Life can be brutal. Sonny Stitt could have been the greatest bebop sax player in the world, but this merit was given to Charlie Parker instead. Stitt was a jazz addict, so he toured and recorded all of his life. He also needed to, in order to survive. He delivered not only extremely melodic solos, he also was innovative in blending Jazz with influences from Blues to Soul. He'd got all the skills that could've make him a star of his own. Alas, this did not work out. So please give him your props retrospectively by listening to these 2 original albums: “Sonny Side Up”, featuring Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie and “Only the Blues” with Oscar Peterson and Roy Eldridge.