Sonny Meets Hawk: Unreleased "Three Little Words" (!!!!!!)

[Mark Stryker]

Lewis Porter gives us a previously unreleased "Three Little Words" from the Sonny Meets Hawk session.  Incredible stuff, especially from Hawkins, who comes at Sonny on the younger man's turf. Point made.

https://lewisporter.substack.com/p/rollins-and-hawkins-an-astounding?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

[romualdo]

Thanks Mark - what a blast - that's why I have so much admiration for Hawk

[JSngry]

That's an amazing record. Truly amazing .

So full session tapes exist?

Put me down for that, please! 

[Mark Stryker]

17 minutes ago, JSngry said:

That's an amazing record. Truly amazing .

So full session tapes exist?

Put me down for that, please! 

Here's an index to part of the Avakian archives at the New York Public Library. Use the guide on the left and click on the Series IV: Audio and Video Recordings. Scroll down to see recordings from the sessions he produced that are available to anyone for study. He probably took these home as reference recordings and/or editing. https://archives.nypl.org/mus/22589?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#detailed

Edited October 15, 2023 by Mark Stryker

[T.D.]

Thanks, Mark. Great material and congratulations to Mr. Porter for digging it up.

[david weiss]

On 10/15/2023 at 8:21 AM, Mark Stryker said:

Lewis Porter gives us a previously unreleased "Three Little Words" from the Sonny Meets Hawk session.  Incredible stuff, especially from Hawkins, who comes at Sonny on the younger man's turf. Point made.

https://lewisporter.substack.com/p/rollins-and-hawkins-an-astounding?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

"Nobody has heard before" is quite a stretch. It is in the Avakian collection at the Lincoln Center Library and before that, besides being amongst Avakian's tapes, I believe it is also in the vaults at Sony studios after being in RCA studios for years. Now you can know go to the Library and sample anything from the Avakian collection yourself. There is quite a bit of great finds there and not just by Sonny Rollins. 

[medjuck]

On 10/15/2023 at 9:15 AM, Mark Stryker said:

 He probably took these home as reference recordings and/or editing. https://archives.nypl.org/mus/22589?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#detailed

IIRC he also took home the out-takes from the Smith-Jones session that were Lester Young's first recordings (which he didn't produce)  and thus  probably saved them for posterity. 

[AllenLowe]

I will relate a story that Paul Bley told me about when he was playing with this group. There were tunes in which Sonny's playing was so abstract that he seemed like he was trying to lose Hawkins. In these cases Hawkins asked Bley to cue him in for his solos. As for Sonny, I've always thought he was a lot more competitive than he let on in his basic kindness and graciousness. But I have heard a few stories of his attempts to wipe away tenor sax competitors at jam sessions in what I recall were the 1950s in New Jersey (related to me by Bill Triglia). He was not shy about showing other players up.

[Brad]

22 hours ago, AllenLowe said:

I will relate a story that Paul Bley told me about when he was playing with this group. There were tunes in which Sonny's playing was so abstract that he seemed like he was trying to lose Hawkins. In these cases Hawkins asked Bley to cue him in for his solos. As for Sonny, I've always thought he was a lot more competitive than he let on in his basic kindness and graciousness. But I have heard a few stories of his attempts to wipe away tenor sax competitors at jam sessions in what I recall were the 1950s in New Jersey (related to me by Bill Triglia). He was not shy about showing other players up.

I haven’t listened to this in years so will need to pull it out but did he wipe away Sonny Stitt in Sonny Side Up. 

[John L]

27 minutes ago, Brad said:

I haven’t listened to this in years so will need to pull it out but did he wipe away Sonny Stitt in Sonny Side Up. 

No

[JSngry]

He outran him, but it was a fairly close finish. 

[Brad]

18 hours ago, John L said:

No

Hard to outdo Sonny Stitt!