Good to see you here, Charles.
I love Sonny Stitt and I completely agree with you that he moves between the two horns effortlessly. To be clear, my comment about him was not meant to suggest that he didn’t, but as an example of the more general point I was trying to make.
When I hear Stitt playing alto without first knowing who it is, I know immediately that it is Stitt. When I hear him on tenor, it is not always as clear to me that it is Stitt. Like Coltrane, he was an alto player first and then added tenor (and baritone) to his arsenal. Unlike Coltrane he continued to play both alto and tenor throughout his career and developed as a player on both. He was a bebopper through and through and remained so through out his career; unlike Coltrane whose style saw much more drastic change. Some feel that he actually developed a more individualistic style on tenor citing his supposed similarity to Charlie Parker. I’m not sure I agree with that and think that, in a way, it is more of a reflection of the point that I was trying to make that the bebop alto player in him comes out in his tenor playing.
Here’s a bit of a rarity: a chance to compare Stitt on alto, tenor AND baritone. All on the same tune! Sounds great on all three horns. For me, more of his true self comes out with one horn in particular. What do you all think?
https://youtu.be/L7Fn7vf-E1UQuiz time: What well known orchestral work does he quote at 3:54?
Hint: Composed by a well known American composer who added much to the American song book.
