Sonny Rollins is one of the great saxophone improvisers of jazz history, playing with the passion and energy of a giant, the wit and humor of a savvy, streetwise New Yorker, and a lover’s knowledge of the Great American Songbook. In 1957 Rollins was coming off a superlative year: he’d recorded albums like Saxophone Colossus and Worktime, continued to work with Clifford Brown and Max Roach, and appeared on Thelonious Monk’s masterpiece Brilliant Corners. Now 26 years old and free of the heroin addiction that had dogged his early career, he’d continue his artistic ascension in 1957, gaining more recognition for his accomplishments as well, with Down Beat Magazine bestowing their “New Star” award upon him. By the end of the year he’d be firmly established as a leader, and he’d make a live recording at the Village Vanguard in New York City that would become a jazz classic.
