After just the first few notes of hearing Sonny Rollins’ tenor on his intro to the opening song of this 2 disc set, “Blue Moon”, I felt like I was reunited with a friend that understood me after spending years in exile. There are so many tenor saxists around today, but none of them have not only the inherent swing that a player like Rollins has (having grown up in the swing and bebop era), but as this collection proves, he has the heart of an improvisor, making each rendition of a song sound like a new canvas, brushes and colors are put together for a unique portrait.
To put this historic collection in perspective, Rollins in May of 1967 (when this album was recorded in a series of both studio work and concerts in the Netherlands) was in his “avant-garde” period, having released his left of center On the Outside, Alfie and East Broadway Run Down the previous year, and was about to go into his second self-imposed retreat, not to return until 1972. Therefore the songs here catch him at a critical point in his career, and he’s teamed with bassist Ruud Jacobs and drummer Han Bennink for the three gigs in a trio that is able to mix sublime swing, blues and marathon avalanches of sound.
Speaking of sound, the recording quality did vary from night to night. The first recording from May 5 at VARA Studio 5 is obviously the cleanest, with Rollins tapping into his inner Ben Webster for some gloriously breathy, foggy and sublimely swinging takes of “Blue Room”, “Four” and genteelly bebopping “Love Walked In” and an assertive “Tune Up”. For these tunes clocking in at between 4-7 minutes the team hums like a V8 with an extra exhaust pipe-this is the comfort food of tenor sax fans.
For the gig at the Go-Go Club in Loosdrecht, Rollins stretches out a bit as he explores “Loved Walked In” with a bit more adventure and bops out with a testosteroned “Sonnymoon For Two”. The recording quality is a bit rougher, but there are no complaints, as Rollins works the crowd with aplomb.
But nothing so far prepares you for the five song set at the Academie voor Beeldende Kunst, while Rollins pours his heart out on three marathon performances, and two other “shorter” tunes of 9-14 minutes. There’s a 22 minute “Three Little Words” that is essentially all Sonny, and he throws out more quotes from various songs than the human ear can keep up with. His playing ranges from barroom R&B, nifty swing, bel canto arias and flame thrower free, with the rhythm section keeping up and hugging the hairpin turns like a two man Mario Andretti. The 19 minute “Love Walked In” gives some space for Jacobs to bow and pick, and Rollins lets each gent drop out for some duets that range from arm wrestling matches to Mensa conversations. There’s a torrid medley of “On Green Dolphin Street/There Will Be Another You” that changes moods like you’re using a remote on the TV, while the 22 minute closer of “Four” once again sounds like a local juke box, playing jump, blues, bop, free and kitsch. Rollins captures the spirit of jazz, with a mix of exploration, tradition and history that is unmatched to this day. Who’s carrying this baton today? ESSENTIAL FOR BODY AND SOUL