Sonny Rollins Sonny Rollins Volume 1

Sonny Rollins - Road Shows, Volume 3 (2014) {Doxy Records 88843049982}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 517 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 172 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 233 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Doxy Records / OKeh / Sony Music | 0602527749723
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Over the span of his storied and still-unfolding 65-year career, Sonny Rollins has established himself as one of the giants of jazz — a towering influence, a trailblazer, a powerfully creative force in the music. From his earliest masterpieces, such as Saxophone Colossus and Freedom Suite, to his Road Shows archival series of live performances for his Doxy label in the 2000s, Rollins has presented his peerless music without compromise — and to consistent international acclaim. The new CD contains six tracks recorded between 2001 and 2012 in Saitama, Japan; Toulouse, Marseille, and Marciac, France; and St. Louis. “Patanjali,” a striking new Rollins composition, is given its debut recording.

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, Vol. 2, recorded for Blue Note, is a timeless session and a milestone in jazz history that gathered together some of the founding fathers of the post-bop era. Joining Rollins are Jazz Messengers Art Blakey on drums and Horace Silver on piano, Miles Davis' favorite bassist Paul Chambers, the quintessential trombonist J.J. Johnson, and even Thelonious Monk himself. The tour de force in swing begins with a bang and doesn't let up until the last note has faded away. Rollins' own uptempo "Why Don't I" kicks off the session with a rhythmic jolt before his big tenor launches into a classic swinging solo followed by turns from Johnson and Silver and some heated exchanges with Blakey…

What you see is what you get, an excellent little compilation of the various faces of soul-jazz as presented by the Verve label with their amazing array of artists from Hugh Masekela to Willie Bobo and Herbie Mann on the one hand, and Dizzy Gillespie, Jon Hendricks (in an outstanding reading of Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man") the Heath Brothers, and Teddy Edwards on the other. The track list is wonderfully varied, too: there's a smoking version of Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island" by Masekela, a pair by Jimmy Smith, and a big band – a new entry by the acid jazz group the James Taylor Quartet, but they get it deep; and Wynton Kelly goes deep into soul and blues with "Escapade." Anyway you cut it, it comes out great.

Sonny Rollins - Holding The Stage - Road Shows, Volume 4 (2016) {Doxy Records 88875192752}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 493 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 172 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 223 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 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 - Volume One (1956) {Blue Note CDP 7815422, issued 1988}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 221 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 98 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 1988 Blue Note / Capitol-EMI | CDP 781542-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Bop / Saxophone

After several incredible dates for Prestige, Rollins moved over to Blue Note to cut a series of studio and live recordings; while not as groundbreaking as his earlier work, the albums still stand out among the many hard bop releases of the day. Upon listening to this, his fine debut for the label, not to mention classics like Saxophone Colossus and Sonny Rollins Plus Four, one almost takes for granted the tenor giant's ability to reel off a nonstop flow of breathtaking solo lines while keeping an overall thematic structure intact.

Sonny Rollins - Road Shows, Vol. 2 (2011) {Doxy Records 0602527749723 rec 2010}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 456 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 159 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 56 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2010, 2011 EmArcy / Doxy Records | 0602527749723
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

The Beacon Theatre in New York holds 2,700 people, and—much like fans claiming to have seen the final game of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field—there may already be 20,000 people who swear they were there for Sonny Rollins' 80th Birthday performance. At 80 years old, Rollins is still a damn good tenor saxophonist, and Roadshows Volume 2 captures terrific performances from three 2010 live dates, with a heavy emphasis on that birthday party and some A-list guests.