JazzWax List: The Sonny Band

During the 1940s and 1950s, many jazz musicians had nicknames. Some were bestowed on them by band members. Others were affixed by parents or friends while they were growing up. One of the most popular sobriquets during this period was "Sonny." It seems to have been given most often by parents in need of differentiating between children or between the child and the father or grandfather in the home. 

What if all of the best-known Sonnys in jazz were united for a big-band session? If you have a Sonny I've overlooked below, please add to the Comments section for all to see:

• Sonny Berman, Sonny Cohn (trumpets)
• Sonny Lee, Sonny Russo (trombones)
• Sonny Criss and Sonny Simmons (alto saxes)
• Sonny Rollins and Sonny Fortune (tenor saxes)
• Sonny Stitt (baritone sax)
• Sonny Clark (piano)
• Sonny Sharrock (guitar)
• Sonny Dallas (bass)
• Sonny Igoe, Sonny Payne, Sonny Johnson and Sonny Greer (drums)
• Sonny Skylar and Sonny Parker (vocals)
• Sonny Burke (arranger, leader)

Comments

[Bill Forbes]

Sonny Cox (alto)

[Don Brown]

Hey Marc, what about Sonny Blount (aka Sun Ra)on keyboards?

[Steve Barrow]

for the alto section, you could add Sonny Red[d]

and for rhythm guitar, maybe Sonny Forriest, who used to be with Ray Charles' band.

[Andy]

I always think of Sonny Fortune as an alto player (and sometimes soprano and flute player), not primarily a tenor player.

[Dick Cutler]

It may be a stretch but perhaps stride piano man Ralph Sutton's widow could have had them all together at one of her Sunnie Sutton's Rocky Mountain Jazz Parties.

[Michael Steinman]

"Climb upon my knee, Sonny Boys . . . wait a minute . . . not all of you at once . . . you're killing me!"

Partially relevant: when Bud Freeman and his Summa Cum Laude Orchestra made a 78 record album for Decca (circa 1939) paying tribute to Bix Beiderbecke, Eddie Condon wanted to call the project SONS OF BIXES. Just thought you needed to know!

[John P. Cooper]

Leader - "Sonny! Take a chorus!" Free Jazz ensues.

I'm passing on Sonnys.

Waiting for Skippys.

[John Herr]

Does a bebop big band need a blues-wailing harmonica-player, maybe as guest artist on a couple tunes? How about Sonny Terry? and what about a theme song, like "When Sunny Gets Blue" or "On the Sunny Side of the Street" or Rollins's "Sonnymoon For 2"? If Sonny Fortune can join his older fellows, would a theme song like "Sunny" be of too recent vintage?

[Jon-Erik Kellso]

I think of Sonny Stitt as a tenor and alto player, not aware of his playing bari.

[Jon-Erik Kellso]

aha--I guess Stitt did play some bari.

[Rab Hines]

Sun Ra is also known as Le Sony'r Ra.

Yeah, I know, a stretch.

[MrBill]

Just to shake things up, why not add Sonny Bono on vocals?

Yes, LOL - but if he hadn't run into that tree, I'll bet he would've recorded at least one album of standards by now a la Rod Stewart (and sounded just as good).

[Anand Doraswami]

Aren't four drummers at least two too many? I know one of Sonny Greer's replacements (Louie Bellson) had two successors jointly in the Duke's band on one occasion (Sam Woodyard and Jimmy Johnson) but four...

[Jon Mathis]

Sonny Dunham-trumpet!

[O'Sullivan, "Red"]

There's that wonderful trumpet player who recorded with Dexter Gordon in France in the '70s, Sonny Grey. Wonder whatever happened to him... anybody know? (I think, like Dizzy Reece, his provinence may have been Caribean).

[Pete Q]

So, after the chorus gave birth to free jazz, we can have Sunny Murray - originally Sonny - on drums.

[andrew scott]

sonny lester (producer)
sonny phillips (organist)
sonny greenwich (guitar)