Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt - Blues Up & Down: Boss Tenors & Dig Him

Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt were co-leaders of their own group in the early 50s, but though it took them almost ten years to get back together again, they were as incendiary a pair as ever. Stitts legendary quickness of thought and execution were, as always, outstanding, but Ammons passion and adroit, canny way of developing his solos made him an ideal partner for these two-tenor jousts Stitt, by the way, also picks up his alto for a lyrical Theres No Greater Love. John Houston, who had played with Ammons and Stitt in the early 50s, is the only familiar name in a solid rhythm section.

The timeless groove delivered by this superior combination puts the music beyond analysis. Just enjoy two great pros and their swinging message.

1. Blues Up & Down (Ammons-Stitt) 8:45
2. Counter Clockwise (Sonny Stitt) 9:36
3. There Is No Greater Love (Symes-Jones) 6:28
4. The One Before This (Gene Ammons) 7:08
5. Autumn Leaves (Kosma-Mercer) 6:31
6. Red Sails in the Sunset (Kennedy-Williams) 4:18
7. But Not for Me (G. & I. Gershwin) 4:14
8. A Pair of Red Pants (Sonny Stitt) 4:34
9. We'll Be Together Again (Fisher-Lane) 4:29
10. A Mess (Sonny Stitt) 3:16
11. New Blues Up & Down (Ammons-Stitt) 3:52
12. My Foolish Heart (Young-Washington) 5:08
13. Headin' West (Water Jug) (Gene Ammons) 2:34
14. Autumn Leaves (Kosma-Mercer) 4:07
15. Time on My Hands (Youmans-Gordon-Adamson) 3:51

Personnel on all tracks:
Gene Ammons (tenor sax); Sonny Stitt (tenor & alto sax on #3); John Houston (piano); Charles Williams (bass); George Brown (drums).
Recorded at Universal Recording Studio, Chicago, August 22 (#1-5) & 26 (#6-15) 1961