On Sonny Rollins

The timeless Way out West established Sonny Rollins as jazz's top tenor saxophonist (at least until John Coltrane surpassed him the following year). Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins is heard at one of his peaks on such pieces as "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)," his own "Way out West," "There Is No Greater Love," and "Come, Gone" (a fast stomp based on "After You've Gone"). The William Claxton photo of Rollins wearing Western gear (and holding his tenor) in the desert is also a classic. This re-release appends three bonus tracks, all of them alternate takes.

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’…

The Bridge was the first album Sonny Rollins recorded after he returned to the jazz scene in late 1961, following a two-year layoff to practice and reflect during a time of great stylistic upheaval in the music. If the sabbatical added to his instrumental command and his musical understanding, the triumphal return confirmed that this was the same authoritative player of the classic Saxophone Colossus, Way Out West and Village Vanguard albums.
Fronting his new quartet, Sonny Rollins & Co, which included guitarist Jim Halla surprising but brilliantly successful choicebassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Ben Riley, Rollins, in stirring form, played with a high-minded seriousness even deeper than before…

Sonny Rollins will go down in history as not only the single most enduring tenor saxophonist of the bebop and hard bop eras, but also as one of the greatest jazz saxophonists of all time. His fluid and harmonically innovative ideas, effortless manner, and easily identifiable and accessible sound have influenced generations of players. In addition, these skills have fueled the notion that mainstream jazz can be widely enjoyed, recognized, and proliferated. Rollins served early apprenticeships with Babs Gonzalez, J.J. Johnson, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, and Max Roach & Clifford Brown…

The Jazz Club series is an attractive addition to the Verve catalogue. With it's modern design and popular choice of repertoire, the Jazz Club is not only opened for Jazz fans, but for everyone that loves good music.
Sonny Rollins will go down in history as not only the single most enduring tenor saxophonist of the bebop and hard bop eras, but also as one of the greatest jazz saxophonists of all time. His fluid and harmonically innovative ideas, effortless manner, and easily identifiable and accessible sound have influenced generations of players. In addition, these skills have fueled the notion that mainstream jazz can be widely enjoyed, recognized, and proliferated. Rollins served early apprenticeships with Babs Gonzalez, J.J. Johnson, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, and Max Roach & Clifford Brown…

The timeless Way out West established Sonny Rollins as jazz's top tenor saxophonist (at least until John Coltrane surpassed him the following year). Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins is heard at one of his peaks on such pieces as "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)," his own "Way out West," "There Is No Greater Love," and "Come, Gone" (a fast stomp based on "After You've Gone")…

Dizzy Gillespie brings together tenor saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins for four extended cuts, and in the process comes up with one of the most exciting "jam session" records in the jazz catalog. While the rhythm section of pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Tommy Bryant, and drummer Charlie Persip provides solid rhythmic support, Stitt and Rollins get down to business trading fours and reeling off solo fireworks. Apparently, Gillespie had stoked the competitive fires before the session with phone calls and some gossip, the fallout of which becomes palpable as the album progresses. On "The Eternal Triangle," in particular, Stitt and Rollins impress in their roles as tenor titans, with Stitt going in for sheer muscle as that most stout of bebop cutters and Rollins opting for some pacing as a more thematic player…