Dial "S" for Sonny

Dial "S" for Sonny
Studio album by Sonny Clark
Released	December 1957[1]
Recorded	July 21, 1957 Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:55
Label	Blue Note BLP 1570
Producer	Alfred Lion
Sonny Clark chronology
Dial "S" for Sonny (1957) Sonny's Crib (1957)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

Dial "S" for Sonny is the debut album by jazz pianist Sonny Clark recorded for the Blue Note label and performed by Clark with Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, Hank Mobley, Wilbur Ware, and Louis Hayes.^[3]

Reception

Critic John S. Wilson, in a contemporaneous review, remarked negatively that "Art Farmer contributes some crackling solos to Dial S for Sonny, [...] but he has to fight a chomp-chomp rhythm section".^[4] The album was awarded 3 stars by Stephen Thomas Erlewine in an Allmusic review which stated: "Dial "S" for Sonny, Sonny Clark's first session for Blue Note Records and his first session as a leader, is a terrific set of laidback bop, highlighted by Clark's liquid, swinging solos... Clark steals the show in this set of fine, straight-ahead bop."^[5]

Track listing

All compositions by Sonny Clark except as indicated

1. "Dial "S" for Sonny" - 7:26
2. "Bootin' It" - 5:17
3. "It Could Happen to You" (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 6:59
4. "Sonny's Mood" - 8:38
5. "Shoutin' on a Riff" - 6:45
6. "Love Walked In" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 5:50
7. "Bootin' It" [Alternate Take] - 5:15 Bonus track on CD

Personnel

• Sonny Clark - piano
• Art Farmer - trumpet (tracks 1-5 & 7)
• Curtis Fuller - trombone (tracks 1-5 & 7)
• Hank Mobley - tenor saxophone (tracks 1-5 & 7)
• Wilbur Ware - bass
• Louis Hayes - drums

Production

• Alfred Lion - producer
• Reid Miles - design
• Rudy Van Gelder - engineer
• Francis Wolff - photography

References