Sonny Side Up is an album by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and the tenor saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins, recorded in December 1957 in New York City. It was released in 1959 on producer Norman Granz's newly launched Verve label.

Sonny Side Up
Studio album by Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins
Released	January 1959[1]
Recorded	December 19, 1957 Nola Recording Studio, New York City
Genre	Jazz, bebop, hard bop
Length	37:42
Label	Verve MGV-8262
Producer	Norman Granz
Dizzy Gillespie chronology
Have Trumpet, Will Excite! (1959) Sonny Side Up (1959) The Ebullient Mr. Gillespie (1959)
Sonny Rollins chronology
Freedom Suite (1958) Sonny Side Up (1959) Newk's Time (1959)
Sonny Stitt chronology
Sonny Stitt Sits in with the Oscar Peterson Trio (1959) Sonny Side Up (1959) The Hard Swing (1959)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]

As Thomas Cunniffe has written, "The pairing of Rollins and Stitt was highly inspired. More important than their common nicknames (and the punning album title), tenor saxophonists Rollins and Stitt were both influenced by Charlie Parker, but each took a vastly different approach to improvisation. Stitt transferred Parker's white-hot intensity to the tenor after several fans and critics pointed out the tonal similarity of their alto sounds. Rollins was a more thoughtful player who expanded the vocabulary of bop improvisation by incorporating thematic elements into his solos and by experimenting with different melodic shapes and unusual phrase lengths."[4]

Pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Tommy Bryant, and drummer Charlie Persip form the rhythm section.[2] Stephen Cook of AllMusic described the album as "one of the most exciting 'jam session' records in the jazz catalog. ...both a highly enjoyable jazz set and something of an approximation of the music's once-revered live cutting session".[2]

Track listing

1. "On the Sunny Side of the Street" (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields) – 5:41
2. "The Eternal Triangle" (Stitt) – 14:10
3. "After Hours" (Avery Parrish) – 12:19
4. "I Know That You Know" (Vincent Youmans, Anne Caldwell) – 5:27

Personnel

• Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet, vocal (track 1)
• Sonny Stitt – tenor saxophone
• Sonny Rollins – tenor saxophone
• Ray Bryant – piano
• Tommy Bryant – double bass
• Charlie Persip – drums

Additional personnel

• Burt Goldblatt – cover photography
• Nat Hentoff – liner notes

References

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