Sonny Clark Leapin' And Lopin CD

Sonny Clark is not often heralded as one of hard bop's great talents, but albums like LEAPIN' & LOPIN' should rectify that oversight. An excellent pianist, composer, and bandleader, Clark demonstrates all three capacities on this 1961 date, turning in a host of fine originals and even better performances. The personnel includes tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse and drummer Billy Higgins, among others, and there's fine playing all around, including Clark's elegant skills on the keys. This disc was the artist's last as a leader (he died two years later), and it's a fitting swansong, as well as a thoroughly satisfying listen.

Sonny Clark's fifth Blue Note recording as a leader is generally regarded as his best, especially considering he composed four of the seven tracks, and they all bear his stamp of originality. What is also evident is that he is shaping the sounds of his quintet rather than dominating the proceedings as he did on other previous dates. Tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse and trumpeter Tommy Turrentine play very little harmony on the date, but their in-tune unison lines are singularly distinctive, while bassist Butch Warren and a young drummer Billy Higgins keep the rhythmic coals burning with a steady glowing red heat. Among the classic tunes is the definitive hard bop opener "Somethin' Special" which lives up to its title in a most bright and happy manner, with Clark merrily comping chords. "Melody for C" is similarly cheerful, measured, and vivid in melodic coloration, the CD containing a slightly longer alternate take. "Zellmar's Delight," not included on the original LP, finally has the tenor and trumpet playing harmony during a tricky, progressive melody, not at all conventional, which is perhaps why it was initially omitted. The showstopper is "Voodoo," the ultimate yin/yang, dark, late night, sly and slinky jazz tune contrasted by Clark's tinkling piano riffs. Warren wrote the exciting hard bopper "Eric Walks" reminiscent of a Dizzy Gillespie tune, while Turrentine's "Midnight Mambo" mixes metaphors of Afro-Cuban music with unusual off-minor phrases and the stoic playing of Rouse. Tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec plays a cameo sans the other horns on the soulful ballad "Deep in a Dream," exhibiting a vocal quality on his instrument, making one wonder if any other sessions with this group were done on the side. Top to bottom Leapin' and Lopin' is a definitive recording for Clark, and really for all time in the mainstream jazz idiom. [An RVG edition was also released.] ~ Michael G. Nastos

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on November 13, 1961.

Personnel: Sonny Clark (piano); Ike Quebec, Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone); Tommy Turrentine (trumpet); Butch Warren (bass instrument); Billy Higgins (drums, drum).

Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder.

Liner Note Author: Bob Blumenthal.

Recording information: Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (11/13/1961).

Photographer: Francis Wolff.

Personnel: Sonny Clark (piano); Ike Quebec, Charlie Rouse (tenor saxophone); Tommy Turrentine (trumpet); Butch Warren (acoustic bass); Billy Higgins (drums).