SONNY ROLLINS - Holding The Stage Road Shows Volume 4
Doxy Okeh 8875192752
Sonny Rollins: tenor saxophone; Bobby Broom: guitar (1, 7); Bob Cranshaw: bass (1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10); Jerome Jennings: drums (1); Kimati Dinizulu: percussion (1, 6-8, 10); Peter Bernstein: guitar (2); Kobie Watkins: drums (2); Sammy Figueroa: percussion (2); Saul Rubin: guitar (3); Clifton Anderson: trombone (4, 6, 8, 10); Stephen Scott: piano (4, 6, 8, 10); Harold Summey Jr.: drums (4); Victor See Yuen: percussion (4); Mark Soskin: piano (5); Jerome Harris: bass (5); Al Foster: drums (5); Victor Lewis: drums (7); Perry Wilson: drums (6, 8, 10).
Those who enjoy the music of Sonny Rollins are used to his disappearances from the scene. Usually, he uses the time to reassess and come back stronger. This time, he seems to be away for the stage for health reasons. We can only hope he manages to return. In the interim, we have the Road Shows.
The first track on the new volume is the beautiful Ellington piece: ‘In A Sentimental Mood’. This is the first time the Road Show series has featured a track recorded in London. Recorded at the Barbican during The London Jazz Festival in 2007, the track displays the essence of Rollins, his gruff romanticism, his majesty, and his creativity as he moves away from the theme to create his own variations.
Rollins’ musical life has run parallel with the seismic shifts of the jazz movements, schools and cliques that have reshaped the music. Rollins has changed in his own way, he has been affected by some of the developments but he has emerged with his thematic improvisations enabling him to remain close to his themes and to his audiences. He is majestic. There is also an honesty about the way he plays. His tone cannot equal the beauty of the Stan Getz sound, he does not move into the areas that Coleman or Coltrane explored.
The latest Road Show, Volume 4, covers 33-years from 1979 to 2012, and includes tunes Rollins never recorded before along with tunes as tributes. ‘Professor Paul’, ‘Disco Monk’ and ‘HS’ are dedicated to saxophonist educator Paul Jeffery, Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver. There are also four tracks from the 9/11 concert ‘Without A Song’ that were not included on that album.
One of the ideas behind the Road Show albums was to examine the playing of Rollins on stage. One of the pervasive views was that if you wanted to hear the best of Rollins you had to hear him live, that he was too inhibited by the atmosphere in the recording studio. The albums, including this one,, do show one of the greatest jazz artists in full flow.
My only criticism is that in recent times Rollins has not been challenged by some of the people who work with him. Like Miles Davis in his last ten years, Sonny has been surrounded by musicians who are not his equal..or even near it. Nevertheless, this collection of pieces is essential.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Doxy Okeh 8875192752
Sonny Rollins: tenor saxophone; Bobby Broom: guitar (1, 7); Bob Cranshaw: bass (1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10); Jerome Jennings: drums (1); Kimati Dinizulu: percussion (1, 6-8, 10); Peter Bernstein: guitar (2); Kobie Watkins: drums (2); Sammy Figueroa: percussion (2); Saul Rubin: guitar (3); Clifton Anderson: trombone (4, 6, 8, 10); Stephen Scott: piano (4, 6, 8, 10); Harold Summey Jr.: drums (4); Victor See Yuen: percussion (4); Mark Soskin: piano (5); Jerome Harris: bass (5); Al Foster: drums (5); Victor Lewis: drums (7); Perry Wilson: drums (6, 8, 10).
Those who enjoy the music of Sonny Rollins are used to his disappearances from the scene. Usually, he uses the time to reassess and come back stronger. This time, he seems to be away for the stage for health reasons. We can only hope he manages to return. In the interim, we have the Road Shows.
The first track on the new volume is the beautiful Ellington piece: ‘In A Sentimental Mood’. This is the first time the Road Show series has featured a track recorded in London. Recorded at the Barbican during The London Jazz Festival in 2007, the track displays the essence of Rollins, his gruff romanticism, his majesty, and his creativity as he moves away from the theme to create his own variations.
Rollins’ musical life has run parallel with the seismic shifts of the jazz movements, schools and cliques that have reshaped the music. Rollins has changed in his own way, he has been affected by some of the developments but he has emerged with his thematic improvisations enabling him to remain close to his themes and to his audiences. He is majestic. There is also an honesty about the way he plays. His tone cannot equal the beauty of the Stan Getz sound, he does not move into the areas that Coleman or Coltrane explored.
The latest Road Show, Volume 4, covers 33-years from 1979 to 2012, and includes tunes Rollins never recorded before along with tunes as tributes. ‘Professor Paul’, ‘Disco Monk’ and ‘HS’ are dedicated to saxophonist educator Paul Jeffery, Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver. There are also four tracks from the 9/11 concert ‘Without A Song’ that were not included on that album.
One of the ideas behind the Road Show albums was to examine the playing of Rollins on stage. One of the pervasive views was that if you wanted to hear the best of Rollins you had to hear him live, that he was too inhibited by the atmosphere in the recording studio. The albums, including this one,, do show one of the greatest jazz artists in full flow.
My only criticism is that in recent times Rollins has not been challenged by some of the people who work with him. Like Miles Davis in his last ten years, Sonny has been surrounded by musicians who are not his equal..or even near it. Nevertheless, this collection of pieces is essential.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
