SONNY ROLLINS QUARTET WITH DON CHERRY - Complete Live at the Village Gate 1962
(6 CD SET)
SONNY ROLLINS, tenor sax; DON CHERRY, cornet; BOB CRANSHAW, bass; BILLY HIGGINS, drums
July 27th to July 30th 1962
The engagement at the Village Gate was the date that produced the original RCA album ‘Our Man in Jazz ‘ . That record, one of my favourite Rollins albums, always made me wish for more. Now there is, a great deal more..
There was disappointment when Rollins returned from his sabbatical in 1961 and produced, by his standards, fairly conventional records. ‘Our Man In Jazz’ was not conventional. There was Don Cherry for a start. This was the start of the sixties as far as Rollins was concerned, the decade that produced some of his most adventurous improvising. Bob Cranshaw is on bass and Billy Higgins is on drums. Crucially, there is no piano so Rollins and Cherry are free to soar and flow with Rollins exploiting his innate rhythmic sense.
Only three edited pieces were released on ‘Our Man in Jazz’: ‘Dearly Beloved’, ‘Oleo’ and ‘Doxy’. Now we have six CDs with all the music that was taped: more than five hours of previously unreleased music in pristine sound. There is nothing substandard about any of it, rather the opposite.
‘Our Man In Jazz’ was not received with acclaim when the original record came out. One critic remarked that Rollins and Cherry seem to be in separate rooms. The stereo separation is quite wide which could give that effect but the enduring impression is of musicians conversing. With the benefit of distance in time we can see that the freedom that Rollins enjoyed here marked his work for years to come. His collaboration with Don Cherry seems to have sparked them both. You can hear them trading, swapping ideas, mixing and matching. Rollins the macho; Cherry the sprite.
Rollins is not a saxophonist seeking to link to the cosmos; no striving for religious significance in his improvisations. He has too much of a sardonic sense of humour, too jokey for that. Rollins is just a master improviser. On CD3 Rollins and Cherry pay a visit to ‘Alexander's Ragtime Band’ and ‘Home Sweet Home’. Rollins can, and will, improvise on anything and he never really wants to lose the attention of his listeners. Remember ‘I’m An Old Cowhand’ on ‘Way Out West’?
‘Solitude’, rarely recorded by Rollins, is led by Don Cherry with Rollins at first with musical grumbling in the background. Higgins and Cranshaw listen carefully to what is going on and adjust accordingly. This is really a total improvisation on a theme by Ellington. There is a sense of risk, danger, music on the high wire. Isn’t this what jazz should be about?
Billy Higgins enjoys himself as he provides the rhythm for Rollins on the 22 minute ‘St Thomas’. Is there a better ‘St Thomas’ in the Rollins discography? Probably, but you will not worry about that as you listen to this one and try to resist dancing, clapping your hands or tapping your feet.
Don Cherry’s cornet produces a very golden, brassy sound. His improvising is just as adventurous as Sonny’s. Inspiration never fails him. Moving from Ornette to Sonny must have been intriguing. His lines are longer as he spins out his thoughts jousting with Sonny.
The longest track in the box is on CD 6, the nearly 37 minute ‘Oleo’. ‘Oleo’ is played four times during the engagement. At first on CD 6 Rollins worries at the theme trying to find a way in; he also draws you in as you listen to how he picks up ideas, decorates them, discards them and moves to another area of the theme.
Over the years Bob Cranshaw has often stood patiently at the back of the stand as Rollins plays. Here he is not well served with the recording. Rollins obviously enjoys his work because Cranshaw at present has been with Rollins for five decades!
This is an extraordinary set of discs: a landmark in the musical life of Rollins. Some could be irritated that the music is not presented in chronological order. Over-riding all that is the music, music that is loose, creative, expressive, passionate, articulate and intensely beautiful. Why this has never been issued before is a mystery. Let’s just be grateful that it is here now.
The six Cds are well packaged, each with its own sleeve and the whole comes in a sturdy box. There is a booklet with notes by Gareth Kingston, George Avakian, he produced the sessions, and Pete Welding.
The received wisdom about Sonny is that he is rarely inspired in the studio and that his best work is in front of audiences. This set of discs might well confirm that view.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
(6 CD SET)
SONNY ROLLINS, tenor sax; DON CHERRY, cornet; BOB CRANSHAW, bass; BILLY HIGGINS, drums
July 27th to July 30th 1962
The engagement at the Village Gate was the date that produced the original RCA album ‘Our Man in Jazz ‘ . That record, one of my favourite Rollins albums, always made me wish for more. Now there is, a great deal more..
There was disappointment when Rollins returned from his sabbatical in 1961 and produced, by his standards, fairly conventional records. ‘Our Man In Jazz’ was not conventional. There was Don Cherry for a start. This was the start of the sixties as far as Rollins was concerned, the decade that produced some of his most adventurous improvising. Bob Cranshaw is on bass and Billy Higgins is on drums. Crucially, there is no piano so Rollins and Cherry are free to soar and flow with Rollins exploiting his innate rhythmic sense.
Only three edited pieces were released on ‘Our Man in Jazz’: ‘Dearly Beloved’, ‘Oleo’ and ‘Doxy’. Now we have six CDs with all the music that was taped: more than five hours of previously unreleased music in pristine sound. There is nothing substandard about any of it, rather the opposite.
‘Our Man In Jazz’ was not received with acclaim when the original record came out. One critic remarked that Rollins and Cherry seem to be in separate rooms. The stereo separation is quite wide which could give that effect but the enduring impression is of musicians conversing. With the benefit of distance in time we can see that the freedom that Rollins enjoyed here marked his work for years to come. His collaboration with Don Cherry seems to have sparked them both. You can hear them trading, swapping ideas, mixing and matching. Rollins the macho; Cherry the sprite.
Rollins is not a saxophonist seeking to link to the cosmos; no striving for religious significance in his improvisations. He has too much of a sardonic sense of humour, too jokey for that. Rollins is just a master improviser. On CD3 Rollins and Cherry pay a visit to ‘Alexander's Ragtime Band’ and ‘Home Sweet Home’. Rollins can, and will, improvise on anything and he never really wants to lose the attention of his listeners. Remember ‘I’m An Old Cowhand’ on ‘Way Out West’?
‘Solitude’, rarely recorded by Rollins, is led by Don Cherry with Rollins at first with musical grumbling in the background. Higgins and Cranshaw listen carefully to what is going on and adjust accordingly. This is really a total improvisation on a theme by Ellington. There is a sense of risk, danger, music on the high wire. Isn’t this what jazz should be about?
Billy Higgins enjoys himself as he provides the rhythm for Rollins on the 22 minute ‘St Thomas’. Is there a better ‘St Thomas’ in the Rollins discography? Probably, but you will not worry about that as you listen to this one and try to resist dancing, clapping your hands or tapping your feet.
Don Cherry’s cornet produces a very golden, brassy sound. His improvising is just as adventurous as Sonny’s. Inspiration never fails him. Moving from Ornette to Sonny must have been intriguing. His lines are longer as he spins out his thoughts jousting with Sonny.
The longest track in the box is on CD 6, the nearly 37 minute ‘Oleo’. ‘Oleo’ is played four times during the engagement. At first on CD 6 Rollins worries at the theme trying to find a way in; he also draws you in as you listen to how he picks up ideas, decorates them, discards them and moves to another area of the theme.
Over the years Bob Cranshaw has often stood patiently at the back of the stand as Rollins plays. Here he is not well served with the recording. Rollins obviously enjoys his work because Cranshaw at present has been with Rollins for five decades!
This is an extraordinary set of discs: a landmark in the musical life of Rollins. Some could be irritated that the music is not presented in chronological order. Over-riding all that is the music, music that is loose, creative, expressive, passionate, articulate and intensely beautiful. Why this has never been issued before is a mystery. Let’s just be grateful that it is here now.
The six Cds are well packaged, each with its own sleeve and the whole comes in a sturdy box. There is a booklet with notes by Gareth Kingston, George Avakian, he produced the sessions, and Pete Welding.
The received wisdom about Sonny is that he is rarely inspired in the studio and that his best work is in front of audiences. This set of discs might well confirm that view.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
