Sonny Stitt: Turn It On
From Turn It On (Prestige, 1971). Also on Legends of Acid Jazz
Stitt is a Prestige veteran since Day One – having recorded almost a dozen albums for them during the label’s first years. He then took a decade off and return to Prestige in the early 1960s and began recording for them regularly after that point.
This 1971 date features Idris Muhammed on drums which explains why the rhythm section is so firmly in the pocket. Compared to yesterday’s Billy Butler cut, “Turn It On” isn’t quite as overtly funky but this song is unquestionably anchored in a firm, catchy rhythm. Stitt blows nicely here too – nowhere near as cheesy as a lot of Hosuton Person’s albums from the same era. If I had to pick a definitive Prestige soul-jazz sound – this comes as close as anything else I can pick out.
Tomorrow: Charles Kynard raises a winter’s child.
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