Soprano Sax is the debut album by Steve Lacy

Steve Lacy

Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....

 which was released on the Prestige

Prestige Records

Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...

 label in 1958. It features performances by Lacy, Wynton Kelly

Wynton Kelly

Wynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...

, Buell Neidlinger

Buell Neidlinger

Buell Neidlinger is an American cellist and double bassist.Neidlinger was born in Westport, Connecticut. After Yale University, he moved to New York City and began playing in various jazz settings...

 and Dennis Charles.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Bob Rusch awarded the album 4.5 stars stating "This was the first of three recordings soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy made for Prestige and this 11/1/57 session was his first as a leader...There was a controlled tension to this date, like everybody's trying to play, carefully, to a common goal. It's almost as if someone were present to make sure everybody stayed within obvious perimeters.".

Track listing

1. "Day Dream
   Day Dream
   "Day Dream" is a 1941 song composed by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, with lyrics by John La Touche.Saxophonist Johnny Hodges first recorded this tune with Strayhorn on piano in 1941.-Notable recordings:...
   
   " (Strayhorn
   Billy Strayhorn
   William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
   
   , Ellington
   Duke Ellington
   Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
   
   ) - 4:23
2. "Alone Together
   Alone Together (song)
   "Alone Together" is a song composed by Arthur Schwartz with lyrics by Howard Dietz. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Flying Colors in 1932 by Jean Sargent....
   
   " (Dietz
   Howard Dietz
   Howard Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist.-Biography:Dietz was born in New York City and studied journalism at Columbia University...
   
   , Schwartz
   Arthur Schwartz
   Arthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer.Schwartz supported his legal studies at New York University and postgraduate studies at Columbia University by playing piano before concentrating his talents on vaudeville, Broadway theatre and Hollywood.Among his Broadway musicals are The...
   
   ) - 6:35
3. "Work" (Monk
   Thelonious Monk
   Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
   
   ) - 5:24
4. "Rockin' in Rhythm" (Ellington
   Duke Ellington
   Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
   
   , Mills
   Irving Mills
   Irving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
   
   , Carney
   Harry Carney
   Harry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...
   
   ) - 4:05
5. "Little Girl, Your Daddy Is Calling You" (Unknown) - 4:32
6. "Easy to Love
   Easy to Love
   "Easy to Love" is the title of a R&B single by For Real, it was the second single from their debut album It's a Natural Thang. Billboard magazine noted "super-tight harmonies that are proiminent, but not overshadowing; instatly memorable melody stands as the cut's focal point.-Chart positions:...
   
   " (Porter
   Cole Porter
   Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
   
   ) - 8:25

• Recorded in Hackensack, November 1, 1957

Personnel

• Steve Lacy
  Steve Lacy
  Steve Lacy , born Steven Norman Lackritz in New York City, was a jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone....
  
   - soprano saxophone
• Wynton Kelly
  Wynton Kelly
  Wynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
  
   - piano
• Buell Neidlinger
  Buell Neidlinger
  Buell Neidlinger is an American cellist and double bassist.Neidlinger was born in Westport, Connecticut. After Yale University, he moved to New York City and began playing in various jazz settings...
  
   - bass
• Dennis Charles - drums