Down Beat : 11/28/1956
Nat Hentoff : 3 stars

Criss‘ second LP for Imperial also involves Leroy Vinnegar, Lawrence Marable, and Sonny Clark. The rhythm section moves forcefully, and Sonny’s solos are pulsatingly pointed. The troubles of the LP rest with the leader. Criss’ tone is unrelentingly strident throughout. He approaches each number with the same humorless, slashing attack. The tempos differ, but the hardness of sound and conception remain the same throughout. There is no softening of the emotional palette; it’s all in harsh primary colors.

If Criss could learn to relax more, to leaven his intensity with some wit and lyricism, he could become and important soloist. Even now, however, in an age of muted emotions, one cannot put down the naked ferocity of Sonny’s horn despite his limitations. The cover is an insult to Sonny’s honesty, and Imperial should be ashamed of itself. This is jazz, after all, not an ad for Playboy.

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Liner Notes by Unknown

Since first introducing Sonny Criss to record fans, we’ve been inundated with requests for another album. Oddly enough, a majority of requests came not from the hard core of jazz enthusiast, but from that ever-widening circle of non-descript music fanciers, the record collector.

Years ago the collector was a gent who had a penchant for one artist and that artist alone. There were and are people who restricted their “collections” to the works of Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bichet, and by far the most collected of all stars, Benny Goodman. It was less than tactful to suggest a new Artie Shaw or Harry James recording to a Goodman collector. The sneer that generally followed more than aptly expressed the way the Goodman collector felt about any and all interlopers.

The tie had turn however, and our musical taste and culture broadened. Jazz no longer is the property of the aficionado or the student of jazz. The classics have been dolled up and presented so that the layman and even children can enjoy them.

Which leads us back to Sonny Criss. An ever widening audience meant the necessity to be even more meticulous in the selection of repertoire for Sonny’s next album. What were the tunes and how should they be done? The problem is a well known one to the recording industry and unquestionably consumes more man hours than any other single phase of making a record.

In selecting the twelve songs in this second Sonny Criss album, more than 300 tunes were painstakingly discussed, performed, carefully listened to. The tunes found between these covers represent what is believed to be among the very best of standard material ever written. Though originally penned many years ago, the songs remain as fresh and inspiring today as they did when they were first played. And played they are today.

The sorrowful lament that is Summertime, which some say is the best ever written by Gershwin, is imaginatively captured by Sonny Criss. Memories Of You, and How High The Moon are good examples of contrasting mood. The Man I Love is the sort of melody that can be perked up in the jazz idiom, or wailed a la torch song. After You’ve Gone, Come Rain Or Come Shine, and If I Had You are the love songs. Two original compositions by Sonny Criss are also presented, Wailin’ With Joe and The Blues For Rose.

Despite his lean years, Sonny Criss has been hailed as one of the most important new performers to arrive on the entertainment scene. His brilliant interpretation of these classics of American composition, ably complemented by the skilled musicianship of Sonny Clark, Leroy Vinnegar and Lawrence Marable are sure to be enjoyed and equally certain to find new collectors – collectors of Sonny Criss.