It is difficult to believe after listening to this two-CD set, that
Sonny Stitt only had six weeks left in his life; he already had cancer but did not know it. Switching between tenor and alto,
Stitt on the first disc is heard in top form with pianist
Junior Mance, bassist
George Duvivier, and drummer
Jimmy Cobb while the second CD (recorded the following day) adds trumpeter
Bill Hardman and has
Walter Davis in
Mance's place. As was typical of
Stitt's career, the music throughout is high-quality bebop with the saxophonist stretching out creatively over common chord changes. This double CD (a straight reissue of two single LPs) shows that
Sonny Stitt went out on top. ~ Scott Yanow