Early life
Edward Boatner was born in Boston, Massachusetts[1] and grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. He had a musical background; his father, Edward Boatner, was a baritone singer, composer and college music professor, his brother was a classically trained pianist, and his mother was a piano teacher.[1] Boatner was soon adopted by another family, the Stitts, who gave him his new surname. He later began calling himself "Sonny".
In 1943, Stitt first met Charlie Parker, and as he often later recalled, the two men found that their styles had an extraordinary similarity that was partly coincidental and not merely due to Stitt's emulation. Stitt's improvisations were more melodic/less dissonant than those of Parker. Stitt's earliest recordings were made in 1945 with Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. He had also played in some swing bands, though he mainly played in bop bands. Stitt was featured in Tiny Bradshaw's big band in the early forties. Stitt replaced Charlie Parker in Dizzy Gillespie's band in 1945.[2]
Stitt played alto saxophone in Billy Eckstine's big band alongside future bop pioneers Dexter Gordon and Gene Ammons from 1945 until 1956, when he started to play tenor saxophone more frequently, in order to avoid being referred to as a Charlie Parker imitator. Later on, he played with Gene Ammons and Bud Powell. Stitt spent time in a Lexington prison between 1948–49 for selling narcotics.
Stitt, when playing tenor saxophone, seemed to break free from some of the criticism that he was imitating Charlie Parker's style, although it appears in the instance with Ammons above that the availability of the larger instrument was a factor. Indeed, Stitt began to develop a far more distinctive sound on tenor.[1] He played with other bop musicians Bud Powell and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, a fellow tenor with a distinctly tough tone in comparison to Stitt, in the 1950s and recorded a number of sides for Prestige Records label as well as albums for Argo, Verve and Roost. Stitt experimented with Afro-Cuban jazz in the late 1950s, and the results can be heard on his recordings for Roost and Verve, on which he teamed up with Thad Jones and Chick Corea for Latin versions of such standards as "Autumn Leaves."
Stitt joined Miles Davis briefly in 1960, and recordings with Davis' quintet can be found only in live settings on the tour of 1960. Concerts in Manchester and Paris are available commercially and also a number of concerts (which include sets by the earlier quintet with John Coltrane) on the record Live at Stockholm (Dragon), all of which featured Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb and Paul Chambers. However, Miles fired Stitt due to the excessive drinking habit he had developed, and replaced him with fellow tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley. Stitt, later in the 1960s, paid homage to one of his main influences, Charlie Parker, on the album Stitt Plays Bird, which features Jim Hall on guitar and at Newport in 1964 with other bebop players including J.J. Johnson.
He recorded a number of memorable records with his friend and fellow saxophonist Gene Ammons, interrupted by Ammons' own imprisonment for narcotics possession. The records recorded by these two saxophonists are regarded by many as some of both Ammons and Stitt's best work, thus the Ammons/Stitt partnership went down in posterity as one of the best duelling partnerships in jazz, alongside Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, and Johnny Griffin with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. Stitt would venture into soul jazz, and he recorded with fellow tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin in 1964 on the Soul People album. Stitt also recorded with Duke Ellington alumnus Paul Gonsalves in 1963 for Impulse! on the Salt And Pepper album in 1963. Around that time he also appeared regularly at Ronnie Scott's in London, a live 1964 encounter with Ronnie Scott, The Night Has A Thousand Eyes, eventually surfaced, and another in 1966 with resident guitarist Ernest Ranglin and British tenor saxophonist Dick Morrissey. Stitt was one of the first jazz musicians to experiment with an electric saxophone (the instrument was called a Varitone), as heard on the albums What's New in 1966 and Parallel-A-Stitt in 1967.
Later life
In the 1970s, Stitt slowed his recording output slightly, and in 1972, he produced another classic, Tune Up, which was and still is regarded by many jazz critics, such as Scott Yanow, as his definitive record. Indeed, his fiery and ebullient soloing was quite reminiscent of his earlier playing. He also recorded another album with Varitone, Just The Way It Was - Live At The Left Bank in 1971 which was released in 2000.
Stitt joined the all-star group Giants of Jazz, which also featured Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Kai Winding and bassist Al McKibbon) and made albums for Atlantic Records, Concord Records and Emarcy Records. His last recordings were made in Japan. In 1982, Stitt suffered a heart attack, and he died on July 22 in Washington, D.C..[2]
Everything Happens To Me
Sonny Stitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until I'm almost mad
I must have 'roused the devil's wrath
Cause all my luck is bad
I make a date for golf and you can bet your life it rains
I try to give a party and the guy upstairs complains
I guess I'll go through life
Just catchin' colds and missin' trains
Everything happens to me
I never miss a thing
I've had the measles and the mumps
And every time I play an ace
My partner always trumps
Guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps
Everything happens to me
At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
That love would turn the trick to end despair
But know I just can't fool this head that thinks for me
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air
I've telegraphed and phoned
I send an 'Airmail Special' too
Your answer was 'Goodbye'
And there was even postage due
I fell in love just once
And then it had to be with you
Everything happens to me
The lyrics of Sonny Stitt's song "Everything Happens To Me" sympathise with the idea of an inevitable, universal jinx that the singer carries around with them. The opening lines present a common superstition that is often believed to bring misfortune - black cats crossing one's path. The singer suggests that their luck is so bad that they must have "roused the devil's wrath." The examples that follow the opening lines emphasise the singer's helplessness in the face of his "jinx." He has planned a game of golf, but it rains. He tries to throw a party, but the neighbor complains. The concluding lines present a resigned acceptance that the singer will continue to experience misfortune; he will miss trains, catch colds, and generally live a life of abysmal luck.
Line by Line Meaning
Black cats creep across my path
I encounter bad omens and feel as if something is watching over me
Until I'm almost mad
These negative experiences are causing me frustration and anxiety
I must have 'roused the devil's wrath
I feel as though I've angered some higher power
Cause all my luck is bad
These bad experiences have persisted and are affecting my life in a negative way
I make a date for golf and you can bet your life it rains
Whenever I plan something, it always seems to go wrong or not work out as expected
I try to give a party and the guy upstairs complains
Even when I try to do something positive, something seems to go wrong and hinder my efforts
I guess I'll go through life
I've come to the conclusion that these negative experiences may continue throughout my life
Just catchin' colds and missin' trains
My life is full of minor, yet annoying setbacks
Everything happens to me
I seem to encounter negative experiences more often than not
I never miss a thing
These negative experiences happen to me frequently and I am always aware of them
I've had the measles and the mumps
I've suffered through numerous illnesses and misfortunes
And every time I play an ace
Even when I have an advantage, something always goes wrong
My partner always trumps
I always seem to be outdone or overridden by others
Guess I'm just a fool who never looks before he jumps
I am always getting myself into bad situations because of my lack of foresight
At first my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
I believed that my love for you could change my string of bad luck
That love would turn the trick to end despair
I thought that being with you would put an end to my misfortunes and bring me happiness
But know I just can't fool this head that thinks for me
I now realize that my own thoughts and perceptions are contributing to my negative experiences, and nothing external can truly change that
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air
I've invested all of my hopes and dreams into this relationship, with the expectation that it will make everything better
I've telegraphed and phoned
I've tried to reach out to you in every way possible, hoping for some kind of positive response
I send an 'Airmail Special' too
I even went out of my way to try and get your attention, hoping for a change in my luck
Your answer was 'Goodbye'
Unfortunately, despite my efforts, the relationship did not work out as I had hoped
And there was even postage due
Not only did things not work out, but I ended up losing something in the process
I fell in love just once
Despite my string of bad luck, I still managed to fall in love with you
And then it had to be with you
Ironically, my one positive experience had to come from the one thing that ultimately did not work out
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: HOAGY CARMICHAEL, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ronnie Woods Bellmont Sound's
There aren't enough words in the entire universe to describe the eloquent delivery of this wonderful musician.
marksgmail66
He just brings tears to my eyes... Wish I could have seen him live.
boomerang905
marksgmail66 l did and he sent me a drink because he could not honor a music request because it had been performed before l came in. Lovely gentleman and and so great l could not speak.
saucy risi
boomerang905 I can only aspire to be this classy.
Y O
Í wish Í Could.too
- Schupack
@boomerang905 Saw him in Detroit around 1976, and when I asked him to play tune up, he did, wonderfully!
boomerang905
@- Schupack Yes! What a guy, I heard he was. So accomplished!
Tina Azzara
This is just beautiful. I love the lineup! My heroes!! Especially Blakey, and Monk! I was honored to meet Art and hang out with him a bit!!
Stitt is a total bebop master.
Thank you for sharing this video!
pevensie lavere
Sonny Stitt!!! Such an amazing musician.
Mike Kemp's Garage Jazz
Sonny Stitt, always a joy, had the real pleasure of seeing him live many times in the 60s. Treasured memories.