condition (records/cover): NM / VG+ (yellowing on back)

Gatefold sleeve. Insert and obi included.

Mid-fifties, and a very young Quincy Jones writes a set of charts for one of the fastest saxophonists alive. The pairing works better than it might: Jones' arranging at this stage was tight, brass-forward and built to swing rather than to impress, and it gives Sonny Stitt a frame to push against instead of the endless blowing-session format he usually operated in. Stitt responds by playing with a bit more shape and rather less filler than on the jam dates. A minor record in both discographies and a genuinely enjoyable one.

Japanese Royal Roost pressing. Quincy before Hollywood, Stitt before the reputation calcified.