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]
Stairway to the Stars
Sonny Stitt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And climb that stairway to the stars
With love beside us to fill the night with a song
We'll hear the sound of violins
Out yonder where the blue begins
The moon will guide us as we go drifting along
Can't we sail away on a lazy daisy petal
Over the rim of the hill?
And settle high on the crest of a thrill!
Let's build a stairway to the stars
A lovely stairway to the stars
The lyrics of Sonny Stitt Quartet's song "Stairway to the Stars" describe the desire to build a stairway and climb it to reach the stars. The singer longs to have love by their side, to keep them company as they journey towards the celestial realm. The mention of violins and the moon implies a romantic setting, and the use of imagery like sailing away on a daisy petal suggest a desire for adventure and whimsy. Overall, the song paints a picture of someone who is looking for a way to escape the mundane and reach for something greater.
The song's lyrics could arguably be interpreted as an ode to escapism or a yearning for transcendence. The metaphor of climbing a stairway to the stars suggests a longing for something out of reach, and the use of romantic imagery implies a desire for something grander. Additionally, the use of phrases like "drifting along" and "settle high on the crest of a thrill" furthers the idea of seeking adventure and excitement.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's build a stairway to the stars
Let's aim and aspire to reach great heights, like building a stairway to the stars
And climb that stairway to the stars
We will work hard and make efforts to reach our goal of reaching the stars
With love beside us to fill the night with a song
We will not be alone in our journey towards our goals, as we will have love and support from our loved ones and they will add beauty and harmony to the journey
We'll hear the sound of violins
In our journey towards reaching the stars, we will be met with beauty and elegance that fills our hearts with joy and happiness
Out yonder where the blue begins
The sight we see in our journey towards the stars will seem distant and grand, like the beauty that begins at the horizon where the blue sky begins
The moon will guide us as we go drifting along
Just as a moon guides us during the night, we will be guided towards our goals and navigate through our journey towards the stars
Can't we sail away on a lazy daisy petal
Perhaps there will be moments of rest and leisure in our journey, where we can take a break and allow ourselves to be carried by the breeze, like a lazy daisy petal floating on the breeze
Over the rim of the hill?
Can we overcome the challenges and obstacles that stand in our way, like going over a hill or a mountain?
Can't we sail away on a little dream
May there be moments where we can dream and allow ourselves to be carried by our aspirations towards our goals, like a little dream we can sail away on
And settle high on the crest of a thrill!
May we finally reach our goal and bask in the thrill of success, settling high on the peak of our achievement like a crest of a wave
Let's build a stairway to the stars
May we always aim and aspire towards greatness, like building a figurative stairway that will take us to the stars
A lovely stairway to the stars
May we enjoy and appreciate the beauty of our journey towards our goals, like building a lovely stairway that will lead us to the stars
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDREW SCOTT, BRIAN CONNOLLY, MICHAEL TUCKER, STEPHEN PRIEST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind