Tim Price Bloggin' For D'Addario Woodwinds- Sonnymoon for.....YOU !

Sonnymoon for.....YOU !

 

This is Sonny on RIVERSIDE in 1957, when as the liners say, he was undisputed ruling the DOWNBEAT critic's poll and at the top of his form.  

 

I like this album because Sonny hits on some better known standards, but turns them into vehicles for his rich imagination as a leader and soloist... the tunes are catchy even before his solos (with the opening moments of JUST IN TIME bordering on almost weird), but once he starts soloing, things swing... majorly...The rhythm section needless to say is fitting... Sonny Clark on piano, Percy Heath and Paul Chambers on bass, Roy Haynes on drums. Sonny's tricky rhythms have Sonny C. laying out on THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS - - I guess the man from St. Thomas could baffle the best ! His playing is energetic, colorful and graceful. It seems to engender respect for the material as well as his band mates as demonstrated by the seemless manner in which he migrates between varied rhythm sections. I especially enjoyed the international "flavor" of "Mangoes," an interesting counterpoint to "The Last Time I Saw Paris." What I love about this album is that it demonstrates what an engaging player Sonny is and was... regardless of the tempo or tune he really gets your attention... even before the solos... I also like how he clearly states the melodies to the tunes, yet put his own things into it. The solos can be very simplistic yet hard driving at the same time... at other times, he'll lay a flurry of notes on you... That was another strength of his... to play on space and time and do it cleverly, yet always deep within the pocket. He was definitely one of the few immediate post-Parker players who had his own rhythmic thing going... a big fat fluent swingin' sound that makes you pay attention to each and every moment... and again, cute and clever ideas for the arrangements, showing the reason why he was a LEADER and not a sideman. THIS...is one of my favorite albums in jazz ever. If you know me- You know I'm a Sonny Clark fan as well."The Sound of Sonny" is Sonny Rollins' first and only recording with one of my all-time favorite bop pianists, Sonny Clark. Like most Sonny albums from this period, 80% of the material here is standards. However, it is a perfect blend of familiar and seldom heard standards, up-tempo grooves and touching ballads. Of particular interest here is Sonny's first unaccompanied solo recording ("It Could Happen To You"). "The Sound Of Sonny" ranks right up there with the best of them. Rollins' performance on this classic from 1957 not only solidified him as one of the greatest tenors of his generation, but, along with all of the other material from his illustrious fifty plus year career, has stood the test of time to make him one of the all-time greatest musicians regardless of style. Backed by a duo of legends in bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins cooks from beginning to end. He is in prime form, still a relatively unknown tenor when this album came out, he plays like a man ahead of his years. Sonny's tone is hard, percussive, rasping, and even playful, a full spectrum of colors and moods. What makes this a truly great album is that every single note Rollins plays is a highlight. His soloing stands up to repeated listening and rewards the effort with something new each time through. Manne and Brown contribute fantastic performances of their own, matching Rollins by producing phenomenal solos of their own.Sonny was in his absolute prime when he cut Way Out West. No tennor ever had a better tone than "Newk", and that includes some very exclusive company, (Coltrane, Getz, Shorter, etc.) The painstaking remastering job here brings out the brilliance of his majestic sound. To me Sonny's pharsing has always had the same inherent rhythm as the great post-war singers like Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Without a single bad note or overstated phrase, Way Out West is some of the best hard-bop you'll ever hear. Fortunately Sonny is still going strong and at seventy-something he is still producing vital music for us to enjoy. Even the usually aggravating practice of sticking alternate takes behind the originals hardly makes a difference. Rollins, Manne, and Brown are so brimming with ideas, the longer alternates offer the listener just that much more of a good thing. This is one of those albums that needs to be in every jazz collection, even the cover photo is a classic. .  

 

"Rollins Plays for Bird" is vintage Sonny Rollins -- an album with the perfect combination of medium tempo hard boppers and scintillating ballads. But unlike other recordings, you get them here all in one song. "The Bird Medley" features seven different Charlie Parker songs, all strung together intelligently by the band of Sonny, Kenny Dorham, Wade Legge, George Morrow and Max Roach. While the medley is album's focal point there are two other tracks, the eloquent ballad "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" and "Kids Know," featuring terrific horn interplay by Sonny and Dorham."Rollins Plays for Bird" is vintage Sonny Rollins -- an album with the perfect combination of medium tempo hard boppers and scintilating ballads. But unlike other recordings, you get them here all in one song. "The Bird Medley" features seven diiferent Charlie Parker songs, all strung together intelligently by the band of Sonny, Kenny Dorham, Wade Legge, George Morrow and Max Roach. While the medley is album's focal point there are two other tracks, the eloquent ballad "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face" and "Kids Know," featuring terrific horn interplay by Sonny and Dorham. In my review of the previous incarnation of this CD, I complained that the "The House I Live In" should have been included here to complete this 10/5/56 session. STILL....important timeless music.
 

Rollins was only 20 years old when track 13, I Know, was recorded in January 17, 1951. Eleven months later, the then 21 year old Rollins was on tracks 5-12 (Scoops, With a Song in My Heart, Newk's Fadeaway, Time on My Hands, This Love of Mine, Shadrack, On a Slow Boat to China, and Mambo Bounce.) It is interesting that at 21 he already had a song that contained his nickname - Newk - on the album. The first four tracks on the album were the last ones recorded (October 7, 1953).I am a big MJQ fan to begin with, so having Rollins with the original members - John Lewis, Percy Heath, Milt Jackson and Kenny Clarke - is heavenly to me. I will not bore you with feeble attempts at describing the music (the first four tracks) because the sound samples do a far better job than I. As a drummer I was particularly interested in Kenny Clarke's playing. He is the father of bebop drumming, so paired in this musical setting showed aspects of his playing that is not evident in his earlier work, not his later work with Bud Powell in Paris. The bulk of this album - tracks 5 through 12, feature an interesting quartet format with the great Kenny Drew on piano, Percy Heath apparently borrowed from MJQ for the session, and Art Blakey on drums. Art's drumming is pretty subdued considering his explosive technique with other ensembles, including his early work with Clifford Brown and his career with the Jazz Messengers. The focus is Sonny's tenor and the tone is beautiful. When you consider that he was barely 21 when these tracks were recorded you have to wonder why he felt so compelled to spend a chunk of 1959 practicing on the Williamsburg Bridge eight years later. What I love about the final track is the fact that Miles Davis wrote the song and also played piano on it (backed by Percy Heath on bass and Roy Haynes on drums with Sonny's beautiful tone coming from that tenor.) I remember a story about Dizzy chiding Miles for not using the piano more. Apparently that chiding had an effect. For the life of me I do not understand why it took so long to release this album. It was recorded in three sessions between January 1951 and October 1953, but was not released until 1956. Regardless of why, the long period between completion and release does show that the music was still relevant - and this during a time when jazz was rapidly evolving in a number of directions. To me the music is as relevant today as it was when first recorded. These are some Sonny that...should appeal to you....listen and enjoy.
 

More Sonny soon too- -TIM PRICE