Dial "S" for Sonny

Dial "S" for Sonny
Dial "S" for Sonny
Studio album by Sonny Clark
Released	November 1957
Recorded	July 21, 1957
Studio	Van Gelder Studio; Hackensack, NJ
Genre	Bop
Length	40:55
Label	Blue Note; BLP 1570
Producer	Alfred Lion
Sonny Clark chronology

Dial "S" for Sonny is the debut studio album by the American jazz pianist Sonny Clark. It was released in November 1957 through Blue Note Records.^[1] The recording was made on July 21, 1957 with a septet assembled for the session consisting of horn section Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, and Hank Mobley and rhythm section Wilbur Ware and Louis Hayes.^[4]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[3]

Background

Title

The album title is an allusion to Frederick Knott's play Dial M for Murder, which was first produced in 1952 and then made into a successful film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954.

Reception

Critic John S. Wilson, in a contemporaneous review, remarked "Art Farmer contributes some crackling solos to Dial S for Sonny, ... but he has to fight a chomp-chomp rhythm section."^[5]

The AllMusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine states, "Dial 'S' for Sonny, Sonny Clark's first session for Blue Note Records and his first session as a leader, is a terrific set of laidback bop, highlighted by Clark's liquid, swinging solos... Clark steals the show in this set of fine, straight-ahead bop."^[6]

Track listing

All compositions by Sonny Clark, except as indicated

"Dial "S" for Sonny" – 7:26
"Bootin' It" – 5:17
"It Could Happen to You" (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) – 6:59
"Sonny's Mood" – 8:38
"Shoutin' on a Riff" – 6:45
"Love Walked In" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 5:50
"Bootin' It" [Alternate Take] – 5:15 (CD bonus track)

Personnel

Musicians

Sonny Clark – piano
Art Farmer – trumpet (except "Love Walked In")
Curtis Fuller – trombone (except "Love Walked In")
Hank Mobley – tenor saxophone (except "Love Walked In")
Wilbur Ware – bass
Louis Hayes – drums

Technical personnel

Alfred Lion – producer
Rudy Van Gelder – recording engineer
Reid Miles – design
Francis Wolff – photography
Robert Levin – liner notes

Charts

Chart performance for *Dial "S" for Sonny*
Chart (2022)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[7]	147

References

^ ^a ^b Parnes, Sid, ed. (November 9, 1957). "November Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. p. 33. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 9, 2021.
^ Allmusic Review
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
^ Sonny Clark discography accessed December 21, 2009.
^ Wilson, John S. (1959) The Collector's Jazz: Modern, p. 68. J. B. Lippincott.
^ Earlewine, S. T. Allmusic Review accessed December 21, 2009.
^ "Ultratop.be – Sonny Clark – Dial %22S%22 for Sonny" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2022.

[CbNov57-1] Parnes, Sid, ed. (November 9, 1957). "November Album Releases" (PDF). The Cash Box. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. p. 33. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 9, 2021.

[2] Allmusic Review

[Penguin-3] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[4] Sonny Clark discography accessed December 21, 2009.

[5] Wilson, John S. (1959) The Collector's Jazz: Modern, p. 68. J. B. Lippincott.

[6] Earlewine, S. T. Allmusic Review accessed December 21, 2009.

[ac_Flanders_Sonny_Clark-7] "Ultratop.be – Sonny Clark – Dial %22S%22 for Sonny" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 7, 2022.

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