Clark, Sonny
Blues In The Night
The piano trio material included in this reissue, constitutes a body of work which was never released in LP format during Sonny Clark's tragically short life. Clark was an underrated master of the hard bop genre who had a very subtle, artful touch. On this date, he exhibits the influence of Ahmad Jamal and Red Garland (a lighter sound) and less of the Bud Powell-inspired, hard-driving bebop lines. The arrangements are simple and concise; the tunes are all well-known standards. Sonny's conception is quite accessible-relaxed tempos and blues-inflected improvisations. His chord voicings and harmonies are exquisite on "I Cover the Waterfront," "Somebody Loves Me," "Dancing in the Dark," and Cole Porter's "All of You."