On Sonny Rollins

We start off in March 1956 with ‘Sonny Rollins Plus 4’ where unsurprisingly we find Sonny accompanied, by you guessed it, four stellar jazzmen. Clifford Brown on trumpet, Max Roach on drums, George Morrow on bass and Richie Powell on piano. Recorded a little later the same year in December 1956 our second offering is ‘Sonny Rollins Volume One’ where Sonny is found in the company of Donald Byrd on trumpet, Wynton Kelly on piano, Gene Ramey on bass and our old friend Max Roach on drums. CD2 moves on to 1957 for ‘Sonny Rollins Volume Two’ where Sonny is joined by another fantastic line up including Thelonious Monk playing piano on his own classic compositions ‘Misterioso’ and ‘Reflections’…

Sonny Rollins - The Complete Sonny Rollins RCA Victor Recordings (1997) {6CD RCA-BMG Music 09026-68675-2 rec 1962-1964}
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© 1962-64, 1997 RCA / Victor / BMG Music | 09026-68675-2
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Saxophone

This six-CD set has all of tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins' recordings for RCA, including the complete contents of The Bridge, What's New, Our Man In Jazz, Sonny Meets Hawk, Now's the Time, and The Standard Sonny Rollins, the three selections originally included in the sampler Three in Jazz, and 11 alternate takes only previously released on the French album Alternates. Less well-known than Rollins' earlier Prestige and Riverside records and slightly later Impulse albums, his output for RCA was recorded right after the great tenor came back from an extended sabbatical.

Sonny Rollins - The Standard Sonny Rollins (1964) {RCA Victor–BMG 74321748012 rel 2000}
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© 1964, 2000 RCA Victor / BMG Music | 74321748012
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Just as Sonny Rollins maintained his top position along with John Coltrane, Tubby Hayes, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Stanley Turrentine, among others, as one of the premier tenor saxophonists of there generation, he had managed to put out yet another successful ‘standard’ album in 1964 which again found him in absolute top format.

Sonny Rollins - Holding The Stage - Road Shows, Volume 4 (2016) {Doxy Records 88875192752}
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© 2016 Doxy Records / OKeh / Sony Music | 88875192752
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

The day may come when the well runs dry, but that day is not upon us. The fourth installment of Sonny Rollins' Road Shows series has arrived, bringing more beauties from the archives to light while bearing out that the genius of the Saxophone Colossus is best demonstrated on the stage. That's where the magic has always happened for him, and that's why these offerings have been so well-received. The first three volumes are already considered to be indispensable items in the storied Rollins canon, and this one stands to join them.

Sonny Rollins - Sonny, Please (2006) {Doxy Records 0602517086203}
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© 2006 Doxy Records / Universal | 0602517086203
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Most musicians would at least be considering the idea of retirement by the time they reach their mid-seventies, but most musicians aren't Sonny Rollins. After a five-year recording hiatus, Rollins returned from a Japanese tour and took his band into the studio to cut Sonny, Please. It's the first release on his own Doxy label, coming after a monumental 35-year stay at Milestone that produced some of the most forward-looking, trend-setting jazz ever captured on tape.

Sonny Rollins - All The Things You Are (1963-64) {Bluebird–BMG 2179-2-RB rel 1990}
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© 1963-64, 1990 RCA / Bluebird / BMG | 2179-2-RB
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Half of this LP contains the famous session on which Sonny Rollins teamed up with his idol, the great tenor Coleman Hawkins. Actually, the competitive Rollins did everything he could during these performances to throw Hawk off with plenty of sound explorations and free playing, but Hawkins keeps from getting lost and battles Rollins for a tie; pianist Paul Bley plays well too. The remainder of this LP (three selections apiece from the former LPs Now's the Time and The Standard Sonny Rollins) is more conventional but has its moments of interest. The young Herbie Hancock is on piano for all of these tracks and guitarist Jim Hall helps on "Trav'lin Light." Rollins's RCA recordings of the '60s are all worth picking up.

On Nov. 27, “Black Friday,” independent jazz label Resonance Records will continue its ongoing tradition of releasing previously unissued archival recordings as limited-edition Record Store Day exclusives with a stellar new three-LP collection of historic Sonny Rollins performances, Rollins in Holland: The 1967 Studio & Live Recordings.