Sistas' Place, where Jazz: A Music of the Spirit Lives and Culture is a Weapon), continues its 17th season with the Carl Bartlett Jr. Quintet celebrating the music of the great Sonny Stitt, Saturday, February 4th @ 9 and 10:30pm.
The Carl Bartlett Jr. Quintet (Carl Bartlett, Jr. - alto saxophone, Charles Bartlett - trumpet, Sharp Radway - piano, Eric Lemon - bass, Shirazette Tinnin - drums) will open our African American History Month celebration of Music of the Spirit.
Their celebration of the music of Sonny Stitt will coincide with Mr. Stitt's 88th birthday. Born February 2, 1924, Mr. Stitt's father was a music professor and his mother was a piano teacher, his brother was a pianist and his daughter Katea Stitt, is currently a very well known person on the Washington D.C, Jazz scene, keeping the tradition alive.
Saxophonist Sonny Stitt (he played both alto and tenor) was born in Boston, Massachusetts but grew up in Michigan. He was associated with some of the greatest names in the music like Billy Eckstine, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Gene Ammons, Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, to name a few.
In fact, a favorite sideman date is one done under Dizzy Gillespie's leadership called Sonny Side Up with Dizzy Gillespie and the two Sonnys, Rollins and Stitt, with a rhythm section that included Ray Bryant, Tommy Bryant and Charli Persip. This recording has to be one of the top ten classics of all time. By the time Mr. Stitt had left the planet from Washington D.C. in 1982, he had at least 100 recordings under his own name and many more with other musicians.
It's appropriate that Carl Bartlett Jr. would chose Sonny Stitt to honor because he, like Sonny Stitt, grew up in a musical family (The Bartlett Contemporaries is a well known musical group). His father is a saxophonist and his uncle plays the trumpet.
Carl Bartlett Jr.'s latest release, Hopeful (which is getting national airplay) correctly identifies the sentiment one feels about his presence in the music and therefore the music's future. Alto saxophonist Carl Bartlett, Jr. is an intense, yet humble young player who has very quickly made a name for himself on the New York Jazz scene because he can play, write and has that extra thing called stage presence that makes a significant difference. He is joined by his uncle Charles Bartlett, a left-handed trumpeter and an educator with an approach and sound just as an unusual as playing the trumpet with his left hand. Pianist Sharp Radway never shies away from bringing some church into the house. Bassist Eric Lemon is a long time favorite at Sistas' Place because of his bedrock consistency on the instrument. Sistas' Place will welcome the newcomer to the house, drummer Shirazette Tinnin.
Come out to support our music in our month:)
Don't Miss It!
Call 718 398-1766 for reservations. Admission $20 with reservations/$25 at the door.
