Musicians - Sonny Criss

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	Musicians - Sonny Criss

William "Sonny" Criss (October 23, 1927 - November 19, 1977) was an American jazz musician.

An alto saxophonist who came to modest prominence during the bebop era of jazz. Like his partial namesake, Sonny Stitt, Criss was never considered a true innovator (see Charlie Parker), but was a stylist and exceptional player in his own right, and furthered the bebop vocabulary.

Life and Work

William Criss was born in Memphis, Tennessee and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 15. He then went on to play in various bands including Howard McGhee's, which also featured Charlie Parker.

Criss had developed his own, concise, bluesy tone by this point, and though his basic style did not vary much, but his ability on the instrument continued to develop. Nethertheless, he continued to drift from band to band, and played on some records with Johnny Otis, and Billy Eckstine.

His first major break in 1947 on a number of jam sessions arranged by jazz impresario Norman Granz. 1956, was a pivotal year where he signed for Imperial Records, based in New York, and recorded a series of "underground" classics featuring Sonny Clark, namely, Jazz in U.S.A , Go Man and Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter. Capitol, the masters' owners, reissued them as a 2CD set on their Blue Note imprint in October, 2000. Criss also recorded At the Crossroads, with Kind of Blue pianist Wynton Kelly.

Prestige signed him in 1965, and he continued to record well-acclaimed albums which were mainly rooted in hard-bop traditions. The records produced during this period demonstrated his inventive play on the alto sax, and contributed to his growing national recognition. Although some of these albums marketed Criss as a survivor, Sonny's Dream was more substantial, featuring charts by Horace Tapscott. Later sessions were recorded for Muse and Impulse.

In 1977, Criss contracted stomach cancer and did not play again. As a consequence of this painful condition, Criss committed suicide in 1977 in his adopted city of Los Angeles.

Posthumous reception

Criss was quite an anomalous player who never received the praise and acclaim he justly deserved during his life time, as he was undoubtedly overshadowed later in his career by Jackie McLean, and Cannonball Adderley as he had been by Parker earlier. Posthumous releases have helped to let Criss's reputation grow somewhat, and reissues have been favourably received by the jazz world.

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