Sonny Stitt (1924-1982) left a legacy in the bebop and hard bop world. Born in Massachusetts and raised in Saginaw, MI, Stitt developed his sound on tenor and then alto sax. Stitt practiced hard and came from an incredibly musical family. From the get-go, people noticed that Stitt played with a very similar style to Charlie Parker. The two found this to be true themselves, not due to intentional emulation. At times, Stitt had to work to differentiate his playing to be able to have his voice and began playing tenor more often. However, the similarities were also unifying. Parker himself admitted to hearing himself in Stitt’s playing, and when Stitt ran into Parker on the street shortly before Parker’s death in 1955, he said, according to Stitt, ”Man, I’m handing you the keys to the kingdom.” Stitt did extensive playing and recording, alongside Miles Davis, Gene Ammons, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Thelonious Monk, Dexter Gordon, and many more.

TICKETS — Doors at 2:30 p.m

Saxophonist Keith Oxman performs and records regularly in Denver. He has taught Instrumental Music at East High School in Denver for the past 20 years, preceded by eight years teaching Instrumental Music in Colorado Springs public schools. A jazz musician since the 1970s, he toured with the Buddy Rich big band in 1986 and has played with artists including Art Blakey, Sonny Stitt, Dave Brubeck, The Temptations, and many more. He has eleven CDs on the Capri Records label. Two of his CDs were with John Coltrane’s trombonist Curtis Fuller, one with liner notes written by Benny Golson. His 2020 CD release with Houston Person, Two Cigarettes In The Dark, (liner notes by Charles McPherson) was on the National Top 50 Jazz Week Chart for over two months. It received a 4-star review in the June 2020 issue of DownBeat magazine. In anticipation of that review, DownBeat invited him to write an article on improvisation that they published in the May 2020 issue.

The Gift of Jazz Blind Tiger Series includes food and wine with this incredible music.