condition (record/cover): NM / NM

Gatefold sleeve. Insert and obi included.

By the seventies Sonny Stitt had recorded well over a hundred albums and was working essentially as a travelling soloist, flying into towns and playing with whatever rhythm section was available, which produced a great deal of unremarkable music and a surprising amount of very good music. 12! belongs to the latter category. The tone on tenor had thickened with age, the phrasing had loosened, and the sheer accumulated fluency means he can start anywhere in a chorus and land exactly where he intended. No concept, no gimmick, just a professional playing at a very high level.

Japanese Stateside pressing. Deep-catalogue Stitt, and there is a lot of catalogue.