Dial "S" for Sonny, Sonny Clark's first session
for Blue Note Records and his first session as a leader, is a terrific set of
laidback bop, highlighted by Clark's liquid, swinging solos. 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 Clark's style, but he's beginning to
come into his own, developing a style that's alternately edgy and charmingly
relaxed. Mobley, Farmer and Fuller have their moments, but Clark steals the
show in this set of fine, straight-ahead bop.
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
http://www.allmusic.com/album/dial-quot-s-quot-for-sonny-mw0000267905
