mobile homeless Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 SONNY ROLLINS Sonny Rollins is one of my all time favorites and he still blows a mean horn. On the other hand, recording-wise, I would look for material he did in the 50s and 60s as the best of Sonny on record. He has played with a number of people but there are some staples with Sonny as the main focus. If you love Sonny Rollins, all of these will please - the good thing is Sonny surrounded himself with some excellent players, Max Roach being just one of the all-time greats and integral in the sound of the quintessential Sonny Rollins combo. Others are no less important with Clifford Brown, Tommy Flanagan, Ray Brown, Shelly Manne, etc. Sonny did some great work with Thelonius Monk, Coltrane, Davis, and others as well. Here are some cant lose Sonny Rollins selections, all available from the Fantasy Catalog. Obviously, the original pressings of these albums are better but these recs are with the assumption that those are not available in your area. You can always get another copy as well. Again, the 20bit K2 CDs are preferable over the regular CDs and in some instances, should be gotten in addition to the vinyl - If you can find any of the below in vinyl, go for it. If offered, I would suggest getting the 20Bit K2 CD as well for comparison and convenience. All the albums below are worth it. I own all of below and can personally recommend each as worth a purchase. While some are better than others, all are worth adding to your collection. I threw in a few that feature Sonny too. OJC mentions are the easier to get. Originals sound best and but demand more $$$. SONNY ROLLINS - Saxophone Colossus LP ~ OJC-291 - This is a must have for Rollins fans Prestige PRCD-7079-2 (20Bit K2 CD) Sonny Rollins: WAY OUT WEST (Fantasy/OJC OJC-337/OJCCD-337-2/OJC-5337)20Bit K2 has GREAT sonics! (Analogue Productions AAPJ-008) SONNY ROLLINS - Moving Out LP ~ OJC-058 - A personal favorite for tunes SONNY ROLLINS - The Sound of Sonny LP ~ OJC-029 Riverside RCD-241-2 (20Bit K2 CD) SONNY ROLLINS - Freedom Suite OJCCD-067-2 (Riverside 258) - "Freedom Suite" is a great whole side cut! SONNY ROLLINS - A Night at the Village Vanguard (Vol 1 & 2) Get this vinyl on ebay - it comes up often and is GREAT - EXCELLENT SESSION SONNY ROLLINS - The Bridge Good recording and good stuff! SONNY ROLLINS & CONTEMPORARY LEADERS Fantasy/OJC OJC-340/OJCCD-340-2/OJC-5340 vinyl on ebay too SONNY MEETS HAWK RCA Victor LSP-2712/BV R25J-1044 - Japanese CD sounds good THELONIOUS MONK & SONNY ROLLINS Fantasy/OJC OJC-059 LP Thelonious Monk w/Rollins: BRILLIANT CORNERS Fantasy/OJC OJC-026/OJCCD-026-2/OJC-5026 SONNY ROLLINS PLUS 4 Fantasy/OJC OJC-243/OJCCD-243-2/OJC-5243 Sonny Rollins: TENOR MADNESS FANTASY/OJC OJC-124/OJCCD-124/OJC-5124 DCC Gold Disc 1087 Sonny Rollins: WORKTIME Fantasy/OJC OJC-007/OJCCD-007-2/OJC-5007 Sonny Rollins: OUR MAN IN JAZZ RCA Victor Sonny Rollins: ON IMPULSE! MCA/Impulse! MCAD-5655/MCAC-5655 - 180g vinyl too Miles Davis: DIG Fantasy/OJC OJC-005/OJCCD-005-2/OJC-5005 Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird Fantasy/OJC OJC-214/OJCCD-214-2/OJC-5214 SONNY ROLLINS VOL. 1 Blue Note B21Y-81542 SONNY ROLLINS - Tour de Force JCCD-095-2 (Prestige 7126) Miles Davis: MONK Fantasy/OJC OJC-016 kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 You might want to add "Rollins Plays for Bird" (Prestige), "Sonny Rollins Vol. 1" (Blue Note), "Sonny Rollins Vol. 2" (BLUE NOTE--some cuts have Monk AND Horace Silver on them!) and maybe even "Tenor Madness" (Prestige), which is an over-rated LP but it IS the only time Coltrane and Rollins were recorded together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Kelly, Wow! Great post! Sometimes I think Klipsch should pay you a retainer for your work here. Thanks again, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painful Reality Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Endless thanks. It might sound silly but seeing the album covert helps when looking for used LP, much more than a title in my case. Keep them coming. How about some Ornette Coleman titles (and covers) now? Just bought Art of the Improvisers and I was floored by the talent of this guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 25, 2003 Author Share Posted September 25, 2003 Tenor Madness and Sonny Rollins Vol 1 are already on the list, as well as a double posting! I'll add the Plays for Bird too. I think Tenor Madness is not his best but worth owning. It is WAY more mainstream for Rollins. btw, after talking with Allan this morn, we are going to try to make a page/and post log of some great recs for others to start a jazz collection. We have slightly different different tastes althnough we both love the same stuff so a combo of recs would be a good sampling. Allan is more into the West Coast players and has an amazing collection of this area, surely more than me. Some of his recs passed my way have been great calls. I inherited my father's jazz collection of almost 70 years, including about five boxes of 78s. He mainly concentrated on 30s, 40s-50s material while I filled it out with a lot of 60s including more FREE JAZZ that my dad never quite got into besides an appreciation. I dont even have all my albums in my current apartment as they just wont fit. Many actually remain in my Mom's house, waiting for a larger room to store them here. I was lucky enough to grow up listening to some amazing stuff as there was always something spinning on the table (he had to put up with 60s-70s rock/underground before we are all off to college...heh). My appreciation for this material has increased from my 20s on... This is some of the most amazing stuff ever to be recorded and a treasure on vinyl. I cant say there is a more fit medium/genre for vinyl, tubes, and horns! kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 25, 2003 Author Share Posted September 25, 2003 Jeff, I just saw your reply and wanted to say I agree on the help of seeing the album covers, especially when you get into a used records store, and are suddenly met with RECORD/BOOK STORE BLANK MIND SYNDROME. It happens to me all the time! It's a scary malady that can strike any time. Since French is your first language, it can be trying. Also, remember that many of these records can CHANGE the cover with different editions or add borders etc. A lot of the remasters will put the album cover in a small box, and add their own promotion around it. This is especially used in CD reissues. The Japanese CDs are very good but costly. Ditto with the 20Bit K2 for sonics but not as bad in the cost realm ($15 or so). Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs have some nice Jazz discs as well. Still, the vinyl is the best for jazz although surely not as easy to find. There is just so much more out there and vinyl kills the average original CD issue. Next up, I think I am going to throw together an ESSENTIAL JOHN COLTANE listing. I will start with the saxophone greats problably with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Art Pepper, Erik Dolphy, Gerry Mulligan, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Desmond etc. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painful Reality Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 ---------------- On 9/25/2003 12:52:59 PM mobile homeless wrote: Jeff, I just saw your reply and wanted to say I agree on the help of seeing the album covers, especially when you get into a used records store, and are suddenly met with RECORD/BOOK STORE BLANK MIND SYNDROME. It happens to me all the time! It's a scary malady that can strike any time. kh ---------------- "RECORD/BOOK STORE BLANK MIND SYNDROME" That's the term... Thanks to this syndrom I'm so often plagued with I missed Psycho Candy from JM&C no later than last Thursday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 $2.45 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2559594466&category=1078 $460 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2559379459&category=43690 From the ALL MUSIC GUIDE (http://www.allmusic.com) Sonny Rollins has remained one of the true jazz giants, ranking up there with Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and John Coltrane as one of the all-time great tenor saxophonists. He started on piano, took up the alto, and then permanently switched to tenor in 1946. After making his recording debut with Babs Gonzales in 1949, Rollins made a major impact on dates with J.J. Johnson and Bud Powell the same year; the latter session also matched him with Fats Navarro. Rollins' abilities were obvious to the jazz world from the start and he started recording with Miles Davis in 1951 and with Thelonious Monk two years later. After a period out of music, Rollins joined the Max Roach-Clifford Brown quintet in late 1955, continuing after Brownie's death until 1957. From then on, he was always a leader. Sonny Rollins' series of brilliant recordings for Prestige, Blue Note, Contemporary, and Riverside in the 1950s found him in peak form and he was acclaimed the top tenor saxophonist of the time, at least until John Coltrane rose to prominence. Therefore, Rollins' decision to drop out of music from 1959-1961 shocked the jazz world. When he came back in 1961 with a quartet featuring Jim Hall, his style was largely unchanged but he soon became a much freer player who was well aware of Ornette Coleman's innovations; he even used Ornette's cornetist Don Cherry for a time. Although his playing was a bit more eccentric than previously, Rollins was a major force until, in 1968, he again decided to retire. Upon his return in 1971, Sonny Rollins was more open to the influence of R&B rhythms and pop music, and his recordings since then have not always been essential (often using sidemen not up to his level) but Rollins remains a very vital soloist. His skill at turning unlikely material into jazz, his unaccompanied flights, and his rhythmic freedom and tonal distortions have kept Sonny Rollins one of the masters of jazz. He has literally dozens of superior recordings available. THE SOUND OF SONNY: 1957 heralded a new phase in Sonny Rollins' (tenor sax) career. He began what was at the time an almost blasphemous trend of recording for a number of different labels. His pioneering spirit yielded a few genre-defining albums, including this disc. His performances were also at a peak during 1957 as Down Beat magazine proclaimed him the Critics' Poll winner under the category of "New Star" of the tenor saxophone. This newfound freedom can be heard throughout the innovations on Sound of Sonny. Not only are Rollins' fluid solos reaching newly obtained zeniths of melodic brilliance, but he has also begun experimenting with alterations in the personnel from tune to tune. Most evident on this platter is "The Last Time I Saw Paris" which is piano-less and most stunning of all is Rollins' unaccompanied tenor solo performance on "It Could Happen to You." Indeed, this rendering of the Jimmy Van Heusen standard is the highlight of the disc. That isn't to say that the interaction between Sonny Clark (piano), Roy Haynes (drums), and bassists Percy Heath and Paul Chambers who is featured on "The Last Time I Saw Paris" and "What Is There to Say" is not top shelf. Arguably, it is Rollins and Heath the latter, incidentally, makes his East Coast debut on this album that set the ambience for Sound of Sonny. There is an instinctually pervasive nature as they weave into and back out of each others' melody lines only to emerge with a solo that liberates the structure of the mostly pop standards. This is a key component in understanding the multiplicities beginning to surface in Rollins' highly underappreciated smooth bop style. Lindsay Planer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 The white label Riverside LPs are all worth a TON of money--you can get a perfect deep-groove blue label (pressed about 6 months later, probably) "Sound of Sonny" for about $50 if you look around. I have never even seen a white label copy of this LP so the "freaks" are bidding it up to the stratosphere because they HAVE TO HAVE IT. Last year I sold a "New York, 23" copy of Sonny Rollins Vol. 2 on Blue Note for an incredible sum on ebay and kept my "47 W. 63rd NYC" copy which was in MUCH better shape (again, probably pressed only months later). I did it, of course, to buy an insanely expesive "Blowin' in from Chicago" (Blue Note 1549). Collecting records is like being addicted to drugs and it's really a rather small community--there are probably less than 500 of us who give a rat's *** about this stuff.. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjohnsonhp Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 The collector's aspect is interesting. How much does the "investment" aspect play into a purchase? I remember the mid to late 80's when Baseball cards went nuts. There seemed to be coin dealers, used car salesmen, etc. buying/selling and individuals buying with investment vs stocks in mind. Say one payed $500 for this lp. Will it resell next year for $600? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Jazz records have been going through the roof for the past 15 years. If I could only go back to the late 70's and start over! I remember passing on a nice copy of "Jazz Delegation From the East" on Jazz West for $30 because I already had it on a Blue Note 2-fer! That Paul Chambers LP in NM condition is now a $1000 record. OUCH! Ebay has really made a difference in establishing what is REALLY rare and what collectors REALLY want. Some stuff is now worth HALF what is was pre-ebay while others have gone up in value by a factor of 5 or 6 (especially some early Blue Notes). Never in a million years would I have guessed that Jutta Hipp Blue Notes would sell for $1500, but it has happened on ebay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 25, 2003 Author Share Posted September 25, 2003 This is why for the average person juts getting into jazz, it's not bad at all to get later versions of these records on vinyl. Again, the OJC series, while not perfection, will yield an ok recording, and some far better than thought. Almost ALL the vinyl beats the CD versions. At least you can get a $9 album, and then have it for a backup if you want to go original for major ducats. To be truthful, in a major city, better versions DO come up in the bins. But for many that dont have access to used vinyl, this Fantasy catalog is a find. I will add that on the whole, almost across the board with classic jazz, it's best to avoid ANY DIGITAL REMASTERS as this stuff can sound flat, sterile, and lacking body. Mallet has made some finds but on the whole, none of these greats redone digitally brings quality, analog sound. Perhaps Allan will back me on this one. I would avoid them and hold out. A perfect example of this is the Digital Remaster of KIND OF BLUE. This album is a sonic mess. Mallet has had better luck than I have and with different titles. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubai2000 Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Great thread - thanks a lot and keep it coming - and yes, showing covers IS a good idea . Wolfram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James RD Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 I'm enjoying this. There is so much good jazz out there it is brain-boggling. I remember back when I was totally jazz-ignorant and first heard the Stones' "Waiting On a Friend". Who IS that saxman? Ah, Sonny. Now I need to pick up some more. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomac Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Can anyone give me some info on McCoy Tyner? I have his "The Real McCoy" CD and enjoy it but his LP, "Tender Moments" is just outstanding IMO. Any insight and recommendations on his other works would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 This makes me almost want to try SACD again.. (click cover image) almost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 I have the Saxaphone Collosus on the CD K2 process. Much better CD mastering quality that HDCD. I have a couple others on conventionla CD. For my taste he is more relaxing to listen to than Coltrane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Robinson Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 Just ordered up: Sax Colossus Moving Out Way Out West Sound of Sonny Traneing In (JC) Thanks for the post and the list. Looking forward to hearing some new vinyl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 Just to shake things up I'll give you one to avoid: Sonny Rollins, Falling In Love With Jazz Recorded in June, 1989 I borrowed it from the library, more curious than anything. I'd never heard anything that recent. If you're into elevator music you may like it. I thought it was pretty bad. I know he was no spring chicken at the time of the recording but the style is sooo different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 27, 2003 Author Share Posted September 27, 2003 I agree with the above take on "Falling in Love with Jazz" To me, that is how a studio and bad engineer can even further ruin some bad takes... I dont have this piece but just sampled it on Amazon. Tennessee Walts is painful enough... Too much BAD for an early Saturday moring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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