Sonny Rollins

Sound of Sonny Sonny Rollins

In 1959, Sonny Rollins (born in 1930, he is 88

years-old at this writing) declared that he was

dissatisfied with his sound and took the first of his

long sabbaticals to work on his playing. (He would

not record another note until 1962.) Despite his self

criticism, Rollins had already started a daring line of

experimentation on his previous albums. In 1957,

Rollins pioneered the use of bass and drums, sans

piano, as accompaniment for his saxophone solos.

Two early tenor/bass/drums trio recordings are

Way Out West and A Night at the Village Vanguard.

By this time, Rollins had become well known for

transforming relatively banal or unconventional

songs (such as "There's No Business Like Show

Business" on Work Time, or "Toot, Toot, Tootsie,

Goodbye" on The Sound of Sonny) into viable jazz

vehicles. The latter album, presented here in its

entirety along with a tenth tune that completes the

sessions, also contains a piano-less trio track, along

with Rollins' superb unaccompanied sax reading of

"It Could Happen to You".

SONNY ROLLINS, tenor sax

SONNY CLARK, piano (out on A1 & B3)

PERCY HEATH, bass (A2, A3, A5, B1, B2 & B4)

PAUL CHAMBERS, bass (A1, A4 & B5)

ROY HAYNES, drums (out on B3)

Reeves Sound Studio, New York, June 11 (A2, A3, A5 & B1-B4)

& June 19 (A1, A4 & B5), 1957. B3 is an unaccompanied

tenor sax performance.

Original recordings taped by Jack Higgins

& produced by Orrin Keepnews.

*BONUS TRACK: From the same sessions.

Originally issued on the 1957 compilation LP

Blues for Tomorrow (Riverside RLP-12-243).