Sonny Rollins Plus 4

This seven-CD box set lives up to its title, reissuing in chronological order all of tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins' recordings for Prestige. Dating mostly from 1951-1956, these valuable performances find Rollins developing from a promising player to a potential giant; many of his best recordings would take place a year or two after this program ends. In addition to his own sessions, Rollins is featured with trombonist J.J. Johnson, on four dates with Miles Davis, and on sessions led by Thelonious Monk and trumpeter Art Farmer. Among the other musicians participating are trumpeters Kenny Dorham and Clifford Brown; pianists John Lewis, Kenny Drew, Horace Silver, Elmo Hope, Ray Bryant, Red Garland, and Tommy Flanagan…

Sonny Rollins Quartet with Don Cherry - Complete Live at the Village Gate 1962 (2015) {6CD Set, Solar Records 4569959}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.44 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 985 Mb
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© 1962, 2015 Solar Records | 4569959
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone / Cornet

The 1962 live engagement at the Village Gate marked Sonny Rollins’ first recording ever with Don Cherry, as well as one of th earliest made by the saxophonist following his three-year long selfimposed musical exile. It was all recorded in a piano-less quartet format with Bob Cranshaw on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums.

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus (1956) {Prestige Japan, VDJ-1501, Early Press}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 237 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
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© 1956, 1985 Prestige / Victor Japan | VDJ-1501 | Prestige CD Masterpiece Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Bop / Tenor Saxophone

Quite possibly THE greatest Sonny Rollins album of the early years – or at least the one that has received the most accolades over the years! The record is a brilliant batch of quartet tracks that reinvents bop through Sonny's complicated, yet seemingly automatic solos – an excellent showcase for his razor-sharp talents for improvisation and invention, played with effortless ease, yet still one of the great bar-setting performances of 50s jazz. The group features Tommy Flanagan, Max Roach, and Doug Watkins – and tunes include an original reading of the perennial Rollins' standard "St. Thomas", plus a great version of "Moritat (Mack The Knife)", and the cuts "Strode Rode" and "Blue 7".

Clifford Brown - Brownie: The Complete EmArcy Recordings of Clifford Brown (1989) {10CD + bonus CD Box Set rec 1954-1956}
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Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 158 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954-56, 1989 EmArcy / Nippon Phonogram | 838 307-2~838 316-2 / 874 788-3
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trumpet

Although undoubtedly an expensive acquisition, this ten-CD set is perfectly done and contains dozens of gems. The remarkable but short-lived trumpeter Clifford Brown has the second half of his career fully documented (other than his final performance) and he is showcased in a wide variety of settings. The bulk of the numbers are of Brownie's quintet with co-leader and drummer Max Roach, either Harold Land or Sonny Rollins on tenor, pianist Richie Powell, and bassist George Morrow (including some previously unheard alternate takes), but there is also much more.

This seven-CD box set features 95 tracks from legendary drummer Max Roach's small group, consisting of the 1956-1960 recordings for Emarcy and Mercury Records, as these noteworthy sessions also represent the drummer's post Max Roach-Clifford Brown Quintet output. In 1956 the jazz world witnessed the tragic and untimely deaths of the great trumpeter Clifford Brown and pianist Ritchie Powell. Within these seven CDs, we find Roach maintaining his assault on jazz along with trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Ray Bryant, and the drummer's bandmates from the Clifford Brown years, tenor saxophone giant Sonny Rollins and bassist George Morrow.