Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Sonny Rollins

Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Sonny Rollins

ASIN: B000050I3T

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Among the most creative voices to emerge from the 1950s hard-bop movement, Sonny Rollins has long been one of the most commanding soloists in jazz, a masterful tenor saxophonist whose big sound can encompass ballad warmth and blazing runs. This compilation concentrates on Rollins's most creative years, from 1954 to 1966, and includes some of his best-known compositions, tunes like "Oleo" (played here with Miles Davis's band) and "St. Thomas," which are now standards in the jazz repertoire. His playing has often used thematic improvisation, varying and extending a tune's original melody with remarkable rhythmic creativity to unfurl long solos of brilliant structural coherence, heard here in a version of his "Sonnymoon for Two." Rollins has also demonstrated an unusual sense of humor, sometimes using unlikely tunes--like "I'm an Old Cowhand"--as a basis for his solos. His relationship to the senior tenor master, Coleman Hawkins, takes two forms here, in the unaccompanied version of "Body and Soul" and in 1963's "All the Things You Are," with Hawkins joining Rollins at his most experimental. --Stuart Broomer

Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Sonny Rollins,Sonny Rollins,Polygram Records,Hard Bop,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop

Average customer rating:

Great intro to Sonny

COOOL COMP DADDIO!

10 Stars

A fantastic starting point...!

Really

Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000050I3T
Release Date: 2000-11-07

Tracks:

Oleo (with The Miles Davis Quintet)
There's No Business Like Show Business
Valse Hot
St. Thomas
Blue Seven
I'm An Old Cowhand
Sonnymoon For Two
I Know That You Know
Body and Soul
The Bridge
All The Things You Are
Alfie's Theme Differently

Amazon.com

Among the most creative voices to emerge from the 1950s hard-bop movement, Sonny Rollins has long been one of the most commanding soloists in jazz, a masterful tenor saxophonist whose big sound can encompass ballad warmth and blazing runs. This compilation concentrates on Rollins's most creative years, from 1954 to 1966, and includes some of his best-known compositions, tunes like "Oleo" (played here with Miles Davis's band) and "St. Thomas," which are now standards in the jazz repertoire. His playing has often used thematic improvisation, varying and extending a tune's original melody with remarkable rhythmic creativity to unfurl long solos of brilliant structural coherence, heard here in a version of his "Sonnymoon for Two." Rollins has also demonstrated an unusual sense of humor, sometimes using unlikely tunes--like "I'm an Old Cowhand"--as a basis for his solos. His relationship to the senior tenor master, Coleman Hawkins, takes two forms here, in the unaccompanied version of "Body and Soul" and in 1963's "All the Things You Are," with Hawkins joining Rollins at his most experimental. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Great intro to Sonny.......2006-03-09

Being a young jazz saxophonist, Sonny is one of my idols on the saxophone. He is one of the greatest jazz improvisers that has ever lived (and is still living and touring/gigging at 76 for those that didn't know), and will probably continue to be for quite some time.

Part of what makes Sonny one of the most interesting improvisers is that he is not afraid to be completely honest with himself through the music. While Coltrane was a monster of a player who had everything worked out, his playing often became predictable to the point of sometimes being boring to listen to (moreso on his early recordings). Sonny's playing is always fresh. You can't slap a label on him like you can Coltrane, because he is always doing something different in each of his solos. THAT takes a lot of creative energy!

One of my favorites on this album is his stop-time solo on the uptempo burner "I Know That You Know", where he is joined by Sonny Stitt and Dizzy Gillespie. Technical, but at the same time, extremely melodious.

I would highly recommend this album for anyone who's interested in checking out some of Sonny Rollins' material. If you really dig a certain cut on this album, look in the liner notes and it'll tell you what album it was taken from (being a complilation, of course, most of these cuts were taken from various albums).

COOOL COMP DADDIO!.......2005-08-21

Sonny Rollins.....HEY....COOL.....OKAY.... Sonny Rollins is probably my favorite saxophonist, maybe even better than John Coltrane...maybe...maybe not, but they are in the same league as each other. But when it comes to coolest sax player of all time, no Bird is not the coolest, although without Bird there would be no Sonny, Sonny Rollins is the coolest sax player ever and he even screwed around with smack back in the 1950's so you know he was a cool daddio.

This compilation has all of Sonny's best stuff. I really like the starting track with Miles. If there is a question of who was Miles' best saxophonist, I say Sonny!!

SONNY ROLLINS IS THE COOLEST CAT AROUND AND HE'S STILL ALIVE!
HOORAY! MAYBE JAZZ IS SOMEWHAT STILL ALIVE!

10 Stars.......2004-07-28

First of all, to whoever stated that Coltrane is better - you must not know anything about music to have stated that. You can say that you like Coltrane better, but Rollins is definitely a virtuoso as well. Coltrane was good, and definitely pushed the harmonic level of jazz music. However, it is impossible to deny the vast influence that Rollins had on the way that jazz musicians approach lines, phrase lines, and compose tunes. Coltrane definitely played with impressive so-called "Sheets of Sound" but Rollins is also a very impressive virtuosic player as well. It saddens me to think that the public "music fans" still tend to judge the skills of an improviser by how fast and loud they can play. I could understand if you said that you personally liked Coltrane more, because that would make sense... many people are like this. I can respect that. But to offer no reasons to people searching on Amazon as to why you feel Coltrane is a better player, is an extremely poor example of a review.

If I could give this album 10 stars, I most certainly would. If anyone was to study the way that Rollins approached his music (both original and standard tunes) they would know that Rollins is an extremly good player. He changed the jazz world forever, as well as the improvisational world!

A fantastic starting point...!.......2003-01-04

This is a great CD to own especially if you are not familiar with all of Sonny Rollins' work. Its almost impossible to distill a most prolific career into one cd but I think they came really close here. If you don't already know about Sonny then this is a good place to start ....then you can go mining in other areas for what is missed. If you think, like many purists, that a single CD is an affront, then you might check Silver City another fine bestof showcase of Sonny's work. Best of's are not inherently bad ideas they can really define the peak output of an artist and give a new listener a jumping off point all at once. I think this CD is a can't miss !! Tune selection here is fantastic... we could argue here all day....but there's not a dud present. I commend the producers and recommend new listeners to dig one of the all time greatest ....and he's still alive.

Really.......2002-03-19

I listened to this and there is no doubt in my mind that John Coltrane is greater. Rollins is good, and I don't hate him, but his style is just not what i like. So, to be honest,i rate this a 1 star

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