Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist who played in the bebop and hard bop styles. He was known for his rich, warm sound and recorded more than 100 albums, making him one of the most well-recorded saxophonists of his time. Jazz critic Dan Morgenstern called him the "Lone Wolf" because he often worked with different musicians, even though he performed frequently and was very dedicated to his music. Early in his career, some people thought he sounded like Charlie Parker, but over time, he created his own unique sound, especially when playing the tenor saxophone and sometimes the baritone saxophone.

Early life

Edward Hammond Boatner Jr. was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. He had a strong connection to music: his father, Edward Boatner, was a baritone singer, composer, and college music professor; his brother was a classically trained pianist, and his mother was a piano teacher. In 1924, he was placed for adoption by his father and later adopted by the Stitt family in Saginaw. He later began calling himself "Sonny." While in high school in Saginaw, he played in the Len Francke Band, a local popular swing band.

In 1943, Stitt met Charlie Parker. He often said the two men had similar musical styles. Parker reportedly said, "Well, I'll be damned, you sound just like me," to which Stitt replied, "Well, I can't help the way I sound. It's the only way I know how to play." Kenny Clarke once said, "Even if there had not been a Bird, there would have been a Sonny Stitt."

During the 1940s, he played the alto saxophone as a member of Tiny Bradshaw's big band, Billy Eckstine's big band with Gene Ammons and Dexter Gordon, and Dizzy Gillespie's big band. Stitt was the leader of the Bebop Boys in 1946 and the Galaxy in 1948.

When playing the tenor saxophone, Stitt seemed to break free from criticism that he was copying Parker's style and began developing a more unique sound. He played with other bop musicians, including Horace Parlan, Bud Powell, and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, in the 1950s. He recorded many songs for Prestige Records and albums for Argo, Verve, and Roost. Stitt experimented with Afro-Cuban jazz in the late 1950s, and these recordings can be heard on his albums for Roost and Verve, where he worked with Thad Jones and Chick Corea on Latin versions of songs like "Autumn Leaves."

In 1952, Stitt played with pianist Jimmy Jones, and the next year performed orchestral music with Johnny Richards. Under Quincy Jones's guidance in 1955, he played uptempo and ballad songs such as "My Funny Valentine" and "Star Dust." That same year, he performed "Afterwards" and "There Will Never Be Another You" with Hank Jones. In 1957, Stitt joined Dolo Coker to perform "Blues for Yard" and "Blue Moon" before returning to Hank to perform "Cherokee."

Stitt joined Miles Davis briefly in 1960. Recordings from Davis's quintet are only available in live settings from the 1960 tour. Concerts in Manchester and Paris are commercially available, as well as concerts from the earlier quintet with John Coltrane on the record Live at Stockholm (Dragon), which included Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb, and Paul Chambers. However, Miles Davis fired Stitt due to his excessive drinking and replaced him with Hank Mobley. Later in the 1960s, Stitt honored Parker on the album Stitt Plays Bird, which features Jim Hall on guitar.

Stitt recorded several times with his friend Gene Ammons in sessions that were interrupted by Ammons's imprisonment for drug-related offenses. These recordings are considered some of the best work by both musicians. The partnership between Ammons and Stitt is remembered as one of the best dueling partnerships in jazz, alongside Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, and Johnny Griffin with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis.

Stitt explored soul jazz and recorded with fellow tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin in 1964 on the Soul People album. He also recorded with Duke Ellington alumnus Paul Gonsalves in 1963 for Impulse! on the Salt and Pepper album in 1964. Around that time, he performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's in London, and a live 1964 performance with Ronnie Scott, titled The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, was later released. In 1966, Stitt recorded again at Ronnie Scott's with resident guitarist Ernest Ranglin and British tenor saxophonist Dick Morrissey. Stitt was one of the first jazz musicians to use the Selmer Varitone amplification system, as heard on the albums What's New!!! in 1966 and Parallel-a-Stitt in 1967.

Later life

In the 1970s, Stitt reduced his recording activity slightly but released another important album in 1972 called Tune-Up!. Many jazz critics, including Scott Yanow, still consider this album his best work. His playing on this record showed the same energy and skill as his earlier performances. In 1971, Stitt recorded four albums: Turn It On! with Leon Spencer, Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad, and Virgil Jones; You Talk That Talk! with Gene Ammons and George Freeman; Just the Way It Was (Live at the Left Bank) with Don Patterson and Billy James; and Black Vibrations, which included the same group as Turn It On!. The live recording Just the Way It Was (Live at the Left Bank), released in 2000, also included Stitt playing the electric saxophone for the first time.

Stitt’s work slowed in the 1970s because of alcoholism. After stopping heroin use in the late 1950s, he began drinking heavily, and this caused serious health problems. Alcohol-related seizures led him to stop drinking completely.

Stitt joined a famous group called The Giants of Jazz, which included Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Kai Winding, and bassist Al McKibbon. He recorded albums for Atlantic, Concord, and EmArcy. His final recordings were made in Japan. In the late 1970s, Stitt toured with Red Holloway, who noted that his playing had improved. In 1975, Stitt performed with Ron Burton, Major Holley, and drummer John Lewis at the Village Vanguard.

In 1981, Stitt performed with George Duvivier and Jimmy Cobb. Six weeks before his death, he recorded two sessions with George Duvivier, Jimmy Cobb, Bill Hardman, and either Junior Mance or Walter Davis Jr. on piano.

In 1982, Stitt was diagnosed with cancer and died on July 22 in Washington, D.C. He is buried in a wall crypt at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland.

Discography

• 1949–1950: Sonny Stitt, Bud Powell, and J. J. Johnson with Bud Powell and J. J. Johnson (Prestige, 1956)
• 1950: Stitt's Bits (Prestige, 1958)
• 1950–1952: Kaleidoscope (Prestige, 1957)
• 1953: Sonny Stitt Playing Arrangements from the Pen of Johnny Richards (Roost, 1953)
• 1954: Jazz at the Hi-Hat (Roost, 1955) – live performance
• 1954: The Battle of Birdland with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (Roost, 1955) – live performance
• 1955: Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements from the Pen of Quincy Jones (Roost, 1956)
• 1955: Sonny Stitt Plays (Roost, 1956)
• 1956: New York Jazz (Verve, 1956)
• 1956: For Musicians Only with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz (Verve, 1957)
• 1957?: 37 Minutes and 48 Seconds with Sonny Stitt (Roost, 1957)
• 1957: Personal Appearance (Verve, 1957)
• 1957: Sonny Stitt with the New Yorkers (Roost, 1957)
• 1957: Only the Blues (Verve, 1958)
• 1957: Sonny Side Up with Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Rollins (Verve, 1959)
• 1958: Sonny Stitt (Argo, 1958)
• 1958: The Modern Jazz Sextet (Verve, 1956) with Skeeter Best, John Lewis, Percy Heath, and Charli Persip
• 1959: Duets (Verve, 1957) – Quintets featuring Sonny Stitt or Sonny Rollins; with Ray Bryant, Tommy Bryant, and Charlie Persip
• 1959: Sonny Side Up (Verve, 1957 [rel. 1959]) – Sextet featuring Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins; with Ray Bryant, Tommy Bryant, and Charlie Persip
• 1959: Gene Ammons, All Star Sessions (Prestige, 1959) – Recorded between 1950 and 1955
• 1960–1962: Stitt in Orbit (Roost, 1963)
• 1964: Patterson's People (Prestige, 1964)
• 1964–1969: Tune Up! (Prestige, 1971)
• 1964: The Boss Men (Prestige, 1965)
• 1965: Funk You! (Prestige, 1968)
• 1968: Brothers-4 (Prestige, 1969)
• 1969: Donny Brook (Prestige, 1969)
• 1971: The Giants of Jazz (Atlantic, 1971) with Art Blakey, Al McKibbon, Thelonious Monk, and Kai Winding
• 1971: Duets (Verve, 1957) – Quintets featuring Sonny Stitt or Sonny Rollins; with Ray Bryant, Tommy Bryant, and Charlie Persip
• 1975: The Bop Session (Sonet, 1975) with John Lewis, Hank Jones, Percy Heath, and Max Roach
• 1975: In Walked Sonny (Sonet, 1975) – with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
• 1976: Forecast: Sonny & Red with Red Holloway (Catalyst, 1976)
• 1976: Stomp Off Let's Go (Flying Dutchman, 1976)
• 1977: Sonny Stitt with Strings: A Tribute to Duke Ellington (Catalyst, 1977)
• 1978: The Sonny Stitt Quintet (Finite, 1978)
• 1978: Sonny Stitt Meets Sadik Hakim (Progressive, 1981) – meets Sadik Hakim
• 1980: Groovin' High (Atlas, 1980) – with west coast friends (Art Pepper, Terry Gibbs, et al.)
• 1980: Atlas Blues 'Blow! & Ballade' (Atlas, 1980) – with west coast friends
• 1980: Sonny's Back (Muse, 1980)
• 1980: Good Life (Trio, 1982) – with Hank Jones
• 1981: In Style (Muse, 1982)
• 1981: Sonny, Sweets and Jaws: Live at Bubbas with Harry "Sweets" Edison and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (Who's Who in Jazz, 1982) – live performance
• 1982: At Last (Seven Seas, 1982) – also as The Last Stitt Sessions Vol.1 (Muse, 1983) – released after his death
• 1982: Just in Case You Forgot How Bad He Really Was (32 Jazz, 1998) – released after his death
• 1983: The Last Stitt Sessions Vol.1 (Muse, 1983) – released after his death
• 1985: Art Blakey, A Jazz Message (Impulse!, 1963)
• 1992: Miles Davis, Miles Davis in Stockholm 1960 Complete with John Coltrane and Sonny Stitt (Dragon, 1992)
• 1998: Just in Case You Forgot How Bad He Really Was (32 Jazz, 1998) – released after his death
• 1998: Miles Davis, Miles Davis in Stockholm 1960 Complete with John Coltrane and Sonny Stitt (Dragon, 1992)
• 2001: God Bless Jug and Sonny with Gene Ammons (Prestige, 2001