In 2001 Prestige issued God Bless Jug and Sonny, a disc drawn from a recently discovered recording of a 1973 Baltimore gig sponsored by the Left Bank Jazz Society. Left Bank Encores, as the title indicates, returns to the same source for further material. The friendly but competitive front-line of Ammons (caught here a year before his premature death at age 49) and Stitt was of long standing, dating back to the 1950s; on this occasion they are backed by the first-class rhythm section of Cedar Walton, Sam Jones and Billy Higgins. The results are predictably enlivening, with Stitt and Walton in particularly good form. It’s thus a pity that the sound quality is quite poor, though not downright unlistenable. As a result, despite the music’s felicities this is a CD which will appeal mostly to committed fans of the principals. The disc’s highlight is undoubtedly its stunning closer, “Blues Up and Down,” on which an inventive and white-hot Stitt takes an astounding 47 choruses. Etta Jones guests on two tracks; though these are marred by poor balance (Ammons’ obbligatos nearly bury her) they are enjoyable souvenirs. Her rendition of her early hit “Don’t Go to Strangers” includes, oddly enough, an extended vocal impersonation of Billie Holiday.

Though Left Bank Encores is impossible to recommend without serious caveats, it has enough pleasures to counterbalance its demerits, and is a welcome though not outstanding addition to the existing documentation on disc of Ammons and Stitt’s partnership.

Nate Dorward

Cadence, December 2002