1. Sonny Stitt was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern because of his tendency to rarely work with the same musicians for long despite his relentless touring and devotion to the craft.
16 Facts About Sonny Stitt
1. 2.
Sonny Stitt had a musical background: 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.
3.
Sonny Stitt was placed for adoption in 1924 by his father and adopted by the Stitt family in Saginaw.
4.
Sonny Stitt was a leader of Bebop Boys and Galaxy in 1946 and 1948, respectively.
5.
When playing tenor saxophone Sonny Stitt seemed to break free from some of the criticism that he was imitating Parker's style, and began to develop a far more distinctive sound.
6.
Sonny Stitt played with other bop musicians including Horace Parlan, Bud Powell, and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, a fellow tenor with a distinctly tough tone in comparison to Stitt, in the 1950s, and recorded a number of sides for Prestige Records as well as albums for Argo, Verve, and Roost.
7.
Sonny Stitt experimented with Afro-Cuban jazz in the late 1950s, and the results can be heard on his recordings for Roost and Verve, on which he teamed up with Thad Jones and Chick Corea for Latin versions of such standards as "Autumn Leaves".
8.
In 1952, Sonny Stitt played with pianist Jimmy Jones, and the next year performed orchestral music with Johnny Richards.
9.
Sonny Stitt joined Miles Davis briefly in 1960, and recordings with Davis's quintet can be found only in live settings on the tour of 1960.
10.
Later in the 1960s, Sonny Stitt paid homage to Parker on the album Sonny Stitt Plays Bird, which features Jim Hall on guitar.
11.
Sonny Stitt recorded several times with his friend Gene Ammons in sessions that were interrupted by Ammons's own imprisonment for narcotics possession.
12.
Sonny Stitt ventured into soul jazz, and he recorded with fellow tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin in 1964 on the Soul People album.
13.
Sonny Stitt drank heavily after giving up heroin in the late fifties and the abuse was beginning to take its toll.
14.
Sonny Stitt joined the all-star group The Giants of Jazz and made albums for Atlantic, Concord and EmArcy.
15.
In 1981, Sonny Stitt performed with George Duvivier and Jimmy Cobb, Six weeks before his death, Sonny Stitt recorded two consecutive sessions which were with George Duvivier, Jimmy Cobb, Bill Hardman and either Junior Mance or Walter Davis Jr.
16.
In 1982, Sonny Stitt was diagnosed with cancer, and died on July 22 in Washington, DC He is buried in a wall crypt at Fort Lincoln Cemetery, Brentwood, Maryland.