in February of that year. In July, Clark entered Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack studio to begin cutting sides for what would become his debut recording for Blue Note Records, Dial "S" for Sonny.

Dial "S" for Sonny was a sextet recording featuring trumpeter

Art Farmer

flugelhorn
1928 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Art Farmer, trombonist

Curtis Fuller

trombone
1934 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Curtis Fuller and tenor saxophonist

Hank Mobley

saxophone, tenor
1930 - 1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Hank Mobley. Bassist

Wilbur Ware

bass, acoustic
1923 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Wilbur Ware and drummer

Louis Hayes

drums
b.1937

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Hayes rounded out the rhythm section. The repertoire consisted of four Clark originals and two standards ("It Could Happen to You" and "Love Walked In"). Like hope, Clark was a full-service jazz composer. His performance informed the hard bop genre of which he was a powerful proponent.

Clark alternates between hard bop cookers and ballads: the title tune, "Bootin' It" and "Sonny's Mood" being upbeat definitive hard bop. 'The two standards offer the more meditative mood, with "Love Walked In" performed in a trio format. The breadth of Clark's capabilities are displayed in his tempo and rhythm switches on the Gershwin classic. "Shoutin' on a Riff" is Clark's all-out nod to bebop, with the pianist showing off his technical wares at speed. The ensemble playing is sprite and fresh with Farmer and Fuller hitting notes right on the nose, while Mobley kept things rounded up in that loose, fun way he had when he performed. Dial "S" for Sonny serves well as an example of hard bop when the subgenre was evolving.

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Track Listing

Dial “S” for Sonny; Bootin’ It; It Could Happen to You; Sonny’s Mood; Shoutin’ on a Riff; Love Walked In; Bootin’ It (alternate take).

Personnel

Sonny Clark

piano

Wilbur Ware

bass, acoustic

Louis Hayes

drums

Art Farmer

flugelhorn

Curtis Fuller

trombone

Hank Mobley

saxophone, tenor

Additional Instrumentation

Sonny Clark: piano; Curtis Fuller: trombone; Hank Mobley: tenor; Art Farmer: trumpet; Wilbur Ware: bass; Louis Hayes: drums.

Album information

Title: Dial "S" for Sonny | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

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