Can Craft and OJC get anything wrong this year? Doesn’t look like it. Sonny’s Dream (Birth of the New Cool) from The Sonny Criss Orchestra is the latest proof — a 1968 Prestige gem reborn with all-analog mastering by Cohearent Audio, pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI, and wrapped in a Stoughton tip-on jacket that screams authenticity. With Horace Tapscott’s bold arrangements and a heavyweight lineup including Conte Candoli, Teddy Edwards, and Tommy Flanagan, this OJC reissue reminds you why The Penguin Guide to Jazz called it “core collection” material.
Sonny Criss never quite fit the mold. Born in Memphis, raised in Los Angeles, he was already trading licks with Howard McGhee, Charlie Parker, and Teddy Edwards by the age of 19. Parker’s influence was inescapable for every alto player of the era, but Criss managed to inject a raw, muscular tone that gave his solos more grit than polish.
He spent the ’50s doing the journeyman thing—jumping between jazz and R&B bands, from Johnny Otis to Buddy Rich—before dropping Jazz U.S.A. on Imperial. It was a hard bop masterclass on a label too busy counting Fats Domino’s royalties to care. Go Man! and Sonny Criss Plays Cole Porter followed, equally brilliant and equally ignored.
When Prestige picked him up in the mid-’60s, Criss finally got to stretch. Albums like This Is Criss! and Sonny’s Dream reminded everyone how dangerous he could be with the right material and players around him. Sadly, his run ended early in 1977 after a fight with stomach cancer. Criss was the kind of player history forgets until the needle hits the groove—and then you wonder how it ever did.
Sonny Criss’ Sonny’s Dream Session: Tapscott’s Nonet Brings Hard Bop Edge and Horn-Driven Fire
For Sonny Criss, this session was a bit out of the ordinary. Instead of a small combo, he’s backed by a nonet arranged by L.A. legend Horace Tapscott. The charts are tricky, but they fit Criss like a glove, and he’s firing on all cylinders across six Tapscott originals.
These arrangements push him into sharper, edgier territory than usual—and he nails it. Sure, Criss could elevate almost anything, even the occasional tired pop tune on other Prestige dates, but this one feels different. You can almost hear him airing his grievances through the horn, finally saying what he needed to say musically.
The opening track, “Sonny’s Dream,” kicks things off with rich, propulsive horns and a pace that grabs you immediately—no warming up here. Later, “Daughter of Cochise,” matches that energy with sweeping brass, layered textures, and momentum that keeps you hooked from start to finish.
The rest of the set—featuring Tapscott originals like “Ballad for Samuel,” “The Black Apostles,” “The Golden Pearl,” and “Sandy and Niles”—keeps up the momentum; there isn’t a single boring moment. Criss is firing on all cylinders here, finally letting the complexity and edge of his music speak as loudly as his horn.
Sonically, Craft has made this set a must-own. The pressing is razor-clean, and the horns pop with a richness that even the hi-res Qobuz version can’t touch. Spacious, brash, and pure fire, the album hits every note with energy and clarity—and the Stoughton tip-on jacket is gorgeous, with everything about this release feeling utterly premium.
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