Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool)

On 'Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool)', saxophonist Sonny Criss leads a nine-piece orchestra through a set of compositions and arrangements penned entirely by the visionary Los Angeles bandleader Horace Tapscott. The album is a dynamic fusion of hard bop and larger-ensemble jazz, juxtaposing Criss's potent and fluid alto saxophone solos against Tapscott's challenging and harmonically rich charts. This definitive collaboration is noted for its sophisticated balance between powerful, emotive improvisation and complex, forward-thinking orchestration, earning it a place in the Penguin Guide to Jazz's 'core collection'.