| Dial "S" for Sonny, Sonny Clark first session for Blue Note Records and his first session as a leader, is a terrific set of laidback bop, highlighted by Sonny Clark liquid, swinging solos. Sonny Clark leads a first-rate group -- Art Farmer (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Wilbur Ware (bass), Louis Hayes (drums) -- through four originals and two standards, balancing the selections between swinging bop and reflective ballads. There are traces of Bud Powell in Sonny Clark style, but he's beginning to come into his own, developing a style that's alternately edgy and charmingly relaxed. Hank Mobley, Art Farmer and Curtis Fuller have their moments, but Sonny Clark steals the show in this set of fine, straight-ahead bop. |