Criss had developed his own, concise, bluesy tone by this point, and though his basic style did not vary much, his ability on the instrument continued to develop. Nevertheless, he continued to drift from band to band, and played on some records with Johnny Otis and Billy Eckstine.[1]
His first major break came in 1947, on a number of jam sessions arranged by jazz impresario Norman Granz. In 1956 he signed to Imperial Records, based in New York, and recorded a series albums including Jazz U.S.A , Go Man! and Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter featuring pianist Sonny Clark. Capitol, which owned the master recordings, reissued them as a double-CD set on their Blue Note imprint in 2000. Criss also recorded At the Crossroads with pianist Wynton Kelly.
Prestige signed Criss in 1965, and he continued to record well-acclaimed albums which were mainly rooted in hard bop traditions.[2]Sonny's Dream featured arrangements by Horace Tapscott.[2] Later sessions were recorded for Muse and Impulse.
By 1977, Criss had developed stomach cancer and did not play again. As a consequence of this painful condition, Criss committed suicide (self-inflicted gunshot) in 1977,[2] in his adopted city of Los Angeles.[1] He never married, but had one son, Steven Criss.
Sonny Criss discography at Jazz Discography Project
January 05, 2023
sonny, criss, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2021,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sonny Criss news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message William Sonny Criss 23 October 1927 19 November 1977 was an American jazz musician 1 Sonny CrissSonny CrissBackground informationBirth nameWilliam CrissBorn23 October 1927Memphis Tennessee U S Died19 November 1977 1977 11 19 aged 50 Los Angeles California U S GenresJazz bebopOccupation s Musician composerInstrument s Alto saxophone soprano saxophone An alto saxophonist of prominence during the bebop era of jazz he was one of many players influenced by Charlie Parker Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 2 1 As leader 2 2 As sideman 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditWilliam Criss was born in Memphis Tennessee United States 2 and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 15 He then went on to play in various bands including Howard McGhee s which also featured Charlie Parker 1 Criss had developed his own concise bluesy tone by this point and though his basic style did not vary much his ability on the instrument continued to develop Nevertheless he continued to drift from band to band and played on some records with Johnny Otis and Billy Eckstine 1 His first major break came in 1947 on a number of jam sessions arranged by jazz impresario Norman Granz In 1956 he signed to Imperial Records based in New York and recorded a series albums including Jazz U S A Go Man and Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter featuring pianist Sonny Clark Capitol which owned the master recordings reissued them as a double CD set on their Blue Note imprint in 2000 Criss also recorded At the Crossroads with pianist Wynton Kelly Prestige signed Criss in 1965 and he continued to record well acclaimed albums which were mainly rooted in hard bop traditions 2 Sonny s Dream featured arrangements by Horace Tapscott 2 Later sessions were recorded for Muse and Impulse By 1977 Criss had developed stomach cancer and did not play again As a consequence of this painful condition Criss committed suicide self inflicted gunshot in 1977 2 in his adopted city of Los Angeles 1 He never married but had one son Steven Criss Discography EditAs leader Edit California Boppin Fresh Sound 1947 Intermission Riff Pablo 1951 1988 Jazz USA Imperial 1956 Go Man Imperial 1956 Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter Imperial 1956 Sonny Criss at the Crossroads Peacock 1959 on CD as Featuring Wynton Kelly Criss Cross Imperial 1963 compilation Mr Blues Pour Flirter Brunswick France Records 1963 This Is Criss Prestige 1966 Portrait of Sonny Criss Prestige 1967 Up Up And Away Prestige 1967 The Beat Goes On Prestige 1968 Sonny s Dream Birth of the New Cool Prestige 1968 Rockin in Rhythm Prestige 1968 I ll Catch the Sun Prestige 1969 The Best Of Sonny Criss Hits of the 60 s Prestige 1970 compilation Live in Italy Fresh Sound 1974 Saturday Morning Xanadu 1975 Crisscraft Muse 1975 Out of Nowhere Muse 1976 Warm amp Sonny Impulse 1976 The Joy of Sax Impulse 1977 The Sonny Criss Memorial Album Xanadu 1984 As sideman Edit With Dexter Gordon The Hunt Savoy 1947 also on Jazz Concert West Coast vols 1 3 Savoy With Wardell Gray All Stars Wardell Gray Memorial Vol 2 Prestige 1950 With Charlie Parker and Chet Baker Inglewood Jam Fresh Sound 1952 With Buddy Rich The Wailing Buddy Rich Norgran 1955 The Swinging Buddy Rich Norgran 1955 The Cinch quintet Live at Birdland 1958 With Lou Rawls and Onzy Matthews Big Band Tobacco Road Capitol 1963 With Onzy Matthews Sounds For The 60 s Capitol 1966 With Esther Phillips and Onzy Matthews Orchestra Confessin The Blues Atlantic 1966 With Hampton Hawes All Stars Live At Memory Lane Fresh Sound 1970 References Edit a b c d Sonny Criss Biography amp History AllMusic AllMusic Retrieved 21 November 2018 a b c d Colin Larkin ed 1992 The Guinness Who s Who of Jazz First ed Guinness Publishing p 108 ISBN 0 85112 580 8 External links EditSonny Criss at the Hard Bop Home Page Sonny Criss discography at Jazz Discography Project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sonny Criss amp oldid 1125978242, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
