Yes, there have been many peaks to Sonny Rollins’ storied carrier. But if you were to give the uninitiated potential jazz fan ONE single album to whet the musical palate, it would be included in this three disc box set. Back in the mid 1950s, Rollins was musically riding a crest, and after 1956, with Saxophone Colossus, people wondered what he could do to top that. Well, he did something…
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Rollins switched over to the California based Contemporary Records, put on his suit, cowboy hat and posed in the Mojave desert for his classic Desert Island Disc of Way Out West. Today, tenor-bass-drum trio albums are a dime a dozen, but back in the day, this was like throwing down the gauntlet. Rollins is teamed by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, and everyone is up to the task. Manne’s clippety clop cowboy intro to “I’m An Old Cowhand”, with Rollins playing along before popping the clutch, is still crazy after all these years. Likewise “Wagon Wheels” just makes so much sense that you wonder why no one else did it before. Besides that, a glorious “Solitude” and visceral “Come, Gone” make for a perfect album.
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1958’s And The Contemporary Leaders is not far behind. Still with Manne, Rollins brings together Hampton Hawes/p, Barney Kessel/g and Leroy Vinnegar/b, all stars of the LA session scene. Once again, Rollins picks out some wildly clever standards, ranging from a fun and catchy kitschy “I’ve Told Ev’ry Little star” to a schmaltzy “Rock-a-By Your Baby With A Dixy Lullaby”. Rollins flexes his muscles like he’s at Venice Beach for “I’ve Found A New Baby” and “ The Song Is Y ou” and every solo deserves a transcription. There’s an extra disc of alternate takes, all on a high level of inspiration. This was the last album he did before his famed 3 year hiatus. He also must have asked what he could do for an encore. This is the work of a man who took his art as seriously as his life.