Since he has officially “retired” from playing, the only way you’re going to hear the greatest living tenor sax player is to listen to recordings, such as this 2 cd set during his halcyon days from 1951-58. During this time, as both leader and sideman (as the set is divided into), Rollins was establishing himself as the heir apparent to Dexter Gordon and co-heavyweight champion with John Coltrane.
For the “Leader” sessions, his gunfight with John Coltrane on “Tenor Madness” is a standout tour de force, and his teaming with Thelonious Monk on “Misterioso” is simply definitive. His 1956 “Blue 7” with Tommy Flanagan/p, Doug Watkins/b and Max Roach/dr was so monumental that non-musical magazines wrote articles about the psychological makeup of the piece, driving Rollins to his first exile. Rollins was also one of the very first saxists to lead a trio, as on the muscular “Sonnymoon for Two” with Wilbur Ware/b and a pre-Coltrane Elvin Jones on drums. This is the Rollins that made Mount Rushmore!
As a sideman, he had an impressive stint with Miles Davis, with “Bluing” and “Vierd Blues” displaying the yin and yang of the two artists. He is in bebop delight with Dizzy Gillespie on”Sumphin” and with Sonny Stitt/as, joins in on a glorious “After Hours” and is wondrously quirky with Ernie Henry/as under the leadership of Monk on the kaleidoscopic “Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-lues-Are.” He sits in with the Modern Jazz Quartet on a hip “Bag’s Groove.” This is how a tenor sax was meant to be played, with authority and joy throughout.