Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin' (1958)

BLUE NOTE 25 "BEST" ALBUMS MONTH* (JULY 2026)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 1999 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with 2 bonus tracks.

I shouldn't try to write about this album simply because the album title is basically the whole aesthetic in two words. Nothing is rushed and nothing is wasted; a perfect balance between swing and restraint. It's cool and it struts.

Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff and 1999 reissue liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Clark - piano
Art Farmer - trumpet
Jackie McLean - alto saxophone
Paul Chambers - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (★★): "The set moves and Farmer and McClean have good chances for solos."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★

In addition to being named as one of Blue Note's 25 Best Albums, Cool Struttin' placed at #22 on the udiscover.com list of the 50 Greatest Blue Note Albums.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: The original album was only 4 tracks, two long tracks per side - the kind where everybody gets a lengthy solo turn. Of the four, my favorites are the title track, a Clark original, and the final cut, a rendition of Lover by Rodgers & Hart.

Bonus tracks: From the same recording session, we're treated to another Clark original titled Royal Flush and a cover of the Rodgers & Hart standard, Lover.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Sonny Clark Trio (1958)

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*In 1987, the European offices of Blue Note records compiled a list of the 25 Best Blue Note Albums in an effort to promote sales of classic Blue Note albums released on CD for the first time. Albums selected for the list were originally released in the years 1953-1967.

At the time, the Blue Note label had been subsumed by the EMI group. This allowed the selections to be made from other EMI labels, namely Capitol, United Artists, and Liberty. Therefore, the list-makers were able to look outside the Blue Note label and squeeze in titles by artists such as Miles Davis, Chet Baker, & Count Basie. It reads more like "albums we had the rights to, by 25 well-known jazz artists," making the list as much about artists as albums. As a marketing tool, it makes sense. As a starting place to build a Blue Note collection you could do worse. Of course, you could also do much better. But the thing exists, it caught my attention, and here we are.

Sonny Clark Trio (1958)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2001 Rudy Van Gelder Edition with 3 alternate take bonus tracks.

First off, that's yet another great Blue Note graphic design on the cover from the creative mind of Reid Miles.

No originals here, but tasteful renditions of jazz standards and show tunes. I've seen the album called "one of the landmark piano trio recordings in jazz history" and I'm not sure if I've heard enough piano trio recordings to qualify me to make such bold statements, but I sure do like the thing. I dig Clark's phrasing throughout.

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather.

Clark - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Philly Joe Jones - drums

There's quite a few jazz musicians who go by "Sonny," huh? Now that I think about it, the best jazzer I know personally is named Chris and I call him by his given name, but his entire family calls him Sonny.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (★★★): "Six highly attractive sets by the trio"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★½

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: The top track here might be the closer, the 1941 standard I'll Remember April, which is beautifully performed solo by Clark. As far as trio tracks, my favorites are the aforementioned show tunes: I Didn't Know What Time It Was (from the 1939 musical Too Many Girls) and Softly As In A Morning Sunrise (from the 1928 operetta The New Moon). The only track I'm tempted to occasionally skip is the opener, Dizzy Gillespie's Be-Bop. I should probably like be-bop more than I do, but I normally find it too frantic even though the technique of the performers is usually impressive.

The three bonus tracks are alternate takes of I Didn't Know What Time It Was, Two Bass Hit, and Tadd's Delight. And while I think the correct takes were chosen, I'm glad Blue Note decided to tack them on to this CD reissue.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None