Back in the late '50s or early '60s, Sonny used a trio consisting of tenor, bass, and drums. My friend Henry Grimes played the bass, I can't remember who the drummer was. I always thought that this was one of the best settings for Sonny's playing. The horn lines seem crystal clear, set against the sparse, slightly lonely sounding pulse of the bass and drums.
I find, and this is just my opinion based on my personal experience, that piano players can be a bit of an obstacle to the flow and feel of my relationship to how I want to play a melody or to improvise. If I'm playing with a piano player who is very sensitive and musical, this usually isn't a problem, but many want to keep you hancuffed to the rhythmic and harmonic dungeon wall. As I'm trying to fight my way free of the shackles, I'm thinking, "is this worth it?"
So I've been working with a trio for quite a few years now. My bassist, Calvin Hill, played for many years with Max Roach who also eschewed the use of piano in his quartet, so Calvin knows how to make things happen without piano. Sonny uses Bob Cranshaw, who can ably fill any gaps left by the guitar.
I think that the main crux of this biscuit is to have a musician who knows how to accompany and who is willing to alter their style to help someone else sound good......
A fairly tall order nowadays.
Julian