![]() This is a superb (despite sound imbalance which is cruel to Stan Tracey and bassist Rick Laird), document of Rollins’ first ever gig in London at Ronnie Scott’s (1965). Torrential, paradoxically modern take on ‘I’m Old Fashioned,’ plus a gloriously importunate ‘Tell Me You Love Me’ and Noel Coward’s ‘I’ll See You Again.’ The bashful title suggests a dismissal of the turkey track here ‘Disco Monk’, and Larry Coryell tries to play too fast, but Rollins recalls the ‘Harlem Boys’ (one of Bobby Broom’s favourite Rollins’ themes) with meaningful gusto, dabbles appositely in Asian mode with the lyricon and offers a gallant love song ‘And Then My Love I Found You.’ Features Tony Williams’ rambunctious drums and effectively overdubbed horns. The title track is a definitive statement. Rollins increasingly ecstatic squeals halfway through suggest he is in love with someone or something. The opener ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ is a period piece. Plus a brace of gorgeous ballads and two punchy funk tunes. The face-off with Rufus Harley’s bagpipes was more than a gimmick, given Sonny’s experiments with circular breathing/longtones. Even ‘We Kiss In A Shadow’ seems to fit the theme. The horns (Freddie Hubbard on trumpet) are caught in a ghetto cul-de-sac. Sonny’s third and final Impulse divided critics but remains quite the a propos concept album. Sonny’s solo on the title track is a beautiful piece of sculpture, so good that I named my kid after it. Movie soundtrack with Oliver Nelson orchestrations. Although late-50s Rollins may be the stuff to get the critics panting, this was the template for all future Rollins creative ventures, whether they be avant-garde or retro or just plain Sonny. The Bridge is enduring testimony to that fact: he has shed all stylistic baggage, leads from the front, plays with a new poise and freshness and with a unique identity that has stayed intact up to the present day. ![]() There is a curious reluctance for some to acknowledge that Rollins came back from his 1959-61 voluntary exile a more complete and fascinatingly complex musician. The reissue includes excellent material from the filmed Sodra Teatern gig. With Monk and Horace Silver check triple timing impressionist solo on Sonny’s anthemic ‘Wail March,’ with perfectly cocked final quote.Ĭompulsory Rollins in blazing form live at Nalen and subsequently at the Swedish Radio, his tone is at its most plastic and malleable and his hive of ideas seems bottomless. Joe Lovano’s favourite cut, the unaccompanied ‘It Could Happen to You’ is here.Ī Night at the Village Vanguard Vols 1 & 2Īlarmingly good. Sonny with a perfect rhythm section: Doug Watkins’ laconic bass, the twilight touch of Tommy Flanagan and the subtle, multifarious punctuations of Max Roach cannot be overstated.Ĭlassic 3am LA session with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne, reissue includes three longer alternate takes.Ĭrisp, disciplined set from Rollins’ “promiscuous” recording patch. Rollins’ first dates with bopcat Babs Gonzales, revealing the saxman’s early Parker traits, also includes seedbed sides with mentors JJ Johnson and Bud Powell plus his debut with Miles.ĭoes Sonny almost shred John Coltrane on the title track with sheer melodic logic? Who cares? The only recorded summit of two singular stylists, Trane, the melancholy prophet and Rollins, the granite-topped demi-god. ![]()
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