Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'

A masterpiece from an artist who left far too soon. Recorded on January 5, 1958 at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, Cool Struttin' is the album that cemented Sonny Clark's place among the great hard bop pianists of his generation, a record that has only grown in stature in the decades since his premature death at just 31 years old in 1963.

Clark brought everything to this session. His lyrical flow, his inventive melodic ideas, and his deep, abiding feeling for the blues are present on every track, from the irresistibly swaggering title cut to the tender ballad "Deep Night" and the blowing vehicle "Sippin' At Bells." The quintet assembled around him is nothing short of remarkable: Art Farmer on trumpet, Jackie McLean on alto saxophone, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums, five musicians at the absolute peak of their powers playing together with the intuitive chemistry that only the greatest jazz records achieve.

This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series reissue is all-analog, mastered directly from the original master tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl, delivering one of the most beloved albums in the Blue Note catalog with the warmth, depth, and fidelity it has always deserved. A cornerstone of the hard bop era and essential listening by any measure.