Sonny Rollins Plus 4

Sonny Rollins - 5 Original Albums with full original artwork (2016) {5CD Set Prestige - originally released 1956}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 969 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 427 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 161 Mb | 5% repair rar | Mono | remastered
© 1956, 2016 Prestige / Concord / Universal | 08880 7236299
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Official 2016 remastered collection of 5 albums recorded for Prestige, housed in replica card sleeves with full original artwork. Includes 'Worktime', 'With The Modern Jazz Quartet', 'Tenor Madness', 'Moving Out', & 'Saxaphone Colossus'. The quality of the music collected here needs no comment, really. But what I like about this series of box sets is that the original LP covers are faithfully reproduced on the small paper sleeves, front and back, just like the Japanese do it with their ridiculously expensive miniature CD paper sleeves. All relevant discographic data, like musicians, recording dates etc., are listed on the CD labels, which is unique for this kind of box sets and a great service if you ask me.

Mid 50s genius from Sonny Rollins - 5 albums in a single set, all presented in LP-styled sleeves. Includes 'Worktime' (1956), 'With The Modern Jazz Quartet' (1956), 'Tenor Madness' (1956), 'Moving Out' (1956) and 'Saxaphone Colossus' (1957).
Worktime is a record that perfectly illustrates why Rollins was one of the greatest players on his horn for many decades running! There's a depth of tone on the record that rivals Coleman Hawkins or Lester Young - but a quickness of pace and imagination that shows a clear influence from Charlie Parker, and a deftness that few were bringing to the tenor at the time. The rhythm section here is super tight - and features Ray Bryant on piano, George Morrow on bass, and Max Roach on drums…

Sonny Rollins Quartet: Jazz Jamboree video It was beautifully filmed (in color) at the Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw, Poland, during Rollins' first trip behind the Iron Curtain. Sonny Rollins Quartet: Jazz Jamboree film He plays here with his regular group of this period. Sonny Rollins Quartet: Jazz Jamboree review Pianist Mark Soskin and bassist Jerome Harris had first recorded with Sonny in April 1978, when both were professionally recorded live with the saxophonist in San Francisco, as part of a sextet that also included Donald Byrd on trumpet, Tony Williams on drums and Aurell Ray on electric guitar. Also features clips from a San Francisco performance that was also Jerome Harris'first collaboration with Rollins.

Sonny Rollins issued only three albums on the Impulse! label, all of them recorded between 1965 and 1966. This volume in The Impulse Story series features three tracks each from Sonny Rollins on Impulse!, Alfie (the music included consists of re-recorded titles he wrote for the score), and East Broadway Run Down. These three albums feature Rollins in a number of settings. The numbers from Alfie were recorded with a ten-piece band arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson. The On Impulse! tunes were recorded with ace drummer Mickey Roker, pianist Ray Bryant, and bassist Walter Booker. East Broadway Run Down features the great saxophonist in the company of Elvin Jones, Jimmy Garrison, and Freddie Hubbard on the title track. What they all reveal is an artist at the absolute top of his game as an improviser and as a composer. Rollins' star may have shone differently from Coltrane's during these years, but just as brightly. The standout cuts on this set are the the standard "On Green Dolphin Street," "Alfie's Theme," and the stunning 20-plus-minute "East Broadway Run Down," with Rollins blowing further out than he ever had on one of his own records.

Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins - Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins (1954) {Prestige 50th Anniversary 20-bit K2 Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 177 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 82 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 35 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1999 Prestige / Fantasy | PRCD-7075-2
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Piano / Saxophone

“I was the engineer on the recording sessions and I also made the masters for the original LP issues of these albums. Since the advent of the CD, other people have been making the masters. Mastering is the final step in the process of creating the sound of the finished product. Now, thanks to the folks at the Concord Music Group who have given me the opportunity to remaster these albums, I can present my versions of the music on CD using modern technology. I remember the sessions well, I remember how the musicians wanted to sound, and I remember their reactions to the playbacks. Today, I feel strongly that I am their messenger.” — Rudy Van Gelder