Tag: Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins – Way Out West (1957/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 43:28 minutes | 1,5 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Artwork: Front Cover | © Concord Records

Recorded and released in 1957, this groundbreaking jazz-country album features Sonny Rollins accompanied by Ray Brown on bass and drummer Shelly Manne, with no pianist. Rollins chose cover songs and wrote originals that captured his love of the Western movies he grew up watching, with their themes of independence and self-sufficiency.

Sonny Rollins – Alfie (1966/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 33:13 minutes | 1,36 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Verve Reissues

Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins loaned his flair for the dramatic to the score for the film Alfie, accompanying the story of what the liner notes describe as “the involuntary education of a hipster.” Arranged by Oliver Nelson, the soundtrack follows the character’s evolution from the carefree, rakish Lothario of “Alfie’s Theme” to the contemplative, somewhat broken man reflected in “Alfie’s Theme Differently.” Rollins attempts to capture the textures of life through his incisive and energetic playing, his coherent improvisations, and variations on musical themes. While “Alfie’s Theme” and its variants make the most lasting impression, “He’s Younger Than You Are” is touching, laced with regret. And the sensual, relaxed “On Impulse” has a nice sense of immediacy.

Sonny Rollins – Way Out West (1957) {Deluxe Edition 2018}
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz  | Time – 01:25:10 minutes | 5,52 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Mora.jp | Booklet, Front Cover | © Contemporary

“Way Out West”, originally recorded for the Contemporary label in 1957, qualifies as an all-time Sonny Rollins classic. Culled from a 3 A.M. session with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, the material collected here demonstrates why Rollins was considered the top tenor saxophone in jazz at the time of the recording. This Deluxe 60th Anniversary edition celebrates this landmark album in Rollins’ career with a full second LP of rare and previously unreleased bonus material and new liner notes by Grammy-winning writer Neil Tesser.

Sonny Rollins – Sonny Rollins On Impulse! (1965/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz  | Time – 34:31 minutes | 686 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Front Cover | © Impulse!

This 1965 session marked Sonny Rollins’s debut recording for the Impulse! label and ranks among his best releases. This collection of standards showcases Rollins’s sax playing but his band has also been lauded for an exceptional performance here, notably pianist Ray Bryant.

Sonny Rollins – Sonny Rollins And The Contemporary Leaders (1958/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 44:30 minutes | 1,5 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Booklet, Front cover | © Contemporary Records/Concord Music
Recorded: October 20, 21 & 22, 1958 at Contemporary Studio, Los Angeles

Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders is an album by jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, recorded for the Contemporary label, featuring performances by Rollins with Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, Leroy Vinnegar, and Shelly Manne with Victor Feldman added on one track. It was the last record Rollins produced before a hiatus from recording and performing in public, before his return with The Bridge in 1962.

Sonny Rollins – Sonny Rollins With The Modern Jazz Quartet (1956/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz  | Time – 37:25 minutes | 1,48 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | Digital Booklet | © Prestige

This album, not released until 1956, contains the first recordings Sonny Rollins made for Prestige as leader in 1951 and 1953. Rollins is backed on four songs by the Modern Jazz Quartet (John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and Kenny Clarke), eight other tracks feature Heath with Kenny Drew and Art Blakey, while Miles Davis plays piano on the closing number I Know. Several of these songs appeared in 1952 on 10 inch vinyl entitled Sonny Rollins Quartet.

Sonny Rollins – Tour De Force (1957/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz  | Time – 33:29 minutes | 1,35 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | Digital Booklet | © Prestige

Released in 1957 on Prestige, Tour De Force includes the final recordings Sonny Rollins made for the label. The saxophonist is backed by pianist Kenny Drew, bassist George Morrow and drummer Max Roach, with Earl Coleman appearing on vocals on two tracks.