Jazz Articles about Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins: The Sound of Sonny

by David Rickert
March 1, 2002

There was once a time when Sonny Rollins frequently battled Stan Getz for the top spot in the critics’ polls. The two are more alike than one might think; like Getz, Rollins possesses a flawless technique that manages to be both bold and unassuming and frequently does his best work in relatively straightforward settings. This session was recorded at a time when Rollins was bouncing between labels, but still doing his most remarkable work for Prestige.

The opener marks the ...

Sonny Rollins: This Is What I Do

by David A. Orthmann
February 1, 2001

For those who believe that Sonny Rollins’ best days as a recording artist are well behind him: think again. This Is What I Do is an unmitigated triumph, a performance that will impress anyone who takes the art of jazz seriously. As the six cuts on the disc attest, Rollins is clearly not content to rest on a half-century of improvisational brilliance. Aside from his intelligence, savvy, and hard-earned experience, Rollins continues to emanate a sense of bravado as well ...

Sonny Rollins: This Is What I Do

by Mark Corroto
November 1, 2000

What do you expect from Sonny Rollins? He has been recording music for over 50 years now and continues to hold sell out concerts all over the globe. His genius has been the ability to create instantaneous music (AKA improvise) night-after-night. Unlike say, Mick Jagger who we expect to perform “Satisfaction" the same every night, Sonny's music is reborn anew with each performance. If he has been criticized over the years, it is for some lackluster studio sessions. If you ...

Sonny Rollins: The Freelance Years:The Complete Riverside & Contemporary Recordings

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 1, 2000

In the collective media catalog that has been developed by Sonny Rollins over the past many decades there is much that is of tangible worth, while only his recordings of the past 15 years or so tend to be dispensable in the long run. Taken together as a group, first-rate Rollins would have to include his Prestige sessions, the RCA-Victor sides, and three dates apiece for both Blue Note and Impulse. Just after the aforementioned Prestige period and prior to ...

Sonny Rollins: The Freelance Years: The Complete Riverside and Contemporary Recordings

by Robert Spencer
March 1, 2000

If Sonny Rollins is the King of the Tenor Saxophone, it was during the late Fifties, the period covered by this magnificent collection, that he earned his crown. He casts a long shadow on the cover of this five-disc set, and his shadow grows even longer immediately as the music starts, which Monk's treacherous tempo-shifting “Brilliant Corners," as good an example as any of both Monk's right-on off-kilter composing genius and Sonny Rollins' astounding acumen in navigating his tricky scores. ...

Sonny Rollins: Saxohone Colossus

by Douglas Payne
November 1, 1999

In 1956, while still a member of the legendary Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, tenor titan Sonny Rollins (b. 1930) cut one of his most definitive albums. Imposingly titled Saxophone Colossus , it very quickly became a jazz classic and remains today one of a handful of absolutely essential jazz albums. As vast as Rollins's talents proved to be -- up until this time and in many cases hereafter -- this one remains special: for Hannan's stark blue cover art, Rollins's ...

Various Artists: The Prestige Records Story

by Douglas Payne
October 1, 1999

From 1949 through 1971, Prestige Records was among the most famous and successful of the independent jazz labels. Perhaps only Blue Note, which had its reign during roughly the same period, provided Prestige with significant competition. Both maintained strong, unique identities--even shared many of the same musicians and, in most cases, engineer Rudy Van Gelder. But Blue Note lavished more money on rehearsals and their albums sounded more planned than those that came from Prestige. Still, it was the spontaneous ...