This LP was recorded in 1957 and released in 1958. What a fantastic record. To have this original, vintage jazz 1st pressing in my collection is a great pleasure. Especially as it's a true 1st pressing with the NY23 label on both sides. The vinyl sounds great. The jacket has some stains and an old sticker with a previous owners name and address, but that doesn't bother me too much. It's part of the charm. To know that this was once owned by someone from Georgia is quite cool, and it makes the mind wander a bit. That this piece has found it's way to my collection through the years, from at least one confirmed place, the deep south. I'm very happy to have been able to add this masterpiece to the collection in it's original form. It seems like a 1st pressing of this title is quite hard to find, you almost never see it with the NY23 on both sides. How many copies have you seen with the NY23 on both sides in the last 5 years? Only a handful I suspect.
The presence of John Coltrane makes this a rare Blue Note in itself. He was only present on a few Blue Note records. The tunes are all top notch. Superbly executed. My favorites being maybe the opening track "With A Song In My Heart" and "Speak Low". A great, classic LP from Blue Note's golden era. The personnel are: Donald Byrd on trumpet, Curtis Fuller on trombone, John Coltrane on tenor sax, Sonny Clark on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor on drums. I really dig Curtis Fuller's contribution on this LP. I have a few records on which he is present as a sideman, but I should really check out his sessions as a leader more in depth. There's a few on Blue Note which are quite desirable. He is great on all the recordings I have with him. As you'd expect, Coltrane is smokin' on this recording. I still prefer his earlier work over the later stuff. I'm getting more and more into the later stuff though. But at heart, I think I will always be a 50's hard bop fan, with Coltrane playing beautiful and fiery. Donald Byrd is a player which I enjoy. He always delivers a smooth, swinging touch to any record. Maybe not a superb virtuoso, like Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan or Freddie Hubbard, but a reliable trumpeter with great qualities and is featured on so many outstanding recordings. Sonny Clark is of course a great pianist. I enjoy his stuff and the amount of extremely desirable recordings he's on is second to none. I'm getting more and more into the piano as a instrument in jazz. I truly enjoy piano trios for example. I'm still more into the different horns and the drums in jazz but the piano is getting quite a bit more interesting and important to me with every year that passes. I'm delving into Bill Evans work. I've touched a little early Monk as well.
Sonny's Crib is a great addition to any jazz collection, and to have an original 1st pressing, NY23 both labels copy is a blessing. If you haven't checked this LP out before, now's the time. It's a joy to put this on the turntable.
In the end of January I will buy a superb, highly desirable, very rare LP. I'm looking forward to that one. I will post it here as soon as I've listened through it. Stay tuned for that. In the mean time I will post some nice records from my collection. Enjoy the images, and be sure to click on "Post History" in the top menu, to browse through older posts with a lot of great records from my collection, if you have missed those. Have a great Sunday!